Hello! My relationship with online media is rapidly undergoing a systemic change, due mostly in part to internet money (i.e. crypto). I believe this is the onset of a (very) new virtuous ecosystem, and in many instances, it’s already here… bubbling under the current.

To dismiss it without experiencing it is simply foolhardy… willful ignorance.

I’ve certainly had my ups and downs the last two years, but my biggest lesson, well, regret, was not being a consistent participant in the space. My crucible came late… admittedly because I couldn’t afford [to lose] the table stakes, especially as the prices rose. A harsh reality -- oh, woe is me!

Money has always been a fleeting necessity, not a tool.

That, and I thought I was above many aspect of it, how silly. Case in point, me badmouthing CryptoKitties back in issue 55 in 2018 (Dapper Labs is now valued at ~$8b)… and I was never going to join a popularity contest for writers to gain the privilege to self-publish on an at-the-time closed platform, which felt antithetical to decentralization. A growth marketing tactic gone awry, though not really because it worked for Mirror and most everyone who joined the movement. . .

The strikes against me continued to stack.

It wouldn’t have cost me anything, just a shred of dignity and a bit of time to set up my account (which I’ve done now). The returns would’ve been bountiful, and enabled me to roll around in the proverbial on-chain mud.

But no, I mainly took note from the stands rather than play on the field. The best way to learn, is by doing.

My pride, my ego, brought me contempt… so I let it fall by the wayside. Role reversal.

And in doing so, I’ve come away with a few fun learnings on game design, theory, and mechanics (that will likely all be dated by tomorrow). But really, I view these experiences almost as a study in human behavior – incentive & interest alignment, for all parties.

Mental models. I was talking with a new anonymous Discord friend (an otter) about our approach to buying into certain projects, which boils down to Spiritual and Material pleasure.

Spiritual: a beautiful art piece, a friendly community, a good cause/artist

Material: investment, utility access (allow-lists and airdrops for future projects)

The best projects sit at the intersection here. There are too many insiders speculating on the latter, which is doing the space more harm than good and driving up prices. To that end, almost every “NFT drop” reminds me of this clip of Kurt Cobain remarking on Madonna’s $50 tickets… what’s mainstream might not be mass market.

Anywho, I’ll likely continue rambling on about this stuff more next issue. It’s a lot to digest.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. Exploration encouraged. See ya next week.