[Short #59] 2 Followups + 3 Resources
Netflix, BAYC, Creators, Illustrations, and Public Building
I’m gonna make today’s piece about several topics with some thoughts on each. There’s so much happening in the space. 🤷 As the title suggests, I’ll be sharing 2 followups from previous posts and 3 resources I’ve come across over the past 24 hours that I found to be helpful/interesting.
Followup #1: Netflix
I’ve written about Netflix a couple of times before. In [Short #9] (April 20th) I did some brainstorming on how Netflix could incorporate NFTs to their platform to increase retention, increase engagement, as well as introduce another revenue stream. It seems like Netflix has a team of TPans because in [Short #20] (May 9th) Netflix teased a NFT for the Stranger Things season premiere.
How funny would it be if I keep taking screenshots of my writing about Netflix which eventually looks like this. Don’t tempt me NFT stuff Netflix…
So what did Netflix (in partnership with Candy Digital) announce yesterday?
TLDR:
Netflix is creating digital poster collectibles of 17 characters from Stranger Things. You can purchase all 17 at once with the limited edition Hellfire Club bundles.
Individual mystery boxes are priced at $11 each. Hellfire Club Bundles will be sold at $275, with only 99 bundles for sale.
There will be a marketplace to buy/sell these collectibles.
Early access to the sale (1 hour head start) will only be available to those that completed the puzzles from a couple months ago or via raffle if you hold a NFT from one of the projects below.
I’m looking forward to seeing what happens. Maybe some of the other items in my original set of recommendations (eg: dynamic NFTs, exclusive raffles/experiences) will come to fruition with these digital collectibles or for a future Netflix series.
Followup #2: Bored Jobs for BAYC
I came across this tweet yesterday.
When I wrote about BAYC commercial rights a few months back, it was clear that BAYC’s strategy has been successful. The fact that commercial opportunities are continuing in a bear market gets even more interesting:
I assume the opportunity like the above is non-exclusive. The Ape probably won’t be able to be the represent any competing BBQ carts, but I’m sure licensing the same Ape for a video game would be fine. If that’s the case, a Bored Ape really can be a source of passive income.
The owner wants to hire “an ape”, aka 1 ape. Not all Bored Apes are created equal from an aesthetic standpoint. The ‘cleaner’ or rarer your Ape’s traits are, the more licensing opportunities there will likely be. Owning a Bored Ape is one thing. Owning an aesthetically pleasing Bored Ape that creates licensing revenue streams makes this situation even more interesting.
Wait a sec, what’s this Bored Jobs thing anyway?
Holy moly. Bored Apes only though, but let’s look at the FAQs. TLDR:
Bored Jobs represents some but not all of the Bored Apes and their respective holders. However, they’re becoming the primary touchpoint between parties.
The team takes a 15% fee from the final value of the deal. Not bad if all you need to do is sign on the dotted line for your NFT’s likeness to be shown somewhere.
The team is building out a legal framework simplifying the whole process between parties. This is uncharted legal territory, especially at scale.
They plan to add more collections: Cryptopunks, Doodles, Gutter Gang, Moonbirds, and more. Each collection has unique terms, so they will need to work with each team to ensure the best interests of all parties.
Things are going to get interesting on the commercial licensing front, and I expect to see more Bored Apes and other NFTs popping up in marketing in the coming months/years. 👀
Resource #1:
Li Jin, Founding Partner at Variant Fund and previously a VC at Paradigm and a16z, made her creator economy course free.
Not only is this a great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about the creator economy or actively participating in it today (like me!), Li has been a content creator since the Xanga/LiveJournal days and continues to write. In short, she knows her stuff.
I just started Part 1, so I can’t endorse this as much as I’d like. I expect a ton of info nuggets though :)
Resource #2: An Illustrated Guide to Blockchain
A friend tagged me on a LinkedIn post he came across earlier today. The post shared a book about blockchain, but with lots of pictures and analogies.
Besides the fact that the book is 232 pages (sheesh), I love this for a few reasons:
Show > Tell. Visual aids help show concepts clearly. As you can tell, I incorporate this a lot in my writing 😉
Many of us are visual learners. Representing concepts and ideas visually helps to aid comprehension and retention, especially when it’s for new concepts.
Effective storytelling is aided with visuals. These weird but cute alien creatures are the primary characters and art style for the book. This provides a small but fun incentive to continue learning and reading.
Explaining complex concepts in approachable and comprehendible ways is key, especially as we get the next million/billion people to join us in Web3.
Resource #3: Proof’s Public Roadmap
I came across this tweet from Kevin Rose this morning:
I’ve written about Kevin Rose and Moonbirds before, and his tweet continues to show why Moonbirds is one of the top projects in the space.
Building in public has been a movement that is continuing to gain steam and humanizes the process. It’s great to see Kevin Rose doing the same. Some notes on my end:
It’s Kevin Rose. He’s is big in tech and VC circles. Anything he says/does, probably worth keeping an eye on.
KRO doesn’t give everything away. He respects the privacy of his team and also some of the items in the roadmap. Intentional or not, this is brilliant because it plays upon the fact that there is transparency…yet there’s still surprise.
I haven’t seen company roadmap recordings posted publicly on Youtube, in Web3 or Web2. This continues to make Proof stand out from the crowd.
He’s sincere about it. From the tweet to the video, you can tell this is real, not performative. And his audience recognizes and respects that.
It’s clear there’s a strong vision behind all this, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from KRo. Great example to set for other Web3/NFT leaders!
See you tomorrow. 🙃