We've seen it all happen right before our eyes. Countless NFT projects popping up out of nowhere and selling out within mere minutes. Suffice to say, the NFT market is really hot right now. So hot that everything goes.
All you need is some basic artwork that you can get done by hiring a seasoned artist, a quick one-page website, a smart contract - and viola, your NFT project is up and running? Throw in a marketing mix that gets your discord going, and you're bound to sell out in minutes.
But, once the selling stops, what are we holding? Once the artwork is all out, what do the holders get? Sure, your apes and penguins may look super cute - but, what about it? Cuteness can only go so far.
Here is the truth that no one is talking about. Most projects right now are trying their best to replicate the success of the Punks and the BAYC/MAYC. And, the buyers of these projects are in it for the same wrong reasons. They're minting out NFTs with the sole aim of 'getting rich' from it as soon as possible.
But, unless a project has some real utility and sustenance, and a community that truly connects, it has no value beyond vanity. Yes, we can buy a BAYC for $500,000 today - but, does that give us something of value that we absolutely cannot get anywhere?
The Wrong Community, The Wrong Purpose
It's not uncommon to enter an NFT project and see it's discord filled out by tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of members. Now, that is a great community size isn't it? Well, it really depends.
If a community is filled with everyone who is in it just to 'sell and get rich quick', then is that even a community? That is just a completely wrong purpose to be in a community. Imagine a server on Discord for an NFT project with 200,000 members, all of whom (including the owners) just want to make money and couldn't care less about anything else.
Now, that is the right 'community' with a 'wrong' purpose. If the sole aim of the community is to 'flip' then you have to stop yourself and ask, who is the intended end buyer of the NFT art? What is that person like? Why would they want to buy this NFT? And, most importantly, why aren't such people in the community?
A Roadmap to Nowhere
Pull up a random NFT project, and you'd see they would have a typical one-pager website. Now, if the project has some possibility of making it beyond the 'public sale', then their roadmap would have a realistic outline of what they are looking to achieve.
Unfortunately, this is as rare as it gets. A typical roadmap has fancy words like 'charity' and 'merch'. But, how does that help the holders really?
I mean, how hard is it to run a quick math on this. You have 10,000 units sold at 0.08 ETH on average netting the creator 800 ETH. Of that, the owner shows off that they'll do merch and branded items, that will in turn again get them richer. And from that, they'll give away an ETH or two to charity? Umm ... okay!
The one thing that these projects lack, and this is solely due to the fact that they are money-driven rather than purpose driven, is the lack of a community, niche and goal.
You have 200,000 people who are hungry to 'mint' the next ape, or the next bear - and that is fine. But, what do these people in these communities even have in common? Nothing! Well, except for the fact that they all are there to dump the NFT for higher prices on the first chance that they get.
Introducing The Utopia Club
Let's talk about a project that is going against the general consensus when it comes to NFTs. A project which is not about quick-sell-outs and '250,000' discord members.
We're talking about The Utopia Club. An NFT community-driven project celebrating music and dance. It's for the people who love music, dance and entertainment.
In their own words, music is all around us, and connects us beyond all the borders and barriers. It's the one thing that we can all, despite our cultures and ethnicities, vibe to and feel good to.
This project has been silently gathering a lot of interest. No, they don't (yet) have a million followers on Twitter. And, that may be a good thing. Remember, it's much better to have a few followers that truly believe in your project and want to be the 'end-user', than to have 10,000 people who buy out your project and are all now all of a sudden looking to offload the NFT for a profit.
Let's analyze what the Utopia Club is all about in as much detail as possible.
The Utopians and the Purpose-Driven Community
Think of a typical NFT discord server. You have the same old channels about information, details, FAQs, general chats, language chats, community topic chats. And, the same format is slapped on literally every NFT discord server out there.
Now, if you stopped to think of why these people are all in these channels - well, you'll quickly realize a saddening fact. That this is not a community. It's a group of people all in it, to make a quick buck.
With Utopia - things go in a surprising different direction. Since, this is just not another 'cute' animal project, and rather based on something fundamental like music and dance, you now have a community that thrives. People who jump into channels based off of music genres, or music compositions, and dance collaborations. You now have people who truly want to connect with each other. It's not just about 'flip fast, earn fast'. It's about something more human.
Now, this is a community. A community with a purpose. A musician can collaborate with a producer. A DJ can mash up the perfect music for a dance duo. People can find partners, form bands, collaborate on something bigger than themselves. It's not just about 'let's mint, let's sell'. That culture really doesn't last because everyone is in it for a wrong reason.
Instead, it's about collaboration. It's about expression. And it's about creativity. On their website, it says, whether you're a bedroom beatmaker, a bathroom singer, a professional artist, a disco dancer - there is something that gives you immense pleasure - and now, you have a community to share it with.
Now, here is a project that has hope beyond the public sale day. You aren't minting bulls or skeletons or bears - you are minting an expression of yourself. And, the community isn't about get-rich-quick schemes, it's about collaboration and creativity.
A Believable Journey to Utopia
Now, let's talk about roadmap and milestones. And no, it's not 'merch' and 'branded items' and 'charity'. Those buzzwords hold no value after the public sale is done. No one cares that a random project $10,000 to a charity because the public sees through it.
With Utopia, the journey is a bit more different. Given that the foundation of the project is based on something more real and human, the roadmap as you can imagine has a more realistic utility.
Without going into too much detail, as you can explore a full roadmap on their site, here is what I can make of their roadmap.
First, they plan on starting up a radio station that is managed by the holders. A way for the holders to share their music, their beats, or just even a song that they hold close to their hearts.
Next, they will come up with a wall-of-fame, a members-only section on their website, where each holder gets a space on a wall to put up anything they feel like. It could be artwork, link to a song, a beat, or just something that they collaborated on as a community.
Next, and this is where it gets fun, they mention that at every collection that sells out, they will hand-pick 5 random winners who will be given all the help with getting real life fame. This means, for musicians, producers, dancers, singers, artists - a possible record deal, help with PR and interviews, help with advertising, help with verification of their socials and much more. Now, this is a far better 'giveaway' that 'merch' in my opinion.
Next, and this is my favorite, they plan on purchasing land in the metaverse and building out a full-blown 80's styled retro club. A place where people can meet, chill-out, dance, sing, perform and so much more. If done right, this can be THE place to be in the metaverse. A place to collaborate with fellow artists, a place to exchange ideas and more importantly, a place to let loose and just have some fun.
Imagine a place where you could go out on a Friday night in the metaverse, looking all fancy and chic, and just have a wonderful time?
Art with a Purpose
Imagine this for a moment. What if you had all the fancy clothes in the world, but you never went out? What good would those clothes be? What if you had an amazing collection of wonderful cars, but, you never went out - what good would that collection be?
It's always important to understand the end-user purpose. Sure, a penguin may look cute and cuddly, but, what's its purpose? Is it just vanity? Yes, that ape skeleton may look funky - but, what's the purpose of it at the end of the day?
With Utopia, again, this is where things go a different way. The idea is about music, dance, collaboration, creative freedom - so, the art is purpose based. You have 10,000 NFTs of retro-and-funk characters, all dressed out and looking fancy.
Now, this is an expression. It's a way for you to show people what your vibe is about. It's not about boredom or space, it's not about aliens and cats - it's something more human. It's about how you dress out for a fun weekend night.
And, add to the fact, that this is how you'd look in the Utopia Club within the metaverse, the utility is as real as it gets.
Conclusion
To wrap it up, we live in extraordinary times. And, we are amidst a technological revolution. Like with all other technological waves that disrupt us as a society, the world of NFT and metaverse, will do the same. Most projects will not hold any realistic value when all the hype is over, but a few will prevail.
We would never know which ones would make it, but a great place to start would be to look out for projects that are not aiming for vanity. Ones that have a community with a soul and a purpose. And ones, who have roadmaps that give actual real utility. Not just some 'yacht party' or 'merch'. We can never say for sure which ones are going to deliver what they promise, but projects like Utopia always seem to catch our interest.
