Humans love to collect things, especially pieces of media. In the not-so-distant past, peoples’ record collections or physical art prints were more than just handy ways to experience the work of their favorite creators. They were pieces of the collector’s identity, a physical manifestation of the things they were passionate about. In the digital era, this mentality has largely been lost. While many still collect vinyl records or art books, these collections exist despite the cultural zeitgeist rather than as a part of it. After all, it is far cheaper and more practical to stream your music and look at images on Google, especially when buying media has no practical benefit. However, something fundamental was lost in the process.

NFTs represent a return to form in many ways. By creating digital scarcity, they give a purpose to art collecting that people have been missing. NFTs have created digital spaces in which artists and collectors can come together for mutual exchanges of ideas and assets. Any creator can find their audience and build communities together. On a micro scale, this is wonderful for people with niche interests who now have ways of finding like-minded fans and creators. On a macro scale, these communities have come together into a nebulous, far-reaching NFT culture with commonalities among different groups. As NFTs have gained popularity, fascinating trends have emerged.

k3y0 #8 - Fantastic collectible series from @Keyoveride

Connection yields success

Because NFT communities are, at their core, decentralized experiments in culture building, creators and audiences must directly connect in order to find success and build their community through Twitter, Discord, or on NFT exchanges. Gone are the days when you had to go through the middlemen of record labels and stores to buy work from your favorite band. This is a small price to pay considering the depth of the connections involved and the lack of other entities who need a piece of the financial pie.

Why should a fan pay for an NFT of an album when they can stream it for free? For one, they can support the artist they love, knowing that every dime they spend goes directly into the right pocket. Secondly, artists are free to offer bonus features and content not available elsewhere. These can include anything from in-studio footage to bonus tracks to early demos, all of which are not only fun for the fan but also serve to tighten the bonds that exist within the NFT community. They also provide a vehicle for audiences to invest financially in an artist they believe in. If the community continues to grow, that NFT will increase in value.

Audio NFTs are blooming on enter.audio, with artists from across the globe representing all kinds of genres. Featured tracks:
Music for MyOwnVerse Galleries Vol.1, Code Therapy - Scape From Reality & Wait For Me - Nadine

Community incentives

If a feeling of inclusivity and like-minded companionship isn’t enough for audiences, NFT culture offers creators the opportunity to incentivize community participation. By being active in a community, users have the earliest access to new NFTs which are scarce, limited edition, or have enormous potential for value growth. For instance, creators can utilize revolving NFT drops which allow only current users access. Whether users are active in a specific NFT community or active in NFT culture as a whole, they still have an opportunity to be in the right place for these drops.

Take the Cryptopunks project, for example. Cryptopunks was launched in June of 2017 by a two-person team working out of Canada. When they were first released, they were essentially free. 10,000 unique Cryptopunks were randomly generated and given to anyone who had an Ethereum wallet. All anyone had to pay were the “gas fees” involved in the transfer process. Once they ran out of NFTs, users began reselling them for small amounts. One in particular, Cryptopunk 1422, was purchased for $74 and resold four years later for a whopping $2 million. The trick was, the person who originally bought the NFT had to know to buy it when they did.

Anyone wishing to profit immensely off NFTs has to be a part of NFT culture. Otherwise, they’ll never know where hype resides and where potential investments can be found early enough to acquire cheaply. As a result, millions of people keep their eye on the NFT world while simultaneously interacting with each other, learning more about blockchain technology, and exploring new creators and interests. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Those with a keen eye in the enter community might get a chance to pick up on high-demand collectibles...
It's Meh - The Fisherman - Liquidity Donation, F.A Liquidity Donation + Burn $NFTART, Lazy Cat X Liquidity Donation

Community Lingo

The evolution of language is a key component of emergent cultures. Every generation develops new words and phrases that leave elders scratching their heads. NFT culture is no exception. Since the NFT world is online, many of these phrases are acronyms or digital references. These unique phrases create a sense of camaraderie and community spirit. There are hundreds of these phrases, but let’s explore a few popular examples.

GM / GN - Good morning / Good night

WAGMI – We’re all gonna make it. A ‘we’re all in this together’ sentiment which builds camaraderie.

LFG – Let’s f*cking Go! A general hype phrase used to express enthusiasm for a project.

Floor price – The minimum price people will part with NFTs for. Users tend to try and agree on one.

Gas wars – when there’s more demand for a project than the blockchain can process per block/time.

NFA – Not financial advice. A joking attempt to prevent getting sued for advising a bad trade. It usually follows financial advice.

Wen moon – When will this NFT/cryptocurrency reach the moon (an insanely high target price)? It’s usually misspelled as a self-deprecating joke about how risky and foolish an investment is.

Express yourself

The idea of ‘culture’ seems nebulous and monolithic, but the reality is that culture exists as an accumulation of the self-expressions of countless people. Anyone taking part in an NFT community has the opportunity to both self-express and contribute to a larger cultural identity.

While lots of NFTs are videos or music files, the culture was born largely out of visual art. Many NFTs can be used as profile pictures or avatars in a given virtual space, allowing users to imprint a piece of their own personality on their community and be recognized by their collectible image. As metaverse spaces like Decentraland continue to grow and develop, users will have new virtual spaces to display their NFTs, much like a real-life art gallery. Even Facebook is jumping on this train.

In the enter communities, you can get together with tons of NFT and crypto enthusiasts in the emerging NFT scene of BSC. Join the fun on Discord, Facebook, Telegram, Twitch, Instagram, Reddit & Twitter!