Like, recast, and drop your favorite pfp(s) in the comments for a chance to win a copy of 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 📙!

Then read on to learn why @nftbark's and my NFT business framework helps explain the success of the pfp model. 👇👀

📙Coauthor of The Everything Token. ✍️Coauthored first Harvard Business Review article about NFTs. 🌈Community Strategist for Doodles.

@a16zcrypto • Harvard/HBS • 🧩 • QED

NFT-based brand building starts with 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 of digital assets as a way to give people a stake in the brand, and supplements that ownership with 𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 as a way of reinforcing the sense of value people get from affiliating with the brand through the asset.

A big part of the payoff of that, from the business's perspective, is that it drives holders to integrate the brand into their personal 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆, especially as manifested in digital space.

Fashion is a core part of the way people express their identities. And pfps are a form of virtual fashion particularly optimized to speedrun the identity- and community-formation steps.

They give the owner a way to imagine themselves as a character reflecting their own personal aesthetics and aspirations (hacker extraordinaire? chill panda? @farcats?).

Moreover, because pfp images themselves are optimized for use as social media profile pictures, they make it easy to identify other people with similar affinities.

FarCats

(If you're the type of person who self-identifies with the the @farcats aesthetic, how could you not want to be friends with other people who are drawn to the same – and join in the /farcats conversation?)

And when it comes to outsiders considering joining in NFT community for the first time, the pfp provides a simple proxy that people can use to intuit which communities are likely to share their interests.

(For example, SupDucks -> cool/chill; Forgotten Runes -> wizard gamers; Azuki -> anime/streetwear; 1337 Skulls -> old-school Internet remix culture.)

The pfp is only the start of the story, of course – but when done right, it can provide a powerful foundation to build a brand on top of, QED.

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If you made it all the way to the bottom, thanks so much for reading! 

Please don't forget to enter the giveaway; entries close Friday, 1/12 at noon EST. And reminder: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 📙 is on (pre)sale now at all the usual places.

I couldn't figure out a tech-savvy way to randomize among entries, but I came up with an analog solution, and it looks like @wwill (alphabetically fifth among the entrants) is the winner!! https://warpcast.com/ayushm.eth/0x0cad624c

https://warpcast.com/skominers/0x2cbf5974

In the best-case scenario, individual identity extends into 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 identification – people who own a given NFT come to think of themselves as similar to and connected with other holders of that NFT, and potentially even work with them to drive the brand forward.