Stadium Gates Issue #11
NFT.NYC and the Hunt for Utility
TL;DR
And Away, We, Go!
Sunday — AA for Beginners
Monday — Badge Pickup x OnePass
Tuesday — Wrecked x Biggie
Wednesday — Parties x Utility
Thursday — FWB x Madonna
Friday — Roe v. Wade
Saturday — back in Miami (shhhh)
And Away, We, Go!
I love ‘Billy on the Street’ and, as this is a NY based issue, we’ll kick off with “And Away, We, Go!” in his honor (he’s alive and well. I just want to write ‘in his honor’, because it sounds fun).
Billy Eichner is disruptive in and around the city with his unscripted show, and that was pretty much my plan for NFT.NYC. He is always in search of comedy gold, and I was on the hunt for NFT “utility”. We’ve entered a bear market in spectacular fashion with craters appearing from below as the contagion spread. Terra, 3AC, and BlockFi are all being propped up, BTC dropped below 18k, and ETH swung low into three digits. Whap! Surely, NFT.NYC would be somber AF, right? It was time to find out, so we packed our bags and headed to the MIA airport for our flight to NYC on Father’s Day. “And away, we, go!”
AA for Beginners
the trip started out with the best possible example of how an NFT ticket could have solved a lot of problems.
American Airlines out of Miami isn’t to be trifled with during the summer, especially on Father’s Day. In short, we confirmed our flights and tickets with an agent on the phone the night before (ticket numbers and all). We parked in the Dolphin parking lot at 8am, rolled up to the counter, and, of course, we were informed that we did NOT have seats, nor tickets, nor a flight. We had a confirmation number for the booking and a charge to our account but did not possess tickets from MIA > LGA on AA, because the agent had edited our original outbound reservation to book our return flights, instead of creating a new ticket for return flights. I have never had this experience. It was Father’s Day in the airport, and outbound flights were available for 8pm (Great!), BUT that flight was sold out (Drats!), so, sooooo, so we shrugged it off and bounced up to Orlando. JetBlue had a plane with seats, and we agreed to pay some money to sit in those seats while we all flew to LGA. Day one was 16 hours from Miami to NYC, because our tickets were rugged. In a weird way, I appreciate that pain, because the trip started out with the best possible example of how an NFT ticket could have solved a lot of problems.
Monday: Badge Pickup & OnePass
Two days prior, OneOf.com dropped our OnePass, which is the next iteration of our access token and is packed with utility. The question I think about all the time with NFTs: What does it do? This is a fundamentals question regarding value. WTF does it do???? What value does it provide to me? What problem will it solve if I’m going to buy it? Digital art and collectibles have value, and all art forms are really indirect communities for the holders. NFTs, however, have jumped beyond the confines of IRL social prestige of art collectors and are able to provide direct community and direct utility, not simply prestige. With the OnePass, we are working to provide direct utility via unique digital art, and I had settled in NY for the week to seek more utility from NFTs.
NFT.NYC access is approximately $800 USD, depending upon timing or tier of access chosen. The passes are printed on pieces of paper, secured with a typical branded lanyard, and displayed within a plastic pass holder. If there was ever a missed opportunity, it was NFT.NYC not using, wait for it… NFTs in NYC. The $800 fee added zero value beyond access to the event. It would have been so f’ing easy to add in thousands of dollars of value for the 15,000 attendees, even if it were just providing airdrops from emerging artists, or exclusive access to an auction on the artists’ behalf. Whiffed. If you’re in the events or retail business, use this as an example of what not to do these days. NFTs are available.
Tuesday: Wrecked x Biggie Announcement
Day #1 may have gotten off to a slow start for some, because Day #0 parties did get off to a quick start. As a first-timer to NFT.NYC, I was super keen to attend the panels and presentations, but I quickly learned that the real business was being conducted after hours at the satellite events, dinners, and parties.
One block away we found many a SBT recovering from the night prior.
I spent Tuesday bouncing between the Marriot and the Palladium a block south. The format was a challenge, I’ll admit, as 25-minute panels require at least 5-8 minutes of introductions for the panelists and two to three minutes to introduce the content or the premise of the panel. The format leaves only 10-15 minutes of discussion about the topic, which is two or three questions at best. There was a general lack of depth available for the audience with this format, and the event itself started to appear pretty disappointing pretty quickly as Tuesday dragged on.
The highlight Tuesday was the OneOf.com announcement of our collaboration with the Biggie Smalls estate to release the first official Biggie NFT collection, THE SKY’S THE LIMIT.
The Sandbox put on a show Tuesday (and Wednesday) evening(s).
Tuesday’s biggest surprise came from The Sandbox and their Gotham Hall location. I’m a fan of what they are doing in general. If we take the fundamentals back to utility, The Sandbox has a plan to create value, and it’s f’ing baller. The way to build environments is to increase value for users with the time they have invested, and gaming and ownership fits perfectly within that integrated relationship. If I had an award to give for most effective brand activation among all the branding events during the week, The Sandbox would win by a landslide.
Wednesday: Community and Relationships
Wednesday was THE day for NFT.NYC. We hosted two different events, including at Freehold Union Square. Zoom and Google Meetup video calls allow us all to WFH, but IRL meeting is a really nice alternative to our virtual selves these days. Our Freehold event was a great opportunity to shake hands and connect the dots between many connections and friends whom we’ve only met through avatars, PFPs, or video screens. Almost nobody was at the actual event on Wednesday. There were far too many opportunities to meet in person to attend the panels.
Here is an actual pic I snapped during a Wednesday talk…there wasn’t a big turnout for presentations with the all the IRL events around the city.
The JP Effect
Good things can come to the curious, and I was rewarded in this big empty room by having the opportunity to hear about the JP Effect from King Saladeen and his inspiring story. I can’t do it justice and invite you to follow and join his Discord, as well as to check out his bio and the website of this artist and inspiration. Much Love.
https://twitter.com/Kingsaladeenart
https://www.kingsaladeen.com/foundation
The Shrimp Society
Wednesday evening I hustled over to The Otheroom and met up with The Shrimp Society members. I am the least valuable member of this group by a long, long, mile, but the members always remember my name and greet me warmly as a holder. I’m super inspired by their relationships and appreciate that they are able to execute the best of Web3 ideals. I chatted up one of the members who had developed a project that had just been acquired by Niantic (of Pokemon Go fame), and another member demonstrated his AI Avatar builder right in the middle of the bar. Plus, TWO DRINK TICKETS! I’ve added no value to this group, but they were kind enough to airdrop two tickets in my hand as a Shrimp holder. I’m really proud of these builders and am always happy to give them kudos and exposure.
Find them here: https://theshrimpsociety.com/
Join the builders, pick up their NFT on Magic Eden here
Here’s my Shrimp flag flying high — I’ll never sell.
FWB.help & Madonna x WoW
Thursday night was a huge effort. Never hold your events on the final evening, please. There were three big events the same evening, and I attempted to attend two out of pure greed and overconfidence. Note: there was zero chance I has heading to Ape Fest on Thursday. I’d have considered it Tuesday, but Thursday was for the professionals.
Friends with Benefits event:
I’m a full member of FWB, but this fell pretty flat for me, honestly. Unlike The Shrimp Society, it was a cash bar, and the scene was pretty tough to network (basement bar/performance venue). I met a few great people, grabbed a $RARI Dad Cap and bounced to WoW. I’m happy I was able to attend, but I feel we’re missing out on creating an expansive brand with FWB. Honestly, I didn’t feel very welcomed, nor did it succeed in furthering a mission to influence culture. FWB is going to need to do more to create actual utility for members. It fell short, though I was rooting for its success.
Roe v. Wade (Prior Evening)
The World of Women x Madonna event was packed into the streets, and I couldn’t get in despite a confirmed invite and RSVP. I completely understand, because it was a beautiful sight, and I was there as a tourist to learn. The attendees were living, and I was wrecked and in the way. I snapped a few pics and smiled as I left the scene. It was satisfying that so many people had come together to be exceptionally happy and celebrate.
WoW x Madonna
I jumped in a cab to Penn Station to take the 1 down to FiDi. I was really quite fatigued and was enjoying sitting down for a bit and feeling good about the scene at the Madonna venue. It was an IRL x Web3 collaboration that really worked, and people were having a ball. Utility had been found.
As the father of a nearly two-year-old daughter, I seek out these types of events for inspiration about how I might guide her toward safe spaces with happy people. She’ll be two within days, and she’s living in a world of extremes between love and the societal risks to her wellbeing and freedoms. The thing that sticks with me about the cab ride was how content and safe the world felt that night just hours before it would all be shaken apart with the ruling by the Supreme Court.
Though I was unable to enter the venue, I benefitted simply from having had the experience. The WoW project and others like them are more important today than ever before. I encourage those who find these projects interesting to jump into the communities and help them build. Here is a short list:
The World of Women: https://opensea.io/collection/world-of-women-nft
Meta Angels: https://opensea.io/collection/metaangelsnft
Alpha Girl Club: https://opensea.io/collection/alphagirlclub
Boss Beauties: https://opensea.io/collection/bossbeauties
Boss Beauties Rolling Stone Collab
Thank you for reading.
I’m looking forward to the unknown and ambitious.