Let’s go back to late 2021, the height of the NFT craze.
Image source: Shenchao TechFlow
If you just bought and didn't sell, you might look back on that year like that Chihuahua with the memories running through your mind. Valuations for NFT collections have reached ridiculous levels, the community is clamoring for rare features, and new hot projects are launched every day. Almost all of these projects rely heavily on the concept of scarcity, with limited supplies – 5,000, 10,000 or more, good times.
As the industry moves through the NFT craze (although that craze still exists), we see various NFT-related token standards and minting methods emerging:
1155: Version number of the same NFT. The Doodles: Certified Viral collection is one example, with versions of each NFT running into the thousands.
Soulbound Token: A non-transferable token bound to a wallet address.
Infinite Casting Based on Time Limits: This method, popularized by several artists, introduces unique burning, casting, and other gamification mechanics.
ERC-6551: Token-bound accounts allow NFTs to hold other NFTs.
ERC-404: Allows standard non-fungible tokens to be converted into a certain number of fungible tokens.
Although the prices of many rare collections have dropped significantly, even to zero, I have observed two trends:
NFTs continue to have increasing levels of functionality.
NFTs are everywhere.
These two trends are obvious, but I want to focus on the second one. To represent this graphically, the situation is as follows:
Image source: Shenchao TechFlow
Try Excalidraw
Note that this does not mean that there will not be a limited supply of valuable items in the future, or that current items have no value.
Base, Rodeo, Zora
Over the past month or so, I've used and observed three application platforms that really make the theme of "infinite casting based on time limits" particularly compelling.
Base
Base recently shared their Onchain Summer event, which saw over 2 million unique wallets mint over 24 million on-chain assets, generating over $5 million in on-chain revenue for builders, creators, and projects.
The Onchain Summer highlight video in the post is also an NFT, with over 54,000 NFTs minted to date.
Image source: Shenchao TechFlow
Rodeo
This app, released about 3 months ago and developed by the Foundation team, reminds me of Instagram from a simpler time.
Image source: Shenchao TechFlow
Introduction to working principle:
Users can post their art, photos, or any content
Followers can mint these for a fixed price of 0.0001 Ethereum (approximately 25 cents) within 24 hours
The feed is populated based on the accounts you follow or the content they cast. In this case, the account you follow becomes a "KOL". In the screenshot above, coopahtroopa is the KOL.
Minting proceeds are split 50% between Rodeo and the creators
If minting is attributed to a KOL, minting proceeds are divided between the KOL, Rodeo, and the creator at 25%, 25%, and 50% each.
Rodeo is showing signs of slow but steady growth as it continues to add features. Notably, their public Dune dashboard is looking at retention and minting engagement.
Source: Dune
Zora
The Minting Platform has recently transformed into a discovery and social platform that goes beyond crypto users, introducing new features and mechanics:
Partnering with Uniswap to bring a streamlined secondary market experience into the app
Sparks(✧), a new Ethereum unit of measurement in the Zora ecosystem. 1 ✧ = 1 millionth of an ETH.
The flat minting price for all content is 0.000111 Ethereum or 111 ✧, which is approximately 25 cents. Previously, minting prices were set by the creator. However, there are some exceptions, the details of which are unclear.
Minting will remain open until there are 200 mints on the post. Once the 200 casting threshold is reached, a 24-hour timer begins. When the timer expires, the Uniswap-powered secondary market will open based on supply and demand.
Zora’s mobile app launched last week, offering a simpler casting experience as users purchase Sparks through the in-app. This enables a mobile experience that requires no switching, no pop-ups, cross-chains or fees.
Source: Zora
Casting enhances social interaction
Watch the evolution of Rodeo and Zora, emerging social media platforms that aim to solve the current pain points of mainstream social media.
The value of likes gradually decreases
Likes have become an emoji response in iOS text message threads, simply used to confirm that someone saw your post or information. There’s nothing wrong with that, but in terms of overall engagement, it’s the lowest value interaction signal outside of views. At least you know who saw and approved of your post.
Image source: Shenchao TechFlow
My wife sent me a text reply
And existing social media platforms are aware of this. Twitter values replies 27 times more than likes.
Commenting can be a privilege, not a right
Posts on most social platforms allow anyone to comment or reply, but in some cases, commenting is turned off. For example, Solana co-founder Anatoly only allows replies to his posts from accounts he follows or users he’s mentioned in.
Image source: Shenchao TechFlow
response to this matter
Rodeo and Zora solve these pain points and make them core features of their respective apps.
Casting is greater than likes
Source: Rodeo
The Like button was replaced by a Cast button. If you really like this content, you can create a win-win situation by minting it for as low as about 25 cents:
Creators receive financial compensation for their works
Collectors receive an NFT as a reward
The platform receives a portion of the minting revenue and does not have to rely on traditional advertising models
Comments are open to minters only
Anyone can comment on a piece of content if you cast it.
Source: Rodeo
In the context of these applications, this all makes sense. The goal of platforms like Rodeo is not to prevent creators from connecting with users, but to create more meaningful ways to connect through casting and limiting comment capabilities.
These behaviors exist on traditional social platforms
While I have my fair share of criticisms of this broken engagement model, the emotion, psychology, and intention behind the behavior that Rodeo and Zora built from scratch exist in different forms, proving that their approach works.
Tinder super like
In the world of dating (an industry I’m completely unfamiliar with right now), Tinder launched Super Likes a few years ago. Super Likes increase your chances of a match and automatically put you at the top of the match list.
These super favorites don't come cheap either, with 3 for $9.99.
Save content
Social platforms also allow you to save content and organize it. Saved content shows it's worth more and is worth revisiting at some point.
Future application scenarios
Moments in life
The examples I provide focus primarily on art, so they are easier to understand in terms of incentives for creators and collectors. Collecting art for as low as 25 cents each is a win-win. But what about those who aren’t great photographers or artists posting great work on Rodeo?
While they're in the minority, users like Privy's Max Segall are using Rodeo more like Instagram. These posts don't have dozens of mints, nor do they need to, or are they necessarily intended for that purpose.
Nor were they without mints. For example, this post from Max has two casts, one of which was cast by Alex in the photo. That's the point.
Source: Rodeo
Alex’s mint is probably worth more than 20 likes on other social platforms. Of course, if Max wants to get those likes, he can choose to post the photo across platforms.
important moments in life
An engagement, a wedding, a new job. These types of posts are filled with tons of likes and congratulatory messages, but due to the endless updates in the feed, they are forgotten after a few minutes.
Source: LinkedIn
While happy couples or posters appreciate these little dopamine surges and notifications lighting up, what if there was another way to congratulate creators? The minting post provides a way to do this and allows minters to show off their efforts with more care than the standard "Congratulations!!!" And casting 1 makes you feel a little stingy, why not cast 10 or 100...or cast 1 and just give it as a wedding gift, haha.
non-profit organization
This is a case that makes a lot of sense to me. What if every post made by the Red Cross could be mintable, and all minting proceeds (either the platform turned off the fee switch or their share was transferred later) went directly to them.
Image source: Shenchao TechFlow
People can still visit the website to make larger donations, but minting becomes a previously unavailable way to make micro-donations that gradually add up and become DTC (direct donations to charity).
What if you were an animal shelter? Post cute photos of dogs and cats and watch the micro-donations roll in. Who wouldn’t want to donate 25 cents and cast an adorable photo of a kitten or puppy?
MVF: Minimum Viable Financialization
As I write this article, the concept of financialization comes to mind. Blockchain drives financialization in an unprecedented way. Memes are already worth billions of dollars, we have prediction markets based on what presidential candidates say in speeches, and people are still speculating on JPEGs worth thousands of dollars.
However, financialization, and more specifically minimum viable financialization, can give meaning to certain digital interactions that are becoming increasingly meaningless.
Maybe the way forward is not friend.tech but SocialFi with a lower case f through platforms like Rodeo and Zora.
[Disclaimer] There are risks in the market, so investment needs to be cautious. This article does not constitute investment advice, and users should consider whether any opinions, views or conclusions contained in this article are appropriate for their particular circumstances. Invest accordingly and do so at your own risk.
This article is reproduced with permission from: "Deep Wave TechFlow"
Original author: TPan