Sacred Passage (of NFT Communities)
I am a member, and an observer, of NFT-membership communities — and I am excited about the potential of the technology (Blockchain), for meaningful change in the world.
As human beings, we seek to belong. We seek belonging so that we can relate. To know, and to be known.
And in that pursuit, NFT-communities (like OnChainMonkey) do the following for us:
- extend our participation globally, so we are not restricted to tribes that are only in our cities;
- curate the communities and create a price for participation, so that we are assured that members take participation seriously.
But — I believe there’s something missing…
Sacredness
NFT-communities are united on a common mission, with unique sets of values; and they have unique cultures that can powerfully shape behavior, relationships, and outcomes.
Much of these (cultural) expressions are frequently Tweeted, posted to Discord channels, and more.
What’s missing is ‘Sacredness’. This has to come after ‘signals’.
We have millions of ‘GM’s and ‘WAGMI’s to encourage early adopters and builders in Web3. And we have hundreds of tens of thousands of ‘!RISE’s… it stands for Respect, Integrity, Sustainability and Experimentation — the values of the OnChainMonkey community.
And they are all good. They provide ‘signals’ — that something extraordinary is happening. But while ‘signals’ get our attention, they don’t always hold it.
To build a deep and meaningful community — I believe that the next step is to transit to ‘sacredness’… the sacred experience of listening deeply to the stories of the founders and members. To take the letters behind a high-volume Tweet, and for each member to study the beauty in its creation story.
Rites of Passage
This requires NFT-communities to create ways for members to pause (from Twitter, Discord and Telegram frenzy), and to ‘dwell’. Perhaps through retreats, summits, forums… and this is where the magic of ‘real world events’ — or even just simply ‘slowed-down’ interactions — can make a huge difference in the building of communities.
And perhaps these could be rites of passage… so that true membership… true community is not simply ‘bought into’, or ‘joined with a simple click’ — but inducted through a rite of passage.
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