IRL NFT BURNOUT:
NFT NYC 2021, was a wild ride. The parties, the galleries, the breakfasts, lunches and dinners; it seems there was not a moment where one could escape the ever-present presence of others, usually unmasked. However, for the fresh faced individual and teams who had freshly entered the NFT space, and/or this event was a game changer, and life changer. HYPE. This is the time of 2021 where I remember HYPE became a “buzz-word.” Not one day, not even one hour would go by without a mention of NFT NYC and all the events and “Hype” around the parties, the places, the people.
And then…COVID hit the majority of attendees. Personally I thought this would derail the fast approaching NFT’s entering Art Basel on a larger scale then ever before. However, I was wrong, very wrong. The attendees were Hyped to attend, almost as much as New York. And yet, now one day away from NFT LA, I have barely seen any marketing, excited discussions, or “hype” over the event. I keep asking myself, why?
The Threat Of Stolen Intellectual Property?
In the home of Media, In the United States, Hollywood, the land of milk and honey, where did the hype train stop and why? Could it be because the teams have already been formed by the prior two major events? No, that does not make logical sense, since NFT NYC in June is already being spoken of, immensely. Could it be that Covid actually has people afraid this time? Again, I do not think this to be an accurate assumption, due to the prior correlating sentence/sentiment.
Through my subjective Point of View, I think people may not be excited by the timing of NFT LA, it has allowed for nearly no month to go by without traveling to a new destination to network, to meet others to become exhausted at the portrayal of Hype that so many individuals wear at these IRL events. Perhaps, it may boil down to the Web 3 communities standoff culture towards over Prive, “Hollywood Magic.” As if by attending they are succumbing to ‘the powers that be’ in which they worked so hard to get away from. NFT’s and the Web 3 Movement has and have been about, enabling creative control, Intellectual Property ownership, Distribution and Licensing control. The way the sponsorship packets are set up at NFT LA and the price of tickets alone, the “payola” game is in full effect. Perhaps it may be the biggest turn off to the true NFT creators and collectors.
The definition of NFT LA: Elitism?
When tickets are in the thousands to attend a NFT conference, it turns off those larger projects who are economically sound, and the smaller projects that can’t afford the cost of attendance. This leaves a very small demographic for attendance and insults the local creators who have contributed and built up their area , which in turn defined what that area means to the NFT community. Furthermore, it insults the integrity and soul of the international NFT community and is giving everyone globally a shot of hierarchy alcohol at it’s finest.
Although there are slated events that are affordable, like the patio and the live performances that they are putting on, for the most part, the speakers, the topics, and even the schedule is so elite it isn’t public. This creates more division in an area and community that needs unity and cohesion more than ever in history.
Those who attend the blockchain summit, which is the largest blockchain event in the world, know comparatively that the prices are absorbingly higher for quality that we do not yet know the value of.