Friends with BeNFTs: Ben Mezrich’s web3 Journey
Happy Sunday! I’m really excited to offer a sneak peak to Ben Mezrich’s latest work around the web3 space and how anybody can get involved through his NFT project.
The Profile Basics
Project Name:
Ben Mezrich’s NFT Project (BeNFTs)
Industry:
web3 - NFT Communities
Floor Price:
0.08 ETH
Break It Down for Me
The Problem:
Creators lack a digital-first mechanism to uniquely and authentically engage with fans and communities, which can also simultaneously reward those early members.
The Solution:
Through NFTs, creators can more actively engage with the community through tiered access levels, reward early supporters with liquid NFTs and additional perks, and maintain the ownership rights to their work while crowdsourcing funding for projects. Ben Mezrich’s NFT Project does just this for the author’s vibrant community.
Core Users:
Fans and supporters of Ben Mezrich
Walk Me Through It:
To set the stage for this NFT project, let’s first learn a little about Ben Mezrich’s background.
Mezrich has authored multiple New York Times best sellers, two of which have been made into the movies 21 and The Social Network. He’s also a writer and consulting producer for the tv show Billions.
Ben’s writing genre is focused on the true stories of young geniuses battling their way through the grey area between right and wrong, succeeding at all costs.
For this NFT project, there are actually three NFT drops throughout the year in line with three of Ben’s favorite books.
Each NFT has its own traits with varying degrees of rarity, randomly determined at the time of mint.
NFT Drop #1: GME Meme Stock
A 6000 piece collection providing Level 1 access which entails: access to a private discord channel and monthly Q&A sessions with Ben, online poker matches with the community, bonus newsletter content, and limited edition merchandise
NFT Drop #2: Bitcoin Billionaires
Free and exclusively for holders of the first NFT. This one provides additional opportunities for 1 on 1 writing/coaching sessions, future book launch parties, and even live Vegas Blackjack events with Ben
NFT Drop #3: Bringing Down the House
Adding this NFT to the collection provides eligibility for the coveted screenplay token
If the whole set is collected, that wallet has access to a “screenplay token” which gives holders prorated rights to 50% of any revenue from a monetization of the screenplay Ben expects to develop around the NFT/web3 space.
The NFT can be found on the secondary market at
OpenSea
.
Show Me the Money
Currently:
Monetization for this project has three parts to it: 1) The NFT collection profits, 2) the NFT resale value, and 3) the “screenplay token” revenue.
The NFT collection revenue comes from the sale of each NFT in a collection. The profits go toward bootstrapping the web3 research and development of Ben’s next book, as well as rewarding artists and early team members. The secondary markets are available for resale if the NFT holders prefer liquidity at any point. Finally, the screenplay token provides prorated rights to screenplay revenue to the holder (more details above).
Be Wary
Where to be wary for BeNFTs:
My main hesitation is the viability for this approach to become the de facto community building route for new authors, or more broadly, for creators.
In the case of Ben, he already created a world-renowned presence and built an international community around his work prior to launching this NFT campaign. So, will the reputation need to first be built elsewhere or will NFTs offer the opportunity to build intimate, authentic communities from the beginning?
Now Get Excited
I’m fascinated by the developing use cases for NFTs, specifically when bridging the digital realm for tangible rewards. The Ben Mezrich NFT Project is beautifully architected, and even provides budding authors with a blueprint for their own work and communities.
In a sense, this NFT collection creates a loyalty program for the brand Ben has created, while also doubling as a liquid, digital asset. By doubling as both, the NFT membership is a path for Ben to engage with his most loyal and active fans, while they share in the upside of his personal brand and work (or exit for cash on the secondary market if they don’t agree with the direction of the work or community).
Beyond monetary upside, there’s a discord channel exclusive to NFT holders called “story-line suggestions” where Ben actively engages with the community to learn more about their web3 journeys or source wild stories from the space for inspiration. For Ben, the research instead flows inbound for the project as opposed to tediously working for leads. Community members will also happily divulge tales for the possibility of contributing to his next work (it’s really cool to see your story told in a New York Times bestseller or Hollywood film).
This sense of ownership in the work wouldn’t be possible through the traditional forms of community engagement – social media and book tours. If successful, this project could change the way books are written and films are produced. But the real bragging rights for NFT holders comes from being on the ground floor, contributing content in real-time to pull together the screenplay, and joining a 24/7 community of like-minded fans.
To end, I’ll leave you with a new meme phrase coined within the community - no lambos, only benz.
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Thanks for reading and see you next Sunday.
- Nico
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