NFTs are the key to turning passive fandom into an active community

by · November 8, 2022

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) give Web3 communities the tools to transform user participation.

The web3 world has seen NFTs grow up. These digital assets have evolved from hype-centric digital art collections to utility-focused tools that are building the next generation of the Internet.

One of the most important tools of NFTs is that they are increasingly used as the key to the community of the future – both digital and physical. This also applies to existing communities, be it fan clubs in sports and music or older brands.

These incentivized digital assets can take passive fandoms and turn them into active communities, where members own and delegate activity in a vibrant ecosystem.

The InBetweeners project falls somewhere in the middle of this Web3-born phenomenon. It combines the digital art of artist GianPiero, who designed Justin Bieber’s iconic Drewhouse clothing line, and serves as a key to real hype events like a VIP party at the Coachella music festival.

Fans of the artist and big name figures involved in the project are now exposed to a new cosmos created through the NFTs, as is the case with many other similar projects in the space.

Cointelegraph spoke with the co-founder and community manager of inBetweeners, Ogden and Miana Lauren, about community building through NFTs and the purpose it brings to fans.

Related: NFTs will be ‘as disruptive’ as Bitcoin was 10 years ago – Kraken CEO

Ogden commented that Miana started out as a fan of the collection and, through the engagement made possible via NFTs, was able to take that fandom to another level. “We trusted her blindly because we saw how passionate she was,” he said.

The InBetweeners co-founder said most of their team and partnerships came from the Discord channel.

“It’s a collective, but in the beginning it was just a bunch of us sitting around a table. Now there are people all over the world.”

Miana said starting out as an owner and fan of the project has enriched her current role as part of the core team. Starting from the community, she said it’s easier to understand the core needs of the fan as a community leader.

“We can really play to their needs and wants, and really everyone aligns in those decisions.”

NFTs are often the gateway for many newbies to participate in the Web3 space, as are other avenues such as games to earn blockchain games. However, as Miana highlighted, it’s all a big learning curve at the moment, especially for first-time owners in the space.

“Once we get over that hump, we can actually see how effective these web tree solutions are and how everyone will be able to integrate all these solutions into their everyday lives.”

This is already the case in many major industries around the world, such as the music industry which is increasingly using NFTs to transform audiences into communities.