Jabes Twitter Musings - May 12th
From Screen Names to Avatars to NFTs as Identity
It appears crypto is having its breakout moment and starting to go mainstream. Coinbase sits atop the app store, NBA Top Shot onboarded close to 1 million users, and SNL was hosted by a part-time crypto memelord.
Despite this push, we haven’t heard much from the consumer tech giants of today. They appear to be sitting back and waiting for this thing to play out more. But If you were a betting woman, which tech company would you pick to nail this whole crypto thing?
I would push my chips in on Snap. And together we are going to explore why. We will start with this tweet about NFTs and eventually find our way through the idea maze to arrive at Snapchat.
Let’s begin with usernames. Usernames are one of the most native internet things out there. I’m certain everyone reading this email tried their hands at a few AIM screen names back in the day like SkaterPunk99 or HorseGirl13 or PopTartFan123.
I myself made JMan4190 in the second grade after copying my best friend Trent Hamilton aka THam1205. We even used our birthdays as the numbers because we were so original.
Your AIM screen name became part of your online identity.
Fast forward 25 years and almost every online platform still requires you to create a string of letters as a username. Mr. Nick’s tweet shames these types of usernames as boring in today's internet world which has matured quite a bit since AOL.
In a crypto internet world, he argues, you can use things like NFTs as the new AIM screen name.
The same way you might hint that you were a skater, horseback rider or poptart fan with your AIM screen name, you can now show off your identity by flexing NFT art.
As part of the Twitter thread he says,
“Owning a Onename ID with no liquidity is less exciting than owning a well dressed 3D elephant that trades for $100k in ETH on @opensea”
I mean...think about it!? That would be pretty badass.
And it doesn’t need to be a money flex like that. It can be about signaling that you belong to a community. There has been a trend towards using NFT characters like Cryptopunks and Meetbits as Twitter profile images.
But why would people want to show off NFT characters? For what purpose? Well, what if the internet was just one big game?
Before you roll your eyes, hear me out. Packy McCormick recently wrote an amazing post about how the internet is The Great Online Game. I couldn’t agree more.
I am a firm believer that when you are looking down at your phone or laptop screen, you are in a different universe. You can’t be here and there at the same time. It’s impossible.
Has anyone ever asked you something but you were looking at your phone and it didn’t register? That’s because you were lost in this world while actively participating in the internet game.
And if you buy into this idea that the internet is just one big game, then the one thing we likely will need in this game is avatars. Let me see a show of hands for those that have read or watched Ready Player One!?
As we move online more and more, avatars will be at the forefront of our virtual lives. This will likely be how we express ourselves.
We can already see this self-expression taking hold within Snapchat when you snap or chat with Bitmoji.
But people want to use their avatars, their digital identity, across platforms. This is why Bitmojis infiltrated group or family text threads.
Snap has sensed that Bitmoji has a chance at owning the digital identity layer of the internet and has doubled down by pushing Log In with Snapchat.
This means every product that has Log In with Snapchat will be able to support your Bitmoji. Ipso facto, be able to support self-expression. The more people sign in with Snapchat, the more likely they will own this extremely important piece of the internet game.
Bitmoji is also where Snap can and should make a move into NFTs. Patrick Rivera made this connection obvious by analogizing NFTs and in-game items in video games.
Bitmoji NFTs are a great way to show off your online identity. For instance, let your Bitmoji rock that rare pair of Yeezys or Jordans. Don’t think people would spend money on a custom pair of Jordans for their Bitmoji avatars?
Fortnite is exhibit A that people are willing to spend billions of dollars for status, identity and belonging.
Here is another quote that hammers this home.
"As more of our lives move online, the ability to own scarce digital items is only becoming more important, and the NFT-based digital asset market will increasingly mirror the luxury market. An authentic Birkin bag is able to fetch prices hundreds of times higher than the exact same bag in knock-off form because owning the real thing says something about the person who owns it. The same is true for digital items, fashion-related and otherwise."
Bitmoji avatar fashion is a cash cow waiting for Snap to milk it. NFTs are the way to make it a status game.
If Snap plays their cards right, they could make Bitmoji the best consumer acquisition since Facebook scooped up Instagram and Google bought YouTube.
-Jabe
PS. I minted my first NFT on OpenSea this weekend. I am yet to put it on the open auction because gas fees are ~$300 but we will save that convo for another day.
Check it out here.
This character marches every time the Crying Jordan meme gets summoned by the internet