🔥 Very Hot Takes from NFT NYC

Well, that's a wrap. Let's spill the tea 🍵

Jun 27, 2022

Gm Gm!

How are you, beautiful crypto people? Last week was NFT NYC; to say the least, it was crazy! There were so many events going on at all times that you had to choose your adventure. I had a very busy Sunday, slower Monday, hectic Tuesday, slower Wednesday, and wrap-up vibes Thursday. NFTimes hosted its first event on Friday as well! Let’s talk about the top events and learnings and get a sense of the week. I will be glorifying some while giving the side-eye to some projects because… I’m here to spill the tea. 💁‍♀️

The main thing I realized is:

It is much easier to meet with project teams and get to know people in real life than digital, and you get a much better sense of the values and vibes. Are they caring about their holders or just trying to get people into their event? Are they equal towards all their holders and aim to create an equitable space or create hierarchy within their project? Can they execute, or nah?

🗣️ The Conference Itself

The conference itself wasn’t on my radar. The panels were semi-empty, but there were some very good conversations! Panels are fun too guys. I understand not doing it at NFT NYC, though.

🐱 Project-Specific Events

ApeFest: Apes took over the Seaport district. Snoop and Eminem performed, Amy Schumer failed to read the room, and it was a bit of a sausage fest with bro vibes.

Doodles: Doodles had a night where the new CEO gave a presentation and they also opened a bar for a night (holders only). They announced Season 2 at midnight during the week. I heard execution wasn’t the best at their first event (started late, boring business-like deck) and the founders had security around them at the bar… okay.. If you’re bullish on business-like projects, you might have enjoyed it.
Creature World: CW had more chill activations like painting in the park and a live dating show. I could only go to the psychic reading (where I waited 4 hours - I was the last person😂) where the artist Danny Cole was in a creature costume and gave readings. Honestly, it was worth it. I got to meet the whole team and had a really nice moment with Danny as well. (he was a really good psychic btw)
Cool Cats: Probably the best activation of the week. Cooltopia was an immersive experience, open to everyone, and was literally IRL play-to-earn. You collected coins by playing games or doing the activations and could use that to buy merch or food. So well done.
Forgotten Runes: They threw a fully-themed party that was open to non-holders as well. Oliver Tree performed.
Crypto Chicks: They had a holders breakfast, and two marquee events. Unfortunately didn’t have the time to go to these but heard great things.
World of Women: They had a rooftop hang and a party with Madonna. I have some issues with WoW. I joined the community through the Galaxy collection, and I find it extremely elitist to give 70% of tickets to WoW holders while WoWG has double the supply. It creates a hierarchy within the collection and devalues its expansion. I am yet to feel a community from WoW.
Women and Weapons: They dropped their expansion collection and had a party for it! I’m here for it. Sara Baumann is amazing; her artworks and her approach to the collection shows very well intentions.
Boss Beauties: They hosted an event at a very vibey location where Kesha was singing. Nice community; good execution.
mfers: mfers had a party that I unfortunately couldn’t make it (I’m sorry 😢— mfers, CC, deadfellaz were all on the same night) great merch, great people, my favorite community.
Deadfellaz: I like the community here — they had a really cool party at Elsewhere that I went to.
CryptoDickButts: It was a frickin amazing party. Hilarious that the attire was formal, and that it was a masked party. I’m a fan.

🖼️ Galleries

CryptGallery at Dream Downtown: Crypt is the first hospitality-focused NFT gallery. Great collection.
SuperRare Gallery: Pop-up location at Soho.

🎟️ Music-focused Events

Deadmau5: Deadmau5 was playing with Neor, Noizu, and Daniel Allan (who I wrote about a couple of times!) at Brooklyn Mirage. It was a really fun event, and people coming from Deadfellaz could enter for free. (it was the same night and about 10-minute walk distance from one another)
MusicNFT Movement by BlockchainBrett and Coopahtroopa: Looked pretty cool, featured the crypto boy singer as well.
Audius: Audius threw an event at VR world. Heard it wasn’t the best.

💛 Other

Baby Shark: I heard it was one of the most well-made events. I still don’t know what this project is tho- someone let me know pls.
Rarible: Nice networking vibes & s.o. to my Spaces co-host Adam for nailing his panels.
Coinbase NFT Future Market: Really cool space where you could create your own keychain with your NFT & project your collection all around. VNFT hosted Hodl My Drink with CB where many amazing artists and creators came together.
Adam Bomb Squad: Opened up a shop and hosted a fake protest with signs such as ‘God Hates NFTs’ and ‘Make Fiat Great Again.’ One of the best ideas.
One37pm Cafe: One37pm has a cafe in West Village where they had Veefriends meetup and Amber Vittoria documentary. Great spot to check out if you’re in NYC.

👭 Women-Specific Events

myBFF: where were you? They bailed on us at their talk at Consensus 2022; I saw panel-like event they did but not sure if there was anything fun.
Boys Club: The vibes at Boys Club are pretty cool. Met the founders at their event (for which they sold tickets tho) and got to meet a lot of amazing women at their event. Overall very successful.
HUG with L’Oréal: HUG is a platform I got to learn more about at their event; you should def check it out. It’s founded by Randi Zuckerberg, and helps you navigate NFT projects beyond what the volume is.
Mavion: VNFT hosted a talk with the fashion NFT brand Mavion.

A Quick Thought About Women Representation

We need to have very serious conversations about including more women not only in the space but also in conversations. While there are many amazing women working in Web3 whom I got to meet in NYC, it is not enough. Saturday night, I was listening in to a Twitter Spaces about the BAYC accusations and for 2 hours, I only heard one female voice. I tweeted asking if they “could include more women voices pls”, and the space host took this as an accusation, blocked me from the space and his account, and talked shit about me on his spaces, saying “omg i was accused of not bringing women into the space.” Honey, I didn’t accuse you, I asked a question. He said, “there are naturally more men in this space so we hear more from men” — that’s not a valid argument. I studied ethics and logical arguments at the #1 university in the world for philosophy, I should know :)

If you don’t make the effort to bring more women up, other women won’t feel comfortable to join. Even if the room is not 50-50, the voices need to be, because that’s how we move forward. If you are not actively helping, you are hindering. Change won’t happen by itself, and it’s not fair to leave it completely up to women to make it equal. If you are not acknowledging the imbalance, you are hiding your true intentions or unconscious bias.

If male ego is this fragile to the point of not taking constructive criticism, you are not fit to host a space promoting it as ‘all opinions are accepted.’ Dear men, YOU WILL NEVER NOTICE WHEN IT’S ALL MEN TALKING, because that’s what you are used to. Because that’s what your limbic brain wants. I wanted to hear black and Jewish women’s opinions on the topic, as they don’t have to align with men’s opinions. Especially the day after Roe v Wade was overturn, not recognizing the broader societal problems & not taking constructive criticism, and using your platform to talk shit about someone only asking for more women voices — you are part of the problem. Not being sexist, and being anti-sexism are two different things.

The issue with Web2 was building fast and thinking after. Most Web2 platforms are made by white men. I want to bring uncomfortable conversations and call people or projects out — because someone needs to. While it’s all fun with NFTs and trading, this is not a game, nor a joke. We are building the new iteration of the internet that will have huge implications for billions of people in the coming years. The new web will bring a lot of opportunities, so we need to stop and reflect and make sure we are giving equal representation and opportunities to not only womxn, but people from all underrepresented groups. As long as I am part of this ecosystem, I will not be okay with male dominance. And I will speak up where imbalance persists. So should you.

Being a woman in tech, or a woman in crypto is difficult for many, and I will point this out even if it comes at my expense. I’ve been in crypto for 3 years and NFTs for more than a year and a half. I know how many group chats where alpha info is being shared is all men. Dear crypto community, be real. Don’t fake inclusivity, don’t make excuses, and don’t take small inclusions as wins — because we are still way behind. Personally — I don’t want 50% of the space being women. I want 80% - because why not? If tech was more men than women until this point, why can’t the opposite be the norm? My goal and hope is 80% of people working in Web3 to be womxn, and I will not back up from this, nor apologize for calling people out. I won’t add here whose actions sparked this thought piece, but you can find it at my Twitter profile if you are curious.

🪄 Final Thoughts

You can’t make every event. Some events are more private/exclusive than others. (just facts) Try to hit the ones that you care about, or go to meet the communities of projects you are part of. It’s great if you have people you are hanging out with, but be confident if you’re flying solo. Don’t FOMO much for events you didn’t get to go. Make plans, do rsvps, but when it’s time, float around depending on your mood and energy. Hitting 5-10 events a day is harder and more tiring than you might expect. Have fun, network, and be yourself. 💛

This list is not comprehensive, but events that were on my radar. I didn’t add all the events these projects hosted. Do you agree with my takes, or disagree? Would love to hear your thoughts.

What was your favorite event of the week? Click the tweet below & lmk!