gm, happy father's day to all the dads. and to the mums, grandparents, step parents, and assorted authority figures who have found themselves assembling a trampoline while singing paw patrol, all while questioning every decision that led them there. enjoy your day
I think this ai <> IRL barbell is very real and doodles is building for it.
But I think a lot of people are thinking about these two things ai<>IRL as mutually exclusive
Doodles is taking some big bets in the physical space and those who have seen it have been blown away.
Will share more soon, but for now... doodles is a lens.
i have exactly the same issue with mainstream brands.
mention nfts and some people react as though you've announced you're opening a victorian orphanage powered by cryptocurrency.
which is why i think this is smart from azuki.
lead with the manga. lead with the game. lead with the thing people actually enjoy.
then, once they're emotionally invested, gently reveal that there is also a collectible component instead of introducing it like an unexpected tax audit.
people rarely fall in love with infrastructure.
they fall in love with worlds.
Why Azuki does not put NFTs front and center in every mainstream push like the manga and TCG?
The answer is simple: a lot of manga, anime, and TCG fans still hear “NFT” and make a snap judgment before they ever see the art, story, or product.
We’ve had mainstream publications interested in what we are building, but still unable to work with us commercially because of our NFT roots.
That does not make me less bullish on NFTs. In fact it makes me more bullish bc the mainstream still doesn’t get it yet. I still believe digital art and digital collecting will have another major moment, and Azuki will always be one of the most important anime art collections from this era.
But if we want the world to care about Azuki, we have to meet people where they are today.
Lead with great stories. Great games. Great products. Let the collector layer become something people discover because they fall in love with the world.
I really don’t see this as hiding our roots. I’m one of the longest tenured NFT founders still active so I’m beyond even unc status at this point but I’m very proud of how we got here.
Now it’s about giving the IP the best chance to grow beyond our bubble.