Just watched the @LoganPaul response video to @coffeebreak_YT about #CryptoZoo
Drama aside, I think this saga can teach us a lot about the future of the internet.
If you care about: Creators, Web3 Social or Crypto this thread is for you 🧵
Let me begin by stating that I am a viewer of both of these creators.
I watch every episode of Coffeezilla, and many episodes of Impaulsive.
As someone building a new media platform, I have respect for both of them for different things...
Regardless of your views on him, there's no denying that Logan Paul is one of THE most successful content creators of the modern era
From starting with Vine & YouTube, to working with the @WWE & launching his own products, Logan has been a trailblazer
He is @MrBeast level
Given his tendency to act like a Maverick (which he has made part of his brand), it's not surprising he was one of the first creators to lean into crypto.
He was one of the first to buy NFTs like @cryptopunksnfts, he joined @BitClout early & has even launched a DAO.
The willingness to experiment and constantly push the boundaries is what has gotten Logan this far, but has also been his downfall numerous times.
His infamous Japan suicide video was a classic example of when he pushed too far, which he has admitted was a big mistake.
Unfortunately it looks like his experiment with @CryptoZooCo might be another example of him taking things too far.
As a TL;DR, Logan tried to launch an NFT collection last year that would allow people to breed digital eggs & eventually hatch them for use in a metaverse game...
However, after many months of silence, it appeared as if the project had completely died off, making it a rug pull for all intents and purposes.
That was until Coffeezilla decided to publish a video series on it...
In the series of videos, we have since learned that there were major problems internally at CryptoZoo ranging from rogue developers to internal pump & dump schemes.
I recommend watching the Coffeezilla series (it's entertaining stuff), but the question now is what comes next?
Given the amount of people that lost money on this project & the attention it has gotten in the news, there will certainly be law suits (Logan said he was suing Coffeezilla) & brand implications for everyone involved.
But I'm more concerned with the bigger picture...
I think the thing that personally disappointed me the most about this entire saga, was that Logan Paul was the EXACT type of creator that should be able to leverage Web3/crypto for good.
He has the resources to build strong teams (look at Prime) & audience to drive attention.
However, I believe that the current incentive mechanisms in crypto are warped, which is why we saw him & many other creators f*ck up.
Because Logan raised the money up front, he wasn't incentivized to fix the situation & holders/investors got hurt as a result...
This is very different from a business like his Prime drink line, in which he has to actually develop the product & scale operations before he makes a single $.
Which is why he likely focused on that and ignored CryptoZoo, he didn't see the incentive.
To put it another way; if a distributor for Prime were to f*ck him over or steal money from the project, he wouldn't just give up on the Prime drink line
He would use his resources to fix it, because he has conviction he could eventually make the $ back, he wouldn't just drop it
This is why I believe he is (rightfully) taking a lot of heat for CryptoZoo.
He leveraged his brand & massive audience to sell people on a digital product.
They bought it in advance and all available evidence suggested he wasn't going to deliver.
Now onto the bigger picture...
I have STRONG conviction that Web3 Social will be the ultimate equalizer for creators on the internet.
But in order to get there, creators need to learn from Logan's situation.
Creators must be up front with setting expectations & MUST execute on what is promised.
Furthermore, the PMs, designers & engineering folks in Web3 need to build better platforms for creators.
At the end of the day people like Logan are creators, not tech savants.
If they are the ones building the underlying platform/infrastructure, they will likely fail...
Instead, we need developers building dApps for creators on protocols like @LensProtocol, @desoprotocol, @farcaster_xyz, etc.
And introducing new primitives & use cases for allowing creators to appropriately monetize their audience without f*cking them over.
This is where I would like to see @coffeebreak_YT lean in more and support Web3 social platforms, instead of bowing to the tech monopolies like YouTube
He's been hard on apps like Bitclout in the past, but I hope he looks a level deeper & see the actual potential behind the tech
A good place to start might be with @garyvee, who I think overall has done a good job of trying to consistently deliver value for his holders, building a community & being a defender of crypto.
In summary this entire situation is a sad one.
Logan had a tremendous opportunity to showcase how creators can properly leverage crypto, but blew it.
Whether this was through malintent, incompetence or because the current incentive mechanisms of crypto is worth reflecting on.
This problem is worth solving, because creators have been taken advantage of by central tech platforms for too long.
The only winner in this entire saga won't be Logan/Coffeezilla, or the fans or the CryptoZoo holders. No, it will be the same winner as always...
@YouTube
Alex Valaitis
@alex_valaitis
Tweets on AI & Crypto | ✍️ Blogging at @siliconcowboyco |🛠️ Building: @bigbraindaily, InterviewMe AI