Allure of 1/1 Communities: The Good, Bad, and Nuances

How do they function? Who is in charge?

Know ahead of time that this is not conclusive, but does cover the vast majority. Almost all of these communities fall into one of these three categories.

1. The Founder-Led Initiative: The creator of the project takes on the role as the leader (or with a set of co-founders). In these cases, the founder often has a roadmap in place to keep the project moving forward, but they largely design and carry the project forward solo and participate alongside the other holders that have bought into the project.
2. The Democratic DAO: In the DAO format, every holder typically has a vote in what the project and community do as a whole. There is still a founder or originator of the project, but they weigh their opinion about the project equally to everyone else’s. Commonly, any action that is being done in the community is initiated via voting, and the majority rules, steering the direction. Do be aware though, that no true DAO actually exists here as some single entity always has access to financials, backend, etc. It simply relies on the leader to act on the majority vote.
3. Hybrid Ensemble: This is a blend of the other two options. It frequently consists of a Council that assists the Founder in leading the project and members. That Council is either appointed by the leader or voted on by the members, and that Council should only consist of holders of the 1/1 project. Free from the constraints of scripts, these DAOs evolve naturally, shaped by member interaction and spontaneous decision-making.

What are they like?

These projects are only worth joining if it’s something you want to be associated with. You want to join and find a group of like-minded individuals that you enjoy spending time with. At the end of the day, buying into these projects needs to return some kind of value to you as a holder. Let’s go through some of the larger categories that would draw someone in.

Before we do that, let’s clarify something. Almost everyone joins a 1/1 project with ‘networking’ in mind. The buzzword “networking” simply means your voice isn’t lost and you aren’t ‘just part of the crowd’. Every small collection 1/1 project fills that criteria. So each of the categories detailed below fall into the umbrella of ‘networking’,  they are just networking with different specialties.

1. Business/Mentoring: This one is for those that are in the web3 space wanting to create their own business. In these communities, the holders are often heavily involved in leading web2 businesses of their own and branching in to web3. These business-focused communities often have a lot of successful, well-respected holders within them. But you shouldn’t be there to be amongst the successful businesses, get in there and tell them what you want to build and let them help you.
2. Trading and Alpha: The communities that are always trying to keep their finger on the pulse and catch the next hot thing before it takes off. This group tends to be for people that really want to be in the weeds of web3. This group will be filled with people doing their own technical analysis and charting, it will have alpha hunters talking about the newest projects they’ve heard of, and things along those lines. And for whatever it’s worth to you as a reader, these groups tend to be populated with the younger generations.
3. Hangout and Chill: The communities that are just looking to be able to meet some genuine friends in the space and find their pack. These communities don’t have an issue talking about stuff relevant to the web3 space, but they use their 1/1 as a way to turn off the 24/7 grind and have some people that they can just decompress and chat with.
4. Common Interest Groups: These groups carry an infinite number of themes but they are about having some shared passion. These could be 1/1 communities focused on self-improvement and fitness. These could be 1/1 filled with artists discussing their work. These could be gaming-oriented communities. The possibilities are endless with this one.

Why Join?

Each person looking to join a 1/1 collection will have different goals. But one thing that is universal is that you have to get something out of it. Making the decision to purchase must return you with something you considerable valuable.  What one person values will be different than someone else, you have to find what resonates for you.

1. Influential Networks: Many of these communities will have a few influential individuals within that specialty. Depending on the specialty of the community you are in will dictate how valuable that is to you, but you now have some powerful networks available.
2. Be Heard: Because these communities are small, you do not blend into the background. They are about quality over quantity, and that means when you are a part of them, you are a vital member. Your insights and input won’t get drowned out but will be heard and valued. This can be especially valuable when used in tandem with item #1 above as you can easily get into conversations with these networks rather than competing for attention.
3. Exclusive Opportunities: Many of these communities have access to whitelist spots and pre-sales opportunities for hyped projects. Additionally, many have other investment opportunities for holders to take advantage of. While these are not just perks, it’s not uncommon for holders to achieve a ROI on their 1/1 communities through these methods.
4. Tailored Experiences: Beyond the financial and networking aspects, these projects often offer unique, member-only experiences. Whether it’s custom artwork or exclusive events, these experiences add a personal touch and can be extremely valuable if that is something you are after.
5. Status/Prestige: Some of the more expensive 1/1 collections can certainly serve as a status symbol. Buy one of the most expensive 1/1 communities simply because you can and flaunt it like a designer handbag.

Where Do They Fall Short?

While small 1/1 collections offer an immense amount of benefits, those don’t come without a couple shortcomings or areas of potential improvement. It’s worth noting that this is not a generalization to all 1/1 collections, but some common overlap that occur with many. The particular weak points will vary within each group and depend on things such as the target audience, community members, goals, etc.

1. Lack of Substance: This one can be a double-edged sword. Often with specialized groups, they tend to be good at their specialty and fall short elsewhere. For example, a group focused on alpha hunting may lack in other areas such as personal or business development. And on the contrary, a group focused on business and founding projects may lack in areas such as trading and alpha. There are some groups that attempt to be a all-in-one, however they tend to not excel in any single category and instead are only adequate in each area.
2. Familiar Faces: It’s frequently a ‘cool thing’ to be in these exclusive groups. Makes sense though, right? If you have the ‘in’ everywhere, then you must be a popular person. What you will often find is that many of these groups have repeat members.
3. Limited Engagement: Many members of these groups have other obligations as they are typically busy people, and that can lead to low or inconsistent interactions with some members. This is also very prominent with point #2 above, if members are splitting their attention between several groups then it’s fair to assume their engagement and interaction will be lower. And this ultimately ends up having a negative impact on the collection as a whole which is unfair to the other members.
4. Dilution Phenomenon: The popularity of niche, small collections goes through waves. And with each wave of popularity, more groups are created. And when more that are created, the less valuable and less special they become. The very expensive groups tend to hold their market share here, but the dilution at the bottom of the ladder is severe as everyone creates 1/1 art and tries to start a cool-kids-club. However, this is not unique to 1/1 collections, this type of copy-paste dilution plagues all of the NFT space.

Being on the outside looking in at these groups can be daunting because of the lack of information they tend to share to non-members. The lists I’ve thrown together above are not meant to encourage you to buy in or scare you away from joining, but instead give you an idea of what questions you should be asking yourself and members of the groups before joining.

While the groups themselves are often meant to appear exclusive and intimidating, you’ll find many members are welcoming and eager to share their experiences, guiding you to make an informed decision. Engaging with them is a step I highly encourage! However, before diving into these conversations, reflect on what you’re truly seeking from membership because you have to know what you want before someone else can assist you.

Ultimately, the decision to join a 1/1 NFT project needs to align with your personal goals, values, and what you seek to gain from the experience.