How It Started

Rhett Mankind is an artist that's been in the realm of AI and cryptocurrency for some time. Faced with near radio silence around his work, he enlisted the help of ChatGPT to develop a memecoin. His honest truth about the project's initial failure resonated with an audience who 1.) insisted the show go on and 2.) contributed to make it happen.

Rhett's story meets the requirements for Malcolm Gladwell's theory about tipping points, or the qualities that make certain ideas viral.

Rhett's story has an unexpected and simple "sticky" quality. To attract eyes, he made a coin. The coin attracted money, attracting eyes, to both himself and his work. The artist unexpectedly inspired an entire community, as well.

Rhett also presents an interesting context. Perseverance in the face of adversity begets rewards. Why? The transparency to build and fail in public conveys a very human element. No one wants to fail, we wish to succeed, in fact. Thus, artists, and the those who succeed are often forced to get quite creative.

Lastly, and the empowering part for decentralization, is that a particular of community of individuals are giving this story legs, to run and gain traction. More on them soon.

How It's Going

Our actions are not driven by our own internal motivations and beliefs. Our environment plays a part too. The way a message is communicated definitely plays a part in its reception! Imagine someone cried to you, telling you they'd been working for years to no success. They open up about the fear of failure, and the lack of any other options. You might take their heartfelt plea seriously and lend a hand. We're just helping Rhett along.

The "broken windows" theory does explain some of the community's positivity. The theory suggests that even small signs of disorder can lead to and further promote even more crime, as people perceive disorder to be the norm. That's why the metaphor's a broken window. Broken windows in a building gives you the vibe that the neighborhood's bad, right? The theory explains briefly why when there's noise about any of the project, an overpaid founder, an early opportunity for influencers, I meet it with the same open honesty Rhett met us. I think I can help this thing pop off.

In short, Rhett and the community of 50 that took the project off the ground from its failure shows that decentralization can enable creators. 50 saved the project, which inspired many more to contribute whatever they can to ensure it's success. I'll get into who those contributors are and what they represent for the project.