For those of us who've been in the blockchain space for years, it's important now that the eye of the world are on NFTs proceed with our NFT-facing projects the right way. That means asking what our end goals are. They should be to uplift the blockchain community.

     Many NFT artists, in particular, are going about the process sloppily. They'll try to monetize every work they have and are perceived unfavorably. The best practices, as far as I see it, is to make limited editions--ERC1155's or others--affordable, both to reward art enthusiasts living a more bohemian lifestyle and lacking resources, but also those who engage with you or trumpet your creations to their circles. Really, the level of limited editions should stay under $100, be done on Polygon or another low-cost Gwei sidechain, and be streamlined. On the Ethereum mainnet, you can't even claim an NFT for less than $100.

     If you're wanting to buy NFTs to add to an art portfolio, go with the 1/1's--ERC721's typically--such that you know that you're buying an original of that particular artist. If that level of importance of this artist, for a particular movement or in general, grows then you can reasonably expect that the demand curve will elevate the price you can command should you ever circle back to OpenSea to entertain offers.

     I live in the Los Angeles area, so I've seen artists go on to successful commercial claim and others stall-out despite a promising beginning and clearly evident talent. There are many factors that ultimately determine whether an artist will enjoy critical or popular acclaim, but chief among them is being able to communicate the foundational messages of their artwork.

     It's a cop-out to say that one's art speaks for itself. There are literally millions of artists, just like there are millions of writers, who operate anonymously, but for whom a commission comes only on Fiverr or gig economy sites. To be a transcendent artist, it's imperative that you communicate your works of art and embrace the visual medium, if you're a visual artist, in a way that is demonstrative of your skillsets. 

     In this video, I seek to provide some clarity as for the inspiration behind an NFT and contextualize the work for an audience who may be unfamiliar with blockchain or the subject area that the artist gravitates towards. 

     In keeping with best practices, we have a limited edition NFT for the cost of your morning Starbucks fill-up.

     The future of art are artist cohorts, like the NFTsDAO has, in which creative content creators inspire one another and observe ideas that swiftly gain traction or those that most assuredly do not. The "you can't be what you can't see" applies here and, as humans, we feel most comfortable operating from a well worn playbook of success. Reinventing the wheel is actually counterproductive and introduces unnecessary stress. Those who say that they operate at their best under the gun are kidding themselves. A myriad of studies have found that stress inhibits your ability to achieve peak performance and access all of your brain, comprehensively and nimbly. 

     Whatever digital art or NFTs you select for your holiday gift giving, I implore you to to ferret out those by artists with a compelling narrative, demonstrates an ability to communicate their work charismatically, and which speaks to visually in a way that is unique to what you've seen. Many point to the Bored Ape Yacht Club as an example of how NFT artists can operate from behind the scenes, but, when you really look, truly successful projects like this and the Cryptopunks are aggressively marketing their platforms in real life. The Bored Ape Yacht Club founders will do interviews, speak of their time in Miami, make meaningful connections, have considerable followers, usher in A-list brands to buy an Ape, and do a great deal more than most generative artists think. It's not just going on Fiverr for $30 and spitting out OpenSea to do a lazy minting and shill with an army of bots. The discerning NFT investor, who sees the breadcrumbs of success during their due diligence, will do well building a portfolio of top projects with meaningful partnerships, while one who haphazardly buys any NFT that looks cheap will swiftly get REKT.