5 Web3 influencers marketers should know

Are you following the Charli D’Amelio of NFTs? The Cole Sprouse of crypto? The Michelle Phan of the metaverse? As Web3 continues to develop through new projects and technologies, influential personas are helping to serve this information to mass audiences on social media. Like traditional influencers in industries such as fashion or gaming, these accounts play a vital role in turning people onto new services and ideas—a process that has become essential in order for any consumer-facing space to succeed. Web3’s top influencers look a bit different from their cross-industry counterparts. Firstly, TikTok is hardly used; instead, Twitter is their go-to platform, where they post opinions over dances and multi-tweet threads over tutorials. Their content is in what they write and elevate. Another difference is that these influencers are not sponsored by brands: Their influence is in their ability to convey often opaque information to large numbers of people, and therefore provide a service that doesn’t make sense for a partnership (they would also likely decline any offers that came their way). Their perspectives are highly influential to the Web3 community, which make them must-know entities for brands as they navigate a space that is noisy, complicated and always developing. Here are five of the top influencers that marketers need to know. 6529 (@punk6529): for all things NFTs and the metaverse With more than 372,000 followers, 6529 is one of the most well-known NFT evangelists on Twitter, and arguably its most influential. Their name is a pseudonym, referencing one of the influential and highly valued CryptoPunk NFTs. Beyond the assumption that they own the asset with the ID 6529, nothing is known about their real identity. This sense of anonymity has enabled 6529 to write with the level of honesty and imagination that they do on a daily basis. Their posts are often in the form of sprawling threads, composed of 20-plus tweets on topics from the mechanics of owning a digital asset to the role of memes in the NFT space. Building an open and accessible metaverse is also a core issue that 6529 likes to unpack, reminding enthusiasts what their goals should be and providing newbies a blueprint of what others are working on. 1/ On A Pathway To An Open MetaverseWe are going to make a run at changing the arc of history.It is a Return of the Jedi vs the Death Star style mission.They have the money and the power. We mostly have our brains, our community and gm.But it might be just enough— 6529 (@punk6529) October 5, 2021 As much as they are an NFT advocate, 6529 is a bit of a philosopher as well, and tends to expand their threads into discussions on far-reaching material, such as what it means to live a good life and how an equitable internet can help the world. Brands should take this as an indication of and an opportunity to learn how the vision of Web3 is about much more than cartoon jpegs in the eyes of its biggest proponents. Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee): for NFT culture and brand building You can’t work in marketing and not know Gary Vaynerchuk. From his media company, VaynerX, to his ad agency, VaynerMedia (not to mention a spate of motivational videos on YouTube and Instagram), GaryVee is ever-present in the world of advertising. But since early last year, the serial entrepreneur has spent much of his time developing the NFT space. He put non-fungible tokens on the map for many consumers and thinks they will create the next big brands on the internet, in the tradition of Supreme and Kith. What separates GaryVee from other influencers is his focus on helping traditional brands enter Web3 spaces. On Twitter, he often highlights these endeavors, through which he has helped onboard brands such as American Eagle and Pepsi behind his Web3 agency, VaynerNFT (which you should also follow). Another favorite topic of Vaynerchuk’s is VeeFriends, his own NFT collection that has experienced over $90 million in trading volume. In May, Vaynerchuk hosted the inaugural VeeCon, a multi-day conference on Web3 and culture that held panels with artists, CEOs, NFT creators, investors, analysts, marketers and more. The event concentrated Vaynerchuk’s efforts into a single moment and illustrated his primary goal (which he shares with many in adland): to bring NFTs to the masses. Nft land … pic.twitter.com/djazEZkF24— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) May 18, 2022 cdixon.eth (@cdixon): for emerging opportunities in Web3 Chris Dixon, or cdixon.eth, is a general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), which has been one of the largest investors in Web3 projects. Dixon has spearheaded these efforts, and uses his Twitter account to highlight many of these investments and emerging opportunities in the space. We highlighted @weareflowcarbon in last week's State of Crypto report as a prime example of web3 companies making a positive impact.Flowcarbon's marketplace is funding projects that reduce or remove carbon from the atmosphere.https://t.co/yntqLkCUdp— cdixon.eth (@cdixon) May 24, 2022 His tweets cover crypto’s growing influence in the world, as well as analysis of tools like DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) and NFTs. He also provides articulate defenses of Web3 and its novelty, and highlights a16z’s latest investments in the space. For example, he recently tweeted about his firm’s role in raising funds for Adim, a network of writers that will create stories and IP and share in its revenue (the company is co-founded by actor Rob McElhenney). Finally, Dixon curates a blog, where he has compiled many of his musings on the space, from using tokens to create new networks to how critics misunderstand decentralization. It should be noted that Dixon, by virtue of leading a prosperous VC firm, has many of his own critics who believe he and a16z are exploiting the Web3 space for large cash grabs. Only time will tell whether he truly believes in the vision but, until that verdict, if marketers want to keep up on the latest projects being built in Web3, as well as to where the money is flowing, they should follow Dixon. suzuha (@dystopiabreaker): for explaining “Why Web3?” If you ever catch yourself wondering what’s really at stake with the development of Web3, reading a few tweets from suzuha may help provide some answers. Another pseudonymous poster, suzuha is a self-described “cypherpunk,” someone who supports the use of cryptography in creating privacy-centric technologies that allow for a more free society. While their posts can sometimes get political, the meat of their expertise is in defending the use of cryptocurrencies and Web3 technology in the face of skepticism. Their tweets are succinct and straightforward. The messages can help marketers gain a better understanding of some of the esoteric material at the heart of Web3, such as the different layers of blockchains, how NFTs actually work and the opportunities available in a crypto winter (a bearish period in which crypto prices are down, such as the present moment). the point of a blockchain is that you can validate transactions yourself and hold your counterparties to some verifiable standard— suzuha ⚡🌙 (@dystopiabreaker) June 8, 2022 Most recently, suzuha led a vigorous response to a letter signed by numerous technologists urging U.S. lawmakers to resist crypto lobbying. While the letter raised important critiques of the technology, it also contained contradictions that were much harder to discern. This is where suzuha asserts her key influence: By using their expertise to peel back the layers of a topic and explain the context. Their social presence is a useful resource for any marketer wanting to go deeper down the “why Web3” rabbithole. web3 is going just great (@web3isgreat): for explaining “Why, maybe, not Web3” On the opposite side of the spectrum from suzuha is Molly White, a software engineer who curates the Twitter account, “web3 is going just great.” The account is a continually updated list of all the failures and scams and problematic behavior in the Web3 space (its extended, sarcasm-laden name is “web3 is going just great…and is definitely not an enormous grift that’s pouring lighter fluid on our-already smoldering planet”). While marketers excited for Web3 may not get behind White’s vehement criticisms, it is important to be aware of the dangers that are discouraging many from believing in the space. NFTs, for example, pose risks pertaining to their climate impact, tendency to commit IP fraud and undeniable volatility—all things that could directly impact their efforts to onboard mass consumers. White provides a running tab on these issues, stringing together disparate articles, tweets and replies to tweets, in order to paint vivid pictures of what exactly went wrong. Bored Apes Discord compromised again, 32 NFTs stolen and flipped for $250,000June 4, 2022https://t.co/vQ42a6Mnie pic.twitter.com/QTVcLUoX9B— web3 is going just great (@web3isgreat) June 4, 2022 “Web3 is going just great” is a necessary foil to the other influencers on this list. Otherwise, marketers may fall victim to extreme pro-Web3 bias, putting them out of touch with reality and endangering their brand. White is, of course, biased herself, but she is also thorough, and an important source for marketers to remain level-headed as they navigate a developing space. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

5 Web3 influencers marketers should know

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