Someone spilled gasoline in web3 and everything is catching fire. RTFKT is facing its community’s wrath and Doodles is under the same backlash. Where does this end? Why is everyone being so unforgiving in this space? OR are the bluechips really messing up badly? Reading from a distance, “Doodles no longer an NFT project” makes you freeze. Are they dropping the blockchain altogether? What’s going on?
Just chill, it’s a big misconception, Doodles aren’t really leaving NFTs, they just want to take over the world and expand for mass adoption.
Why Is Doodles No Longer An NFT Project?
Just to be clear this is not entirely true. Doodles are just moving on from being exclusively about NFTs. However, the “Doodles no longer an NFT project” news is spreading fast without any trail of events. So first calm down, Doodles are still NFTs, the whole deal is that they aspire to become more. For example, they want to feature in movies, series, music, games, and physical items. They want to be as big as Disney, Pixar, and the like. So why is this such a crime? The problem lies in poor communication and bad wording.
Brief escalation of how the drama unfolded:
1- Holders were excited about Doodles 2 and Dooplicator event. Things were looking brighter than ever for doodles, but the community was anxious because they didn’t know what all of that will lead to.
2- Doodles kinda flopped on their communication skills and planned in silence. Holder’s anxiety came back, but Burnt Toast promised more communication. The community was empathetic and calmed down.
As you all know quality art is my main focus. I’m in part very much responsible for this short delay. I’ve spent the last while working with @ingi_erlingsson and the team at @_Goldenwolf_ https://t.co/lnvxx5A1pe
— burnt toast (@burnttoast) February 27, 2023
3- Doodles Map was revealed and all holders were hyped for good things to come. Poopie even tweeted that “Good things take time” and that “patience, while some may FUD it, is our strongest trait”. Things were cool again.
🗺️ DOODLEMAP 🗺️
It all starts with a doodle…
Our mission is to inspire belief in the idea that doodling has the power to ignite our imagination and transport us to new realities. pic.twitter.com/meNV1iENE7
— doodles (@doodles) March 3, 2023
4- Many sock teasers were thrown here and there, and everyone was expecting it to be a genius next event. Have to admit though, it’s pretty tough to beat the Dooplication event’s thrill.
socks. that’s it, that’s the tweet. pic.twitter.com/Lu8zBrfT1Z
— doodles (@doodles) March 2, 2023
5- The hype was built for nothing as the Gold socks hunt dropped. It was way below the community’s expectations. Where will they express their feelings other than Twitter and Discord? Here’s where everything exploded and anger took many forms.
Gold socks!?
Secure a full sock collection – 1 of each of the 12 types – by March 30 @ 12 PM ET
If you do? We’ll drop you a pair of gold socks
How many full collections CAN there be? Between 29 & 158. Finding holo🧦 is the key
OFFICIAL LINK: https://t.co/jW8xuKOpNH pic.twitter.com/XYugmdNjV1
— doodles (@doodles) March 15, 2023
6- Poopie, in defense of the project, said some things on Discord and it was interpreted badly.
7- In a recent Tweet, he clarified his statement, and tried to contain the fire. Here we are holding his “doodles no longer an NFT project” statement to the grave when he never said that Doodles are not NFTs. Context people. We need to dig into context for the big picture.
hey web3, here are my comments on the feedback
"doodles isn't an NFT project"
this is true. but what’s also true is i've dedicated my career to the blockchain. i'll never abandon the pursuit of delivering the promises of this tech to the world. doodles started as an NFT… https://t.co/Eq9fZN3sx4
— poopie 🗺 (@poopie) March 16, 2023
How did the Community Take it?
Doodles no longer being an NFT project was not an easy pill to swallow for the community. After things cooled down and people realized that wasn’t entirely true. Doodles in fact just wanted to expand and utilize blockchain technology. The stances were split between those who applauded Doodles for their upcoming venture and those who judged them for turning their back on the blockchain and loyal holders.
Applause Tweets
The quicker we get rid of the term "NFT project" the better tbh.
As I've been saying for a year and a half, these are all startups/businesses. https://t.co/1nuAaTrfh6
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) 🔮 (@swombat) March 16, 2023
I love the honesty and open dialogue here. It's clear that Doodles has evolved from its NFT origins into something much bigger and more impactful. By embracing blockchain technology as the backbone for all its endeavors, Doodles aims to unite and empower communities beyond the… https://t.co/VgSaB6Z4VZ
— MANIFESTA (@MAN1FE5TA) March 17, 2023
Disappointment Tweets
Issue lies with false advertising and fraud. Many people got into doodles due to their nft initiatives. You coming out saying its not an nft project anymore is absurd.
What benefits do any of your holders have now? How can a media company benefit an og doodle holder?
You guys… https://t.co/n2DJyOFD5X
— Aaron (@AaronSage) March 17, 2023
The Bottom Line: MISCOMMUNICATION
This tweet sums up everything perfectly. Poopie was just aggressive, maybe he was over-defensive and things came out badly.
Your only mistake ever was your unnecessary arrogant tone. Everything you ever said was on point. And so is this.
Good luck Poopie
— SV | The AI Ape 🍌🌐 (@0xSMV) March 17, 2023
And we can see some community members actually feeling bad about their backlash.
I can't even count the number of tweets I shouldn't have posted, comments on discord I regret, etc. We're all human. We're all uglier than we'd like to admit.
I think Doodles is a top aesthetic, with staggering levels of potential in the culture.
Godspeed, Poops.
— sirenspear (@sirenspear) March 16, 2023
How Will Doodles Survive This?
These are the Doodles we’re talking about. I think it’s quite hard to fade them. The hysteria and backlash over ‘Doodles no longer an NFT project’ news itself show us that Doodles is a big name in the game. We have to support them for bridging the gap between web3 and web2 and showing the world that NFTs are not “just ape JPEGs”.
HOWEVER, a big lesson must be learned here. Communication is key, and the project is handling that very poorly. I understand their desire to shift from strict web3 protocols of “building in public” and trying to break the hustle culture, but that wasn’t a good attitude or strategy. Especially after Blur brainwashed the community into flipping NFTs for a fast money grab. The vision is a bit blurry for value Vs speed (pun intended). The doodles team should regroup and find a way to mend the trail of broken hearts they left behind.
It’s even very concerning how some are never going to get over this Doodles incident. Especially after a parody collection inspired by the whole thing titled Not A NFT Project was #1 trending on OpenSea today!