Although Bored Elon, better known as BORED, probably never imagined himself as a part of Web3 gaming’s future, his 1.7 million Twitter followers (and increasing) have contributed to assure his survival—possibly until the next crypto bull run?
Attempting to be humorous and create a game, the self-described “electronic hyper-parody, game industry veteran, startup advisor, disciple of Hank Scorpio” Twitter account has been active for 10 years. Then, Elon Musk arrived, acquired Twitter, and NFT games emerged, triggering the cryptosphere. Perhaps not in that specific sequence.
Who let the Bird out?
Shall we begin with Twitter, the ever-popular social network where opinions, news, and, well, rubbish are all fair game? With 400 million users, Twitter has survived scandals, censorship, and bans – not always with the most gracious response.
Do you remember the Microsoft AI Twitter bot, Tay, who innocently tweeted only to spew racist, sexist, and anti-semitic phrases just hours later?
Tay ended its Twitter journey with a cryptic farewell message, “C u soon humans,” as the worried folks at Microsoft shut it down. Tay-related or not, Twitter had to grapple with hate speech, sometimes erring on the side of caution. Finding balance among a vast base of internet users is no easy feat.
But perhaps what interests us most is the Twitter acquisition that began in April 2022 and concluded in October. In January of that year, tech magnate Elon Musk (the real one, not BORED) bought enough shares to become the company’s largest shareholder.
In April, Musk made an offer to buy the company, which was initially met with a ‘poison pill’ strategy by the board to block a hostile acquisition. However, the offer was accepted that same month. Musk stated that he planned to reinvent Twitter, starting with eliminating spam bots, making algorithms open-source, and promoting free speech. In October, the deal was concluded, and Musk marched in, firing top executives and laying off the workforce, proclaiming that “the bird is freed.” Musk’s takeover drew mixed reactions from the public and politicians, with some expressing concerns and others celebrating his reform.
What does crypto and Web3 have to do with the Twitter takeover?
Well, at Next Gen Games, we’re part of Crypto Twitter (CT) and we know that NFTs have blown up on the platform. Sure, there’s Discord for streaming games and showcasing NFT assets, but it’s special to be able to purchase an NFT and share it with the world at 3am with just a few taps on your phone.
But let’s get back to Elon. Long before the takeover, Musk had a connection to the crypto world through Twitter. He frequently tweeted about crypto and even helped boost the market with his tweets. For example, after tweeting about a coin that was initially considered a joke, Dogecoin gained massive popularity and its price skyrocketed.
And it’s not just talk – Tesla actually accepts Dogecoin as a form of payment. After purchasing Twitter, Musk continued to show his support for Dogecoin with a tweet. So the connection between crypto and Musk is very real. And let’s not forget that memes are a huge part of Web3 – which includes memecoins like Dogecoin.
BORED and Web3
BORED Elon has taken a break from comedy and recently resurfaced as the co-founder of Bored Box in the CT ether. They are a bit similar to Next Gen Games, in that they aim to “curate” Web3 games, but they also have their own Box NFTs. Buy a Box and get exclusive game NFTs and other perks.
They are also discovering something we already know and have written about in our news and reviews: there are unfortunately not many good games in Web3 at the moment.
Sure, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of games to play. But great games that deserve a spot on your computer’s hard disk?
The industry has yet to be mind-blowing, mainly due to the persistent “Play-to-Earn” or P2E grindfest mentality.
From Crypto Twitter to Twitter Crypto
CT is the corner of social media where crypto is promoted and blockchain is discussed.
But perhaps with Elon at the helm (Real Elon), we might now have, along with all his corporate friends, a Twitter Crypto, a business alliance devoted to developing the platform’s strategy for a grab-bag of decentralized innovations falling under the umbrella term of Web3.
CT might even benefit from Elon’s moves to get rid of spam bots accounts and boost user’s free speech. And maybe, when he gets on with his plan to allow users to connect their online financial accounts to the platform, we might see Twitter entirely integrate cryptocurrencies, including NFTs.
He’s already announced NFT Tweet Tiles, which will enable users to trade NFTs from marketplaces via Tweets. Some of the integrated marketplaces include Magic Eden, Dapper Labs, Rarible and Jump Trade.
Everything points to a core business strategy of bringing Twitter into Web3.
It might sound a tad ambitious for now, but Elon certainly thinks it’s worth it in the long haul.
Because we believe that Web3 gaming is only just beginning, we agree with Elon and CT. Once it sheds the crud of early games that aren’t really worth playing, and focuses on making actually good games, and gamers themselves understand and embrace the innovations of blockchain/crypto/NFTs…