Community Spotlight: DeskHands

The DeskHeads NFT Community

No matter what occupation you ended up in after your education, chances are you grew up in a system that trained you to be a piece of the economic machine that runs 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Every one of us was primed to work mind-numbing jobs sitting behind a computer screen typing furiously at a keyboard to pad the pockets of the executives at the top of the food chain. In return, they promised, was the corporate ladder that could be scaled after countless hours of dedication to the company - pledging allegiance to the biweekly paycheck to feed the family and keep the lights on.

Enter DeskHeads.

Then came along a group of modern revolutionaries vowing to give power back to the people who accidentally fell victim to the corporate indoctrination, known as the DeskHeads. These five revolutionaries from all sorts of backgrounds banded together to inspire, and allow, individuals stuck in the 9-5 lifestyle to make work, fun, and play all synonymous. To do so, they leveraged the power of web3 technology and ecosystems to create a place where individuals who felt “victims of the system” come together and work together to bring their long-lost creativity and joy back.

To no surprise, a project set out to accomplish such a feat resonated with lots of people.

One member of the community put succinctly, “I’ve honestly felt restricted in what I do most of the time in my 9-5 job, which is exactly what that grind is. You don’t get to be yourself, so I’m pretty excited to be able to connect with people who feel the same.”

Another wrote, “there are so many people from all over the world that have the same dreadful experiences, I've learned so much about myself by chatting with others and reading conversations that it opened my creative thoughts that I had felt were lost throughout my adulthood. That’s why I’m extremely grateful for this project.”

Here lies the power of web3: the ability for people all over the world to come together, communicate their shared experiences, learn and grow alongside one another, and band together to form ultra-valuable communities that fundamentally change the way we interact and build. So, the DeskHead founders created an environment, called The Studio, where these revolutionaries could band together to create and collaborate as a community, to build things not possible without the support, expertise, and resources of a network dedicated to your success.

NFT Utility: The Studio

The Studio was designed to allow members and holders of the DeskHead collection to collaborate with others in the community to build their dream projects: whether that be NFTs, music, digital productions, software, infrastructure, or anything in between.

Founding members of the community come equipped with decades of experience across numerous industries and disciplines, including fintech, web3 development, data analytics, marketing, world-class brands, accelerator programs, and entrepreneurship. Fundamentally these founders are free thinkers, artists, and masters of their craft. They have vowed to use their expertise as tools to help craft and build the ideas and projects that the community members ideate and support, taking them from idea to development, to launch, to implementation, to success, to infinity, and beyond (rocket emoji).

In practice, the community members submit ideas for projects they'd like to work on and vote for others they think would be interesting and fun to be a part of. From there, the DeskHead founders, along with the expertise and diverse set of skills from the community, band together to tackle the project and get it off the ground and to the moon. This is the true essence of web3 communities: harnessing the power of the collective.

DeskHeads and The Studio show us that all the individual needs to break free from the Iron Cage (a Weberian construct for you Sociology gurus), his belief in yourself, an idea, and some determination.

Instead of just sharing ideas in a discord, where the ability to take action and create is severely limited, The Studio is a playground to innovate and incubate ideas. One where work and fun are synonymous, and members can play and build with each other just as we did in our childhood: except now collaborating on projects that bring pure joy and utility into the world.

One member passionately noted, “The ability to have such a quality team behind the incubator gives confidence and life to the potential ideas. A community that fosters creativity and novel ideas are exactly what I needed. It's refreshing and instills a value to this project that is unique in and of itself.” True that.

Digital Art

So how did this first group of five 9-5 revolutionaries get people to buy into their mission and resonate with their shared struggles? NFTs. These were not just regular .jpegs either, these are carefully crafted animated characters trapped behind their computer screens with fingers glued to their typing apparatus.

Simply put, as one member says, these works are, “the intersection of innovation and quality - with balanced vibes and visuals.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Each character has its own story and is either creating or progressing in one way or another, showing how aligned the art is with the project. Each one struggled through the 9-5 grind, which is what first resonated with so many people who felt trapped behind their desks.

Speaking about the craftsmanship of the art, one long-standing community member wrote, “they are all so detailed, which speaks to the time and care they put into the work, along with the intriguing animations that so perfectly describe the mundane nature of desk jobs.” He even noted that this fine level of detailing and relatability is exactly what he, and many of his peers, actively seek in prospective collections.

Especially during the past few years when we have seen entrepreneurship and ‘the home office’ become more prevalent, the DeskHeads became very relatable to a lot of people who saw their desks as an extension of their life that came to represent them in one way or another.

The NFT Project Community

Last but not certainly not least the DeskHead community has become notably passionate and aligned towards a shared set of values and goals: freedom from the 9-5. Around this shared sentiment, all the members are there to rebel against the institutional indoctrination, but also to create and build. It’s inspiring to hear and see that so many members have rekindled their lost creativity, sparking newfound love for art and animation, and working alongside each other.

One member said, “One thing that was big for me was the widespread honesty, and above all, the community is human. There are so many wild discords and Twitter out there, the DeskHeads environment I crave because people are invested in learning about web3 and how to forge our paths.”

Another wrote, “the community and team interaction inside and outside of discord are second to none - the team is always around and people here are more than supporting. The fact that blue-chip projects and organizations (like Deadfellaz and Doodles) are clear evidence that there is a widespread support network for this unique community.”

Overall, from my time in the community and hearing from those who have been invested and active for a long time, it’s clear that every member resonates with the mission. Everyone wants to harness the power of web3, and the utility of tokenized gated content, to make the world a better place and give freedom back to the community by freeing ourselves of the 9-5 struggle.

Takeaways

One community member summarized why people are joining very eloquently, and resonated with me, so much so that I would be remiss not to share it with the world. With 5 core pillars, they highlighted why these innovators and revolutionaries are joining and embodying the project:

1. First impression: The clean, perfectly executed art with tons of personality and specificity - fine details and craftsmanship in every piece
2. Consideration: The core concept being utterly relatable - we all hate the 9-5
3. Education: The execution and storytelling on the website are clear, direct, and easily digestible
4. Engagement: The community is creative, thoughtful, and passionate - from the founders to the long-standing members, to the member who joined yesterday
5. Loyalty: the studio development, ongoing marketing, and partnerships cementing the longevity and power of the DeskHeads - dedication to the success of the project and the freedom from corporate indoctrination

This truly is a one-of-a-kind community that is changing the way we think about community building by utilizing the power of web3 to democratize wealth and freedom. I hope that you, the reader, will join alongside this passionate group of revolutionaries and visionaries to create something special in this exciting web3 world.

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