About the EcoMemes

The first EcoMeme was launched over a year ago. I know that because I did it. I also know this because a record of its launch is recorded on the blockchain forever. It reads 24th July 2023 at 8.27am.

The first EcoMeme token launched was the Genesis Token (below) and its release was the first transaction recorded on a smart contract that I had created to launch the collection. At the time of writing (30th October 2024) that was 464 days ago. There are, and always will be, no more than 33 of these.

Details of this token can be found here. If you look for the description of this token you’ll find that it says this:

That makes it sound like a beginning. And that’s because it is.

So, what are the EcoMemes and why did I bother to launch them? NFTs are dead right!

What this article does is walk through the various components that constitute the EcoMemes, to give a bit more context and reasoning behind the collection. I’m doing this because I know that for the most part people think that they are just pictures. Of course, what they actually are extends beyond that.

Let’s start from the top.

The easiest thing to understand about the EcoMemes is that they are mission driven.

The EcoMemes Collection is focused on the fight to build the world’s best biodiversity credit market, one that recognises the true value of nature, results in an equitable distribution of benefits and empowers local communities along the way.

The world’s best biodiversity credit market — sounds complicated right. And it is. To achieve this requires a mix of science and ecology, traditional owners and local communities and, somewhat controversially, valuation and finance. But to add to this complication I also believe that the right solution involves blockchain and digital assets too. Of course, no-one knows what that is, so when you throw that in the mix too there is a lot of complexity to convey.

The simplest way to do this is to go back to first principles, mix in a bit of systems thinking and use this to define some guiding aspects for the structure and aspiration of a solution. For me that resulted in a series of themes that I thought were important to consider. I then outlined these in a document called the EcoMemefesto which became the second token. As per the contract there can only ever be a maximum of 900 of these.

It was Marshall McLuhan who said that “the medium is the message”, and I think that stands true for the EcoMemes. There are a few layers to this.

The first is that the collection is using art to convey a message, and what’s more that art is digital. For clarity digital art is created using digital tools like computers or tablets, allowing artists to produce images, animations, or interactive pieces. Unlike traditional art forms that rely on physical materials such as paint or clay, digital art exists in a virtual format, allowing for easy editing, manipulation, and reproduction.

The second is that the art is focused on memes. Memes are humorous(?!) or culturally significant images, videos, or text that spread rapidly online. Richard Dawkins coined the term “meme” in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, where he described memes as units of cultural information that replicate and evolve similarly to genes. Dawkins observed that memes allow ideas to spread, adapt, and survive, much like biological traits, by moving from person to person through imitation. This concept highlights memes’ role in transmitting knowledge, beliefs, and trends across societies, enabling ideas to propagate and evolve with remarkable speed.

Memes often evolve through user adaptation and remixing, making them a dynamic part of internet culture. Memes probably come off as ephemeral and disposable, spreading quickly, capturing attention for a short time and being frequently replaced by new trends. As a category though I suspect that we are going to be hearing more about memes in the coming years. And without going into too much detail about why (iykyk) I’ll just leave you with this….

The third is that the EcoMemes are CC0, or “Creative Commons Zero”. CC0 is a public domain dedication tool that allows creators to waive all their copyright and related rights to a work. By using CC0, a creator effectively releases their work into the public domain, allowing anyone to use, modify, and distribute it without any restrictions or need for attribution. This fosters creative freedom and collaboration, as works under CC0 can be used by anyone for any purpose.

The fourth is that the EcoMemes are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) that are registered on the Ethereum Blockchain. NFTs enable the proliferation of CC0 art by providing a system for verified ownership while maintaining the open, unrestricted nature of CC0 works. Even though creators release their rights through CC0, blockchain technology allows them to mint their art as NFTs, establishing a transparent, immutable record of who originally created or owned the piece (remember the details of the Genesis token above). This verified provenance adds value and recognition to CC0 art, allowing creators to gain visibility, while still permitting anyone to use, remix, or distribute the work freely.

So as far as “medium” goes in the EcoMemes it ends up looking something like this (although you could argue that it should be the other way around).

As outlined NFTs are fundamentally about provenance and ownership, offering a digital solution for verifying the authenticity and history of assets on the blockchain. Each NFT is tied to a unique identifier that records its creation, ownership transfers, and other key details in an immutable ledger.

So why are provenance and ownership relevant? Let’s go with provenance first.

The fact that NFTs are recorded on the blockchain means that we now have these “digital museums” which provide an immutable record of ownership and origin for digital assets. As a result, blockchains not only offer an insight into societal trends and the cultural zeitgeist they can also serve as a historical record of the evolution of ideas over time.

Let’s go back to the description that was placed in the first token created on the EcoMemes contract:

Now I’m not claiming that this is the first record of “nature positive” on the blockchain, and indeed there are many interesting nature philanthropic, art/data and funding concepts that have preceded it. But what I can say is that it is a clear statement of the beginning of the concept for bringing biodiversity tokens created by local communities onto the blockchain through a process that I have outlined across a series of articles (which are also available as NFTs — the medium is the message right😊).

What’s also interesting about the provenance component is that is that not only relates to the token as an entity, but also what information is captured within that token. As an example, let’s look at the data recorded on one of the EcoMemes, Touch Grass released during Season 3. As per all standard EcoMeme releases there will always be a maximum of 330 of these.

So, the description attached to this token is this:

“In an age of increasing disconnection from nature, spending time outdoors is more important than ever.

Studies have shown that interacting with the natural world reduces stress, boosts mood, and enhances creativity, while also promoting physical health through exercise and improved immune function.

Research also highlights how time in nature fosters a deeper connection with the environment, encouraging mindfulness and strengthening the desire to protect and preserve.”

If you then look at the series of traits that have been captured for this EcoMeme they look like this.

If we look across all the EcoMemes we see that there is a larger list of traits for the entire collection which cover a range of different attributes for all tokens at the contract level.

What is interesting is that the Touch Grass token contains only a subset of traits from this complete list meaning that the other tokens in the collection have different and unique datasets. Of course, these data attributes appear somewhat arbitrary (or are they?) but imagine if they were recording unique biodiversity values, species records, management activities and a reference to the traditional owners and/or community group who created them.

Interestingly if you look a bit deeper and directly at the information for the Touch Grass token you’ll notice that a hidden category of data has been embedded. It says this:

When you click on that link you end up with this:

I wonder how many other EcoMeme tokens have something similar 😉

Being an owner of an EcoMeme token not only represents a verified connection to the mission of the collection, it also links the owner’s wallet to the story, history and provenance of creating nature positive digital assets on the blockchain. Although the total holder count for EcoMemes is humble, I think it is a great that just under half of them are new wallets that were encouraged to set-up and receive their first NFT (btw, feel free to follow up with me if you want a hand with this and to receive your first EcoMeme). Some of these wallets may have had fungible tokens in the past but it is wonderful that their first NFT will be associated with our infrastructure to use digital assets to protect the natural environment (Hmm, I wonder if this is something that we can use to distribute rewards in the future…).

While NFTs enable singular ownership of a digital asset, this ownership is inherently connected to a broader community. This community can be extensive considering that multiple editions of multiple tokens can be attached to a contract, and that multiple contracts can be created by a deployer (the entity that creates the contract). Therefore, each NFT exists within a broader ecosystem where its value is influenced by interactions, collaborations, and relationships among users. This interconnectedness means that owning an NFT extends beyond individual possession; it reflects participation in a shared experience and a collective identity. To this end the holder becomes a part owner in the value of the network, with that networked value accruing to the asset itself.

With NFTs being inherently networked assets there are unique opportunities for leveraging the power of the community to build network effects. Network effects refer to the phenomenon where the value of a product, service, or platform increases as more users engage with it. Network effects are powerful because they create a self-reinforcing cycle where growth attracts even more users, making the network harder to replicate and increasing user loyalty, innovation, and market dominance.

What is interesting with Web3 is that tokens represent the network effects inherent within a given network, with ownership of the token allowing holders to own a stake in the network itself. As a result, users are not just passive consumers; they are active stakeholders in the value generated by the network.

The potential of a Web3 network can be evaluated based on metrics like the number of wallets, transactions, and active developers. However, it’s important to note that simply having more users does not automatically equate to greater value or stronger network effects. The quality and engagement of the users play a crucial role in determining the true value of the network.

Network effects are therefore related to the social relationships in the community and the strength of connections between owners. A great example of this is the social network analysis of The Memes NFT collection by Punk 6529 given below, which at that point in time included 26,000 nodes and 230,000 connections.

I did something similar for the EcoMemes a while ago. As you can see it’s a start, but obviously still a long way to go!

Nevertheless, the network process is underway and the basis of a community for the EcoMemes exists. As an indication of this I’ve pasted some EcoMeme love below — many thanks to these wonderful supporters, you are amazing!

So, as you can see, we’re underway. We have tokens released, wallets holding tokens and the start of a community forming. Maybe what I should be doing next is using some novel mechanics to leverage the networked value of the EcoMeme tokens, further engaging with the community and helping it to grow.

Which brings me to final thing to highlight about the EcoMemes — possibilities for the future. While NFTs are often viewed as immutable and static, they hold dynamic potential, offering a myriad of opportunities for future evolution and creative engagement. This includes of number of mechanics which can be linked to ownership of an NFT. Examples of these are listed below.

Airdrops — distributing free NFTs or tokens to holders of specific NFTs or members of certain communities

Burn-To- Redeem — “burning” (destroying) an NFT to unlock a reward, such as exclusive content, a physical item, or another digital asset

Staking Rewards — locking up NFTs in exchange for rewards such as tokens, governance rights, or additional NFTs

Merging or Upgrading — Combining two or more NFTs into a new, more valuable NFT

Access Control — using the NFT as a digital key to unlock exclusive access to content, events, or services.

Of course, this is just a list of the typical stuff that is currently done with NFTs. I have no doubt that in the future there will be a whole lot more that can be done.

So, there you have it, a quick run through on the what and why of the Ecomemes. Hopefully I’ve helped convey that the EcoMemes are not just collectibles. They are networked and evolving assets within a broader digital ecosystem. For what I am doing on the blockchain this is just the start with a number of components that I plan to link in with the EcoMemes in various ways.

Although the EcoMemes won’t go on forever, it is nice to know that those that have been created will last forever. Of course, that is not entirely true because *nothing* lasts forever. What I can though is that they will last for as long as the Ethereum Virtual Machine is running.

I’m also quite proud that the EcoMemes originated in the class of 2023, which for the record was a time at which NFTs were very, very much dead. Although that might still be the case, I’m not sure that it will be the case forever. But I suppose we’ll have to wait for the future to see whether that is true.

Until then, long live the EcoMemes!

This is how we buidl

Mint this article as an NFT!