🍨Unmatchable Style: Nike x RTFKT's Sneaker Revolution

Welcome back to this edition of The Geral, the newsletter with the best unreported news about web3 communities! For those of you who recently stumbled in here, we are pleased to have you with us for this amazing journey. If you’re tired of being in the same crypto eco-chamber, with the same price action stories repeating themselves over and over again on your Twitter feed, you’re in the right place.

Let’s get to what we got for you this time.

Coverage:

• Nike x RTFKT's Wild New Sneakers

• Hennessy's NFT-Fueled Release

• Google's Cool Leap into Web3

• A complete guide to long-form discussions for communities

Nike and RTFKT's "What The" Sneakers: Because Who Needs a Uniform Pair Anyway?

Well, well, well, if it isn’t our favorite sneaker giant at it again. Nike and RTFKT, in a bid to ensure we never bore of the metaverse, have cooked up something special. Remember those 10 NFT Air Force 1 Lows that had some of you trading your rent money for digital bragging rights? No offense to those who managed to cop one, but turns out, hoarding them all was like holding the golden ticket but to a pair of sneakers that look like a rainbow threw up on them.

In true “What The” fashion, these kicks are a hot mess of all 10 designs, proving once again that matching is so 20th century. Back in the day, Nike kicked off this trend with the SB Dunk Low. Fun fact: Some of those are now worth the same as a small island on the resale market. No big deal, just casual footwear investments skyrocketing better than most 401ks.

RTFKT, the small-time digital sneaker maker, zoomed from making fantasy shoes online to joining big-league Nike faster than you blink. Their most recent trick? Exclusive Dunk sneakers for the NFT aristocracy because, apparently, walking around in $10,000 virtual shoes is what peak success looks like now in 2023.

But here’s the kicker: despite the eulogies being written for NFTs (may they rest in peace), these sneaker stunts might just be the defibrillator for the flatlining market. It’s all based on the radical assumption that people actually want the real sneakers, of course. And if that desire fizzles out? No problem, we'll all just go back to something less ridiculous, like stockpiling apocalypse bunkers or competitive rock, paper, scissors.

So, to the 40 elite collectors who snagged the “What The” AF1s, congratulations on owning the footwear equivalent of a Picasso painting during his “I don’t match my socks” phase. They’ll sit in a vault next to the other artifacts of when we all momentarily lost our minds in the NFT craze. Ah, good memories!

Hennessy's Latest: Because Who Needs Designers When You've Got NFT Nerds?

Well, isn't Hennessy just the latest old dog learning new tricks? Their Web3 platform, H3NSY, has unleashed something that shakes up the snooty world of cognac. They let the internet - yes, the same place championing cat memes - design their latest V.S.O.P bottle. And because we apparently can't escape it, they plastered the whole shebang on BlockBar as NFTs. Revolutionary? Maybe. Chaotic? Absolutely.

So, here's the tea. Café 11's web denizens, probably tipsy on power (and Hennessy), didn't just vote on the bottle design; they practically dictated it. Then, some famous artist, John Dessereau (also known as Johnsville), stepped in to polish things up. End game? A real bottle you can actually drink from, and a digital version for... bragging, maybe?

Danielle Barich from Hennessy seems to love this tech-meets-booze thing. “We’re mixing the old way of making drinks with these new tech trends,” she might as well have said, probably cheers-ing with her computer screen.

But here's the kicker: BlockBar made this exclusive digital room, a 'no-normies-allowed' kind of deal, where Café 11's NFT holders grab their tokenized proof like it’s some secret society handshake.

So, what’s it all mean? Hennessy is diving head-first into the future, blending old-school luxury with internet-style fun. And it’s not just about having a cool bottle on your shelf or a digital token in your online wallet. It’s about being part of something new, something a bit crazy, and totally modern.

Google Dives Headfirst into Web3: Because What’s Cooler than Being Cool? Being Decentralized.

Yet another great news! Google, the tech giant once content with organizing the world's information, is now throwing its quantum computing hat into the Web3 ring. As of January 2022, they’ve set up a whole department dedicated to blockchain, probably because, you know, just dominating the internet wasn’t enough.

By October, as if to say, “No, seriously, we’re hip with the tech,” Google Cloud rolled out the Blockchain Node Engine. The goal? Making life a pinch less miserable for Web3 developers. It kicked off with Ethereum, because, of course… and then added Solana into the mix, presumably for a bit of that 'next-gen' spice.

Fast forward to April, and Google Cloud is playing Santa Claus, dishing out a startup program like candy on Halloween. They’re helping the little guys build Web3 applications that are faster and safer, without spending a dime of their crypto stash. These startups get $200,000 in Cloud credits and tech support.

But that’s not all! Google is now cozying up with NEAR, the cool kids behind the NEAR Protocol, to make Web3 stuff less of a headache for us mere mortals. They’re gunning for a distant world where even your grandma can use decentralized apps without calling you for tech support.

This whole thing shows Google is all-in on blockchain, aiming to fix Web3's growing pains and dress it up for the everyday Joe. So, as we all sit here, refreshing our crypto wallets, it's clear that Google's making some serious moves in the space. And hey, if they manage to make Web3 as mainstream as cat videos, we're here for it.

Best practices for token communities

Once upon a time, in the ever-expanding universe of web3, there was a common problem: tool overload. Yes, our heroic community of builders were drowning in a sea of platforms, each claiming to be the 'chosen one' for discussions, productivity, governance - you name it. Thankfully, these times are over thanks to the practicality of CharmVerse. One of its most exciting promises? A forum not just token-gated but with an interface simpler than Discourse and yet… robust? If it sounds too good to be true, we invite you to read more here👇

Cool Stuff Seen on CharmVerse👀

We understand that for the web3 communities we serve, each piece of content (“block” in our jargon) represents potential - your potential to be precise. That’s why for those of you who don’t know, we recently rolled out a big change in our pricing model. Forget trial periods with annoying limits. CharmVerse is now offering something unprecedented: 30,000 FREE blocks every month for all spaces. No catch, no expiry, just opportunity. On top of that, we're talking about getting access to top-tier features: Custom Domains, API Access, Unlimited Roles, and more. Here is what the press had to say about it.

Memes of the month

For those of you who are new to The Geral, you might get addicted to reading this newsletter just because of this section. Everyone likes memes, and we select the best ones in the web3 space for you fr 🔥

Although we promised no talks about crypto price action, we know how some of you are feeling.

With that, don’t be that type of guy when meeting your in-laws:

Because we’re seeing more of you becoming like:

Finally, a little dilemma for you to think about. You made a bunch of money after the 2024 halving. Pick one to manage your money:

That’s a wrap for The Geral #12! See you in two weeks for another deep dive into the world of Web3 communities.