If you ask Denis Nazarov, the founder and CEO of web3 publishing platform Mirror, collecting content is the evolution of liking content. 

Denis recently spoke to the Variant Founder Fellowship cohort about how they can leverage NFTs and implement content-collection strategies to build meaningful onchain brands. 

Below the video, see a few of our biggest takeaways from his presentation.

On legacy internet platforms, “you can like a post—but you can never own it.”

According to Denis, legacy brands typically have only “passive audiences.” That’s because creators are beholden to the networks that own their interactions; any relationships they have with users/fans are “mediated by third-party platforms and data.” The upshot is that any engagement is fairly low value, especially for consumers, who have no stake in the project. (Listen to Denis describe the 4 ways onchain brands enable active communities at 4:38.)

Onchain brands unlock active communities via NFTs.

Denis sees NFTs as the mechanism for user ownership, incentivizing fans “to build, improve, market, and patronize your brand in the future.” Not only that, their digital nature has a couple added benefits, including the ability to encode rewards, and “interoperability out of the box.” (Listen to Denis break down how Base activated a community through its strategic use of NFTs at 10:51.)

NFTs are the new bumper stickers and New Yorker totes.

“NFTs are digitally-native swag,” says Denis. They’re also “a way to signal identity”—just like walking down the street with a New Yorker tote on your shoulder, he says. But user-owned NFTs have a potentially larger impact than physical swag: “Your collectors can help propagate your brand narrative because it lives in their wallet, which is visible onchain.” (Hear Denis talk about how to reach your audience via a wallet at 7:28.)

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