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Road to Twelve and a Half: Self-Awareness

Welcome to the second stop on the Road to Twelve and a Half series: self-awareness. 

For those of you who didn’t know, Road to Twelve and a Half is a new series I’m doing here on the blog and for my newsletter community leading up to the November 16th release of my upcoming book, Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success. Each week, we’re taking a look into one or two of the traits aka “ingredients” that I think are most important to building a happy and healthy personal and professional life. 

Last week, we talked about all things gratitude. Next up, we’re diving into self-awareness. 

What is Self-Awareness? 

Self-Awareness
(noun) 
Conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires.

via GIPHY

In addition to the above definition, I think self-awareness is about knowing your strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, the things you’re great at, the things you suck at…Ultimately, it comes down to knowing who you are and how you operate. 

All 13 of the traits mentioned in my book are important variables in being successful, but I think self-awareness is one of the top ingredients. Here’s why. 

Why Self-Awareness is Important

If you don’t know yourself and you don’t know what you’re good at, you’ve got no shot; you’re gonna be constantly spinning your wheels. The journey to self-awareness is about being willing to be super honest with yourself about who you are, even when nobody’s watching. The problem is, too many people are basing who they want to be off of what friends and family think, a desire for fancy things they think will impress others, or what’s “cool.” 

Let me give you an example. 

Self-awareness and entrepreneurship

I remember exactly when the value of self-awareness first grabbed my attention. It was back in 2011 to 2013 when the interest in entrepreneurship became widely popular in culture. 

More and more students and execs started becoming startup founders, and I was genuinely confused… 

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To me, it was clear that many of these people were not true entrepreneurs, but then I realized that it wasn’t clear to them. Why? — because they lacked self-awareness. 

Many of these people had great ideas or lots of ambition, but that didn’t mean they were true entrepreneurs. I saw a lot of them trying to be number ones – aka CEOs and founders – when in reality, they were really meant to be amazing number twos, threes, and twenty-sevens. This doesn’t come from a place of audacity or me thinking that I’m better than anybody, anger, etc…it comes from empathy. The fact is that “number one spot” within a company is great if you have the DNA for it and if it makes you happy. For example, business is 100% my hobby. I could never give it up because I’m a purebred entrepreneur, but I know this isn’t the case for many others.

Some people talk themselves into starting companies only to realize that they don’t like being at the helm, they don’t like the barrage of “no’s,” they don’t like taking risks. Maybe they’d actually be happy as fuck in another spot within a company, whether that’s number two, four, ten, etc…I think there’s actually an incredible amount of people that are meant to be great number threes and fours who’ve really put themselves into an unhappy framework trying to be entrepreneurs. Please, it’s time for us to have an honest conversation with ourselves about whether we actually enjoy the work of entrepreneurship, or if we’d be happier doing something else. For even more context, watch this clip: 

My one hope for all of you reading this is that you develop true self-awareness. Remember, there’s a difference between thinking something is cool and knowing it’s your calling. Self-awareness will help you make the distinction. 

Why Self-Awareness is So Hard for People

Self-awareness is about knowing who you are, and when you don’t know who you are, you leave yourself vulnerable to trying to become someone you’re not. Here are a couple of common traps I see people falling into. 

1. Delusion

Delusional people lack self-awareness because they’re not being honest with themselves. Ironically, they tend to look critically at what everyone else is doing instead of looking inward and being real about themselves. 

Look – I get it. Being honest with ourselves is hard. It’s much easier to be a keyboard warrior or to talk about what everybody else is doing wrong than it is to own up to your own stuff. The issue is that when people don’t look at themselves first, they can end up really overestimating their strengths and underestimating their weaknesses. 

When you’re truly self-aware, there’s no room for delusion. You’re honest with yourself about everything, which allows you to triple-down on your strengths and navigate your weaknesses. 

2. Overcompensation

This second group of people is not delusional…they actually realize when they suck at something, but they overcompensate for those insecurities by propping themselves up for everyone else to see. These are the folks who put “CEO” in their IG bios to look good in the eyes of the world rather than leaning into their actual strengths and passions. 

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This group is constantly chasing titles, promotions, and achievements. Ambition is great, but when you’re overly focused on what other people in the organization think about you rather than bringing actual value to your current position, that’s when you’re in trouble.

Titles are valuable when you’re planning to switch jobs or moving to another company altogether, but when I see people obsessed with gaining new titles within their company, I know that they’re more than likely overcompensating for some deeper insecurity around what other people think of them.

How to Build Your Self-Awareness

We’ve established that honesty is key, but let’s go a little further. One of the best ways to increase your self-awareness is by making the people closest to you feel safe enough to tell you the truth about their observations of you. Here are some other tactical ways to get real with yourself and build your self-awareness. 

1. Pay attention to what you like

I want you to ask yourself the following questions…

What comes naturally to me? 
What do I love doing? 
What’s in my DNA? 

Answering these questions honestly is a great starting point to increasing self-awareness. More importantly, your answers will help you get closer to what might actually make you happy. With this, it’s important to understand that what you like is what you like. It’s not about manipulating that to fit into whatever’s cool right now or what you think could potentially make you the most money. It’s about really stopping to think what you would do even if no one was looking.

For me, I’ve always had self-awareness around the fact that I’m a purebred businessman. When I was six years-old, I had a six-lemonade stand franchise in Edison, New Jersey. From there it was trading and selling sports cards, garage sailing, my dad’s liquor store, VaynerMedia, VeeFriends…you get the point. 

People often ask how I stay so focused or why I’ve never given up, and it’s simple. I know what I love to do and I don’t want to be doing anything else. 

2. Pay attention to what you don’t like

On the other hand, it’s equally important to identify the things you hate. Oftentimes, I see people trying to force themselves to enjoy things they just don’t like instead of focusing on their passions. This leads to a crazy amount of self-judgement – which we’ll talk about more later on – and a lot of people end up beating themselves up for being “lazy.” 

I actually think that being lazy is a good thing. Ask yourself this…What am I lazy around? Then ask yourself, is it laziness, or am I just showing myself that I actually don’t like this thing? Congratulations — you’ve just found an amazing mechanism toward building self-awareness. To understand how observing the patterns around your laziness can build self-awareness, watch this clip and let it sink in: 

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If you’re willing to pay attention to your dislikes with curiosity instead of judgement, you’ll learn a lot about yourself. 

3. Pay attention to the facts

Lastly, it’s important to remember that your opinion isn’t the only one that matters. While likes and dislikes are important, self-awareness also relies on the truth of your proven track record. 

You might think your content is amazing, but if you’ve been posting consistently for years and no one’s engaging, the truth is that it might suck. You might swear your product or service is the best out there, but what is the market saying?

When I made a thousand dollars as a sixth grader selling stuff, I knew I was going to be okay even if I got D’s and F’s in school. Why? It wasn’t just my opinion that I was a talented businessman — I had affirmation from the market.

Remember, self-awareness is about honesty, and honesty and delusion can’t coexist. That means that you can’t base your self-awareness solely on your own opinion of yourself. You also have to pay attention to the feedback and results you’re getting, while not personalizing any criticism you get. 

Get Rid of the Judgement

As you build your self-awareness, guess what. You may learn some stuff about yourself that you don’t like. You may realize, oh, I thought I was good at that thing but I’m really not…or, I thought this was what I wanted to do with my life but I actually hate it and I want to do something totally different. 

When this happens, it’s so important to realize that self-awareness does not equal self-judgement. Even if you realize you suck at something, you need to let it go. Why? Self-awareness isn’t an excuse to beat up on yourself. In fact, beating up on yourself is a complete waste of time. All it does is slow you down and get in the way of you moving on to starting the thing that’s actually gonna bring you happiness. 

“I’m realizing right now that it’s one thing to be self-aware. It’s another thing to look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, you’re not good at X.’ That doesn’t mean telling yourself you’re a piece of shit. It just means acknowledging a weakness.” – Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success

We all know who we are — sometimes we don’t like that…but we know. The good news is that the opportunities are endless once we stop worrying about what other people think and holding those judgments against ourselves.

It’s not about You vs. Them or even You vs. You. Play life within yourself, be nice to yourself, and understand yourself. The quicker you lean into self-awareness, the quicker you deploy self-love and acceptance and stop buying into the hype of society.

Key Ingredient

There is so much more to say about self-awareness and how it overlaps with other things like confidence, accountability, etc., but I’ve saved the biggest gems for the book. I can’t wait for you all to read it. 

How are you liking the series so far? I’d love to hear your thoughts on Twitter using the hashtag #RoadtoTwelveandaHalf. 

The post Road to Twelve and a Half: Self-Awareness appeared first on GaryVaynerchuk.com.

Road to Twelve and a Half: Gratitude

Hey everyone. It’s officially two months until the debut of my best book yet. Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success will be out on November 16th. Since this is my sixth business book, it was important to me to offer something new. That being said, I’m kicking off this blog series as a preview and guide to the central themes of the book. Introducing the Road to Twelve and a Half.

With this book, I really wanted to provide a different take on what it means to be successful. That meant offering a different perspective about what it takes to win in business and in life. It’s not about a “dog-eat-dog” mentality or a “black and white” approach. It’s about mastering soft skills, identifying your weaknesses or “halves,” and boosting your EQ, aka your emotional quotient or intelligence.

I’m so excited for you guys to read Twelve and a Half. The book itself is full of scenarios, anecdotes, and engaging exercises to really help you deploy these traits in your everyday lives. Until then, this blog series will give you a glimpse into what you can expect!

Now, let’s kick things off with the first ingredient on the Road to Twelve and a Half: gratitude.

What is Gratitude? 

Before we talk about why gratitude is so important, we have to first understand what it really means. Let’s check out the definition: 

Gratitude
(noun)
The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. 

I truly believe that gratitude is one of the most underrated traits, and it makes me sad because it’s such a core part of my DNA. In fact, this trait is so important to me that I named not one, but two VeeFriends characters after it: Gratitude Gorilla and Grateful Gar.

My OG community knows that this isn’t a new concept for me. I’ve actually been very public and vocal about the importance of gratitude for years. For example, seven years ago I published this blog post called A Note on Being Grateful. If you want a breakdown of where my gratitude really comes from – if you want to understand who I am – read that. Many of you may also remember “400 Trillion to One.” For those of you who didn’t know, those are the actual odds of you becoming a human being…If that doesn’t make you feel grateful, I don’t know what will. 



I’ve talked a lot over the years about many different concepts – grinding, ambition, etc. The truth is, the reason I’m able to stay so focused on those things is because I operate so deeply from a place of gratitude. It’s the foundation for everything else. 

Why Gratitude Comes Naturally to Me

Simply put, my productivity is completely predicated on the gratitude I have for the things I’ve been gifted. When you come from certain circumstances, it’s hard not to appreciate what you have. 

Wildly grateful for my parents and circumstances of my upbringing , you have no control over those things and I am so thankful for mom and dad and humble beginnings of immigration – love you mom and dad pic.twitter.com/m6k4pTIQ3H

— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) February 26, 2020

I was born in the former Soviet Union in Belarus — a country where you couldn’t vote or leave of your own free will. I was raised by a woman who instilled in me more self-esteem than you can imagine. I understand just how much good shit I’ve been gifted in life, and in my eyes, I just can’t let that good stuff down. I’m not grateful because I’ve worked hard, I work hard because I’m grateful.

Why Gratitude is So Hard for People

Thankfully, I was raised by parents who made sure this trait was instilled in my mindset and DNA, but I have overwhelming empathy for those who didn’t. One of the reasons I chose gratitude as one of the 12.5 emotional ingredients is because I see so many people struggling to grasp it and underrating its value. 

Why is that? 

1. They’re Looking Up Instead of Down 

There are several reasons people lack gratitude for what they have. A big one is that they’re not quantifying their luck and realizing just how fucking hard it is to actually become a human being. Add on to that other factors, like being born in America, or having good parents, or living in a safe neighborhood, for example, and you realize you’re actually doing pretty great. This problem is best summed up by a line in chapter one: 

“People look upward at those who rank higher, but they don’t look downward at the billions ranked lower.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

If you have any doubts at all about just how good you actually have it, watch this video of me reading an excerpt from my book. Then, watch it again…and watch it every day until it clicks

 

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2. They’re Dwelling or Complaining 

Another reason people struggle with gratitude is that they’re too busy complaining. Everything is everybody else’s fault or just the end of the world. The truth is, people give too much power to their mistakes by replaying them over and over. Enough of this “fail” stuff – you didn’t fail. It’s just a minor setback. 

Life isn’t so permanent and your supposed failures aren’t fatal. In fact, they’re awesome because they give you context and learnings to execute against later on. Of course it’s hard to see what you have to be grateful for when you’ve convinced yourself that everything is make or break. Stop dwelling, stop complaining, and stop looking back. It’s messing with your neck.

I understand that some people might genuinely be going through hard times. They might truly be looking at some bleak circumstances. To those people who feel like they can’t be grateful because times are rough, I would ask this question: What is the alternative? 

The real reality is, if you’ve decided that life is too bleak, I’m asking you for the solution. People are obsessed with complaining for the sake of complaining, without trying to come up with a productive answer. The problem with that is, nobody’s listening to you anyway, unless it’s another upset person. 

This is why happiness finds happiness and darkness finds darkness. If everybody right now who thinks about the single person they know that is the most unhappy – most likely somebody in your family or a very good friend – they’d realize that person only interacts with two people: a) somebody else who is just as unhappy or b) an extremely positive person who enables them to be unhappy.

The point is that you’ll get more of what you’re looking for…and gratitude is a lighter, more productive way to focus your energy and attention. 

Their Relationship with Time is Fucked Up

I could go on…but the last reason I’ll give for why people don’t remain grateful is simply that they’re scared. They’re scared that they’re running out of time. They’re scared that their best years are behind them. To those people, I say stop freaking out about the time that has passed and start getting grateful for all the time you have left – because it’s more than you think. 

I’m almost 46 years old. Guess what? I know I’m only just getting started. If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t be devoting the next 40-50 years of my life to solidifying VeeFriends IP in society and culture. I set big goals because I’m grateful that time is on my side. It’s why I’m so patient…but more on that trait later on in this series. 

Guys. If you take anything away from this blog or this book, let it be this. Over the next 45+ years of my life, these 12.5 traits will ebb and flow in terms of what I’m focused on…but right now, at this moment in time, it just felt like gratitude was the right one to open the book. 

By its essence, gratitude is always pointing you in the right direction. 

Gratitude and Perspective

Let’s go back to the odds of you being born…400 trillion to one. Stop and think about how ridiculous that is. You’re probably more likely to win the lottery 10 times in one lifetime than to become a human being. You’d have better odds winning 98 NBA Championships in a row. You could have been a tree, or a dog, or a rock. Now, how much better do you feel about your life? That’s the importance of gratitude and perspective. 

Gratitude and perspective work hand in hand. Once you have perspective, you don’t look upward at the people doing “better” than you…you don’t dwell, you don’t complain, and you don’t waste more time thinking about the time you’ve already wasted. You gain a greater appreciation for the failures and mistakes because of the lessons you learned, and you move on to better execution.

Perspective really opens up your eyes to how much more grateful each of us could be. It’s not a matter of “glass half empty” or “glass half full”…it’s about being grateful even when there’s only one drop in the glass, because you know exactly what to do with it. 

Key Ingredient

Whatever is bothering you right now, take a breath, be grateful for what is going well, and realize what you can and can’t control. If you can’t control something, let it go and focus on what you can control, which is how much and how often you deploy gratitude in your life. 

It’s not just about having gratitude – you have to show it. What’s the best way to show your gratitude? – communicating it. Whether it’s with your family members or friends, your team members or coworkers, the best way to show people your gratitude is by saying it out loud and saying it often.

Thanks for reading. I really hope you enjoyed the first blog in the Road to Twelve and a Half series, and I hope you’re as pumped for the book release on November 16th as I am. For more information on the book as well as national and international pre-order links, check out Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success.

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Overrated or Underrated: Fortnite, McDonald’s, Twitch, The Rock, Robinhood & More!

Hey guys. Overrated/Underrated is one of my favorite content series, and so I thought why not bring the latest episode blog-side? If you keep up with me on Instagram or YouTube, you already know the deal. If not, the rules are simple. DRock throws me a topic and I have to decide whether that person, place, or thing is overrated, underrated, or properly rated. 

We’ve got some pretty hot takes in this one, so I hope you enjoy! Whether you agree or disagree with my opinion, I want to know about it. Get those Twitter-fingers ready

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Fortnite

Fortnite. The 2017 online video game currently played by millions of people – and the verdict is…

Fortnite is underrated. I will go to the grave saying that Fortnite will probably have two more spike moments in its culture. I’m predicting it right now: the reboot of Fortnite in 21 years in VR. Smash hit.  

Anything white-hot for over 18 months can always be recalled as nostalgia. That’s why I think Fortnite is underrated right now. People think it’s declining, but I see the longer tail.

Mac Miller

This is an easy one…wildly underrated. Mac Miller was an incredible artist and a devastating loss to the culture. I was a fan and remain one today. Rest in peace, Mac. 

Coding & Programming

Ten years ago, coding and programming was wildly underrated. Now, with more and more parents pushing their kids into it, there are more people doing it, it’s respected properly, it’s compensated properly, and it’s fundamental to society. 

Fast and Furious Franchise

This is gonna be an emotional one for a lot of people out there, but I gotta go with overrated. I know it’s epic and The Rock and Vin Diesel are in it…but overrated. I’m ready for the comments on this one

S&P 500

I don’t do a lot of Wall Street stuff and this isn’t financial advice, but I’ll say I think S&P 500 is overrated. In light of everything going on with technology nowadays, I think there are a lot of other ways to do more interesting, even safer betting than the historic nature of investing like the S&P 500 and things in that lane. As we see more happening with crypto, alternative investing, and people building their own businesses, I just think I gotta go with overrated on this one. 

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

The Rock is MASSIVELY underrated, especially now that he’s putting out a sitcom based on wrestling – I’m incredibly fired up. I think Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds are two individuals on earth that I admire and understand very well. They’re incredibly talented in film and TV acting, they’re very thoughtful, nice, and they’re real entrepreneurs building real businesses. Going straight to the moon.

Millennials 

Millennials catch a lot of flack, but I gotta say they’re underrated. First of all, to all the “greatest generation” folks out there – looking at you, Boomers – YOU raised the millennials. So if you think they’re entitled, you created the entitlement ecosystem they exist in! Boomer parents complain to me about their millennial kids all the time because of my content, but I’m gonna have their back on this one. Underrated!

Ikea

Ikea is underrated because they have incredible execution, plenty of serviceable stuff; people love going there just for the experience of it. 

Napping

I know the comments are gonna light up with this one. Napping is OVERRATED. What the fuck are you doing napping at 4pm? People love a good nap, but I’m just not on board. 

1999 Pokemon Charizard Holo 1st Edition

This is a million dollar card, right here. Pokemon is an IP that sits at the highest level, so, the greatest Pokemon card in the world at the greatest condition? Definitely underrated. 

McDonald’s 

I gotta go with…properly rated. Here’s what I would say. I love the chicken nuggets from 20 years ago so much that I can’t breathe. They’ve made them healthier over the years, but I like the bad stuff. Delicious. 

Ceviche

WILDLY underrated – I could live on ceviche. All kinds of ceviche, gimme a little jalapeño and I’m good. 

Twitch

Another one that’s easily underrated. Anyone who doesn’t understand the power and impact of Twitch as a platform isn’t getting it. 

Robinhood

While I don’t use Robinhood personally, I know it was incredibly underrated for a lot of people recently. Then, everyone got mad at it with the GameStop situation…I don’t have a good enough lead on it, so I gotta go with properly rated.

Rosé Wine

As a whole? Overrated. Now, Empathy Rosé is the shit but overall, rosé is too hyped right now. I’m gonna give it slightly overrated. There are so many epic $20 white wines that people are not discovering right now because everyone’s looking for rosé. 

New Balance

I like New Balances – underrated. 

Taco Tuesday

Who doesn’t like a good taco? Let’s go with properly rated – don’t even have to think about it.

Fiverr

Underrated. Fiverr is a very good platform, especially for a lot of entrepreneurs. 

Record Labels

Overrated. 

Dua Lipa

Properly rated. 

AJ Vaynerchuk

AJ is underrated, and here’s why. I know that competitiveness is the secret. It’s what allows people like Tom Brady and Michael Jordan to exist. I have it, and it’s obvious; AJ has it equally, and it’s not obvious. So, I think he’s underrated for his competitiveness because I know that’s the secret ingredient to the whole fucking game. AJ is a good man!

Rubik’s Cube

I’m gonna go with underrated for one reason. During an episode of AskGaryVee, Logic sat down with me and solved a Rubik’s Cube in like 3 seconds. To this day, I still love that. Also, my cousin Bobby, who I love very much and who I worked with every day at Wine Library, was the first person I ever saw do a Rubik’s Cube. Shoutout to Bobby. 

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is the most capitalistic, manufactured holiday to come out of thin fucking air. That brilliance alone makes it underrated. 

Jay-Z

Are you kidding me? Jay-Z is underrated. Hip-hop is as important to society as it gets, which means it’ll be around forever, and Jay-Z is one of the 5-15 most important humans to ever be involved in it. He’s a business icon; somebody who is in his 50s right now that is as cool as anybody in society if he walks in the room. That’s pretty fucking cool. Underrated. 

That brings us to the end of last week’s Over/Under. Check out the full episode below and if you have any strong opinions on any of my ratings, shoot me a comment on Instagram or tag me on Twitter. 

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Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success

Hey everyone. Get ready for my best book yet…

As many of you know, I’ve been working hard on my upcoming release, and I’m so excited for you all to read it. Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success is my sixth business book, but I can confidently say it’s unlike anything else you’ve seen thus far – even from me! I went deep into my feelings on this one, and I think I’ve really gotten to the core of what a lot of people need to hear to be successful not only in business, but in life. That being said, I hope you’ll join me this Friday, August 27th at 4pm ET for a very special announcement. 

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Tune in LIVE for more details on the book itself, as well as a new initiative I know will bring value to so many of you. You can catch the livestream on a variety of social platforms, all listed below: 

YouTube

LinkedIn

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

TikTok

Twitch

This is going to be a HUGE announcement and I’m so hyped to share it. So, I only have one question…do you know where you’ll be on Friday at 4pm?? 

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Hint: It’ll be a limited time promo – you won’t wanna miss out Hope to see you there!

Announcement Details 

This section will be updated on Friday, 8/27 after the livestream announcement at 4pm ET. 

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Alternative Investments to Look Into: Know This

Investing. This has been one of the topics I’ve been most commonly asked about throughout my career. People want to know why I make my decisions and how I decide what to invest in and what not to invest in, but I think there’s a more important conversation that needs to be had first. 

The truth is, when it comes to investing, the world is in a very different place today than it was for your parents or even your older siblings. For older generations, investing sat in the context of three main things: stocks, real estate, and just sitting on your actual cash. Anything beyond that meant that you were on a totally different level of ridiculous wealth, and you got into shit like fine art. 

Today, things are totally different. Now, 17 year-old kids on TikTok are putting out investment videos. It’s no longer something just for parents or something for the wealthy – investing is part of the culture, and everybody feels like they need a piece. The good news is that it’s possible. The bad news is that there’s a lot of mistakes and the potential to lose money if you’re not thoughtful and educated. 

Now, 20-something year-old “Tanya” isn’t necessarily thinking about buying apartments and renting them out for passive income. She’s not thinking about buying 1,000 shares of Tesla – or maybe she is, but there are a lot more “Tanyas” out there buying Jordan rookies, or comic books, or CryptoPunks…and I think it’s only going to continue from here. There are a lot of different options when it comes to alternative investments, and I think the ecosystem over the next half century is going to be staggering as people’s portfolios expand dramatically outside of publicly traded stock and real estate.

I can’t tell you what’s right for you. What I can do, however, is share the alt investment spaces that are exciting to me, and provide some insight into how I think about things. I hope you find it valuable. 

Everything written below is just my perspective and opinion, and not investment advice. 

What are Alternative Investments?

First, alternative or alt investments fall outside of conventional investment categories such as stocks and bonds, fixed income, and cash. You can check out this beginner’s guide if you’re completely new to the subject, but I will give you my general breakdown. 

With a wider range of asset classes available, today’s alt investing is no longer reserved just for the rich and wealthy. High net worth individuals may invest in real estate, private equity, or venture capital, but there are so many other ways for the average person to invest that excite me so much more. These are non-traditional spaces that are not only seeing major growth, but they’re much more accessible to the average person. More importantly, they’re just fucking fun to get into. 

Please note, my bigger concern is that we’re very early in this movement. Even though I’m excited about the overall opportunity of alt investments – and think there’s incredible opportunity with 5-10% of the individual investments – in my opinion, the hype around the space right now does lead to many of the projects or individual assets declining and losing money. 

I think maybe 90% of sports cards are going to end up not being good, but ~10% will be ridiculous. I think, say, 95% of NFTs are going to go to zero, but 5% will change people’s lives. Could you buy a $200 NFT that will sell for $47k in seven years? Sure. It’s crazy…but the problem is, that’s a needle in the haystack and it takes real hours of work. 

So, as you read this blog and do your own research on alternative investments, keep that in mind: the macro excitement, but the micro thoughtfulness.

Examples of Alternative Investments 

Here are some of my personal favorite alternative investment opportunities: 

NFTs Sports CardsComic Books‘80s and ‘90s Pop Culture Memorabilia (video games, toys, clothing, and other collectible chachkas)Sneakers

As you can see, this is not your mom and dad’s investment portfolio…this is – in my opinion – what investments of the future will look like. For any of these spaces, you don’t need to be rich to start. What you do need is the interest to get excited, the hunger to get educated, and the patience to play the long game. 

via GIPHY

Let’s dive a little deeper into a few of these categories. 

Investing in NFTs 

By now, all of you know that I’m bullish on NFTs. To understand more about the space and why I’m so excited, check out my article What is NFT? Non-Fungible Token Guide. 

Do I believe that NFTs are a worthwhile investment? Of course. Do I believe that the current supply available is so ridiculous that most of today’s projects will flop or go to zero? Absolutely. The question isn’t whether you should invest in non-fungible tokens – whether you decide to get on board or not, I believe NFTs are here to stay as a permanent fixture in society, just like the internet and social media…The real question is: Which projects and which project creators have what it takes to make your investment a good one? 

What’s happening with NFTs right now is exactly what happened with the internet in March/April 2000. When the dotcom bubble burst, lots of people lost lots of money as countless internet companies crashed…but you know what remained? Amazon and eBay. So today, a lot of the NFT projects you see popping up will build a lot of hype. Your job is to do your research and determine which projects you think will be the Amazons and the eBays when everything else disappears. 

We’ll talk more about how to determine a worthwhile investment later on. 

Investing in Sports Cards

If you’re an OG in my community, you already know how I feel about sports cards. From 1986 to 1994, I was deep in the cards game. I did sports cards shows most weekends in eighth grade and high school before falling off once I started working in my dad’s store. So much of my business strategies and understandings are built from those days. 

via GIPHY

Three years ago I tried to tell everyone that sports cards were back big time – my best friends, my brother – but no one believed me. Looking back, I think it’s because they thought I was thinking with my heart. They thought my love and nostalgia for cards were clouding my vision, but I knew something huge was coming, and here’s why. 

Around 2018, my son started getting into cards with his friends. Naturally, it was a huge connection point for him and I to bond and for me to teach him what I know. I figured that former card enthusiasts would now be getting back into the game as a way to connect with their kids. On top of that, I knew from VaynerMedia’s strategy work with companies like Hasbro and Mattel that toy franchises tend to loop every 25-30 years when parents get interested in teaching their kids. 

Fast forward… I attended the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland. Afterward I spent months on eBay, reading forums and blog posts online, and talking to prominent dealers about their take on the sports cards world. After hundreds of hours of research, I put out a blog post on Why I Believe Sports Cards are About to Explode in Culture and Value – be sure to give that a read if you want the nitty gritty. 

Today, everything I said two and three years ago is proving to be true and the crazy part is that we’re just scratching the surface. If you’re interested in getting into cards, here are some things to think about: 

Enjoyment and Happiness 

For some people, it’s about flipping and making a profit. For some, it’s about the hobby of opening packs and collecting. For others, sports cards bring an added element of excitement to watching games, and for others, it’s about legacy or teaching their kids about entrepreneurship. Sports cards are about a lot of things – the game, the gamble, the fun, the comradery. Having the self-awareness to know why you’re getting into it will help you decide how you invest. 

Whatever your reason, money is not a guarantee and you never want to get overexposed financially. There are enormous amounts of risk in this game, which is why enjoyment and happiness should be at the core of your motivation. 

Long-term vs. Short-term plays

Personally, I’m very hot on basketball icons like Dr. J, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Oscar Robinson…I think vintage basketball is way underpriced. I’m also huge on LeBron right now, not just because of talent but because he has a cultural relevance that I think is going to make him even more popular in 20 or 30 years. 

The point here is not to tell you which cards to invest in, but to get you thinking about the long-term. Like anything else, this is about trends – like one decade, it’s all about tight jeans, and the next year, it’s about baggy jeans. Things go up and things go down, which is why I encourage you to invest in things that are evergreen. People like LeBron, Jordan, Brady …these are the names that are going to carry some weight down the line.

I see a lot of people rush in and throw investments behind the hottest rookies. Yeah, they’re hot right now, but what happens if they get injured? What happens if they don’t become an all time top 25 player and the market collapses? You might make a nice bag in the short-term, but you might also end up being the person that’s holding the bag. 

We’re only in the second quarter of demand with sports cards, which means there’s more room to grow. I think if you spend 80% of your time on the classics and all-time players, then you can have a little fun on the side with your prospect bets. 

Education

I am petrified that so many people will invest in sports cards – or anything else – without really knowing anything about them. Do you know about the grading companies? Do you know the different companies that make the cards? Do you understand supply and demand and how that’ll affect the market moving forward? Do you know about the sport itself and the players? 

The barrier to entry for sports cards is relatively low because you don’t necessarily need thousands of dollars. That being said, you should still do your due diligence before investing in anything. Get educated – spend 30 or 50 or 100 hours searching on eBay, reading articles, reading Twitter threads, talking to people who know the game. Of course, all of this will come easily if you have a genuine interest; in the end, it all goes back to enjoyment. 

For an in-depth look on everything I think you should know about investing in sports cards, check out this video: 

Investing in Comic Books, Toys, and Video Games

I can’t go super deep into this because even though I’ve collected all these categories in the past, I have not yet put in my 50 hours of homework to be on the record. Hopefully I’ll find some time to do that soon between VeeFriends, VaynerX (which is now hiring), VaynerNFT, VaynerMedia’s work with DraftKings, VCR Group (where I’m a co-founder), and everything else I’m involved in…But my spidey senses – which have a large track record of being right – tell me that now that NFTs, sports cards, and sneakers are doing and have done their thing over the lasts 3-4 years, you’re going to start seeing comics, toys, and video games have some real upside (because they all play in the same realm). 

I myself find myself gravitating towards wanting to do those 50 hours of homework. That in itself excites me about this category. Go check out completed items on eBay. Go check out articles that are being written…it’s starting to happen, and so I highly recommend people dig into it. I feel like there’s something brewing here, and all three of these categories – comics, toys, and video games – play heavily into popular culture, which is always the bedrock and the foundation. 

For example, 30 and 40 year-olds are starting to make money, and some of them want that original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle “in package.” 40 and 50 year-olds are starting to be more “alternative,” and instead of buying 30 shares of GE, they may want to buy an Optimus Prime G1 Transformer in original package. By the way…if you looked up “Optimus Prime G1 Transformers MIB” – which stands for “mint in box” – you’d shit your pants. 

Finally, if a 28-45 year-old who is affected by the Spiderman movies hits it big with an IPO, instead of buying some land or an apartment building to rent out, will they go buy Spiderman’s first appearance in a high-grade comic?

This is what I see coming. 

Pros and Cons of Alternative Investments

My intention is not to persuade or dissuade you to do anything, but I do want to leave you with a cautionary note. Just like entrepreneurship, investing is not for everybody. When society deems something cool or sexy, people rush in without knowing what they’re getting themselves into. When that happens, there are always consequences. That being said, let’s talk about some cons of these different alt investment spaces: 

Cons

Probably the biggest mistake I see is people who are not educated just going out and blindly buying. Whether it’s an NFT project, sports cards, comics, or anything else, the number one rule I can give you is to never spend your money on something you don’t understand. You don’t necessarily need to be an expert, but you should have a solid enough understanding of whatever it is you’re investing your money into so that you can make a decision you feel good about. 

When you don’t prioritize education, you leave yourself susceptible to the next con, which is fraudulent activities. From people altering sports cards, to fraudulent plays in coins and art, to people tricking you into giving them your seed phrase in NFTs, there are always vulnerabilities when money is involved. 

Lastly, keep in mind that these spaces are very hot right now – and anything that’s hot will eventually cool off. With NFTs, sports cards, etc., it’s about supply and demand. When there’s an overabundance of supply, only time will tell how the market plays out. If and when bubbles burst, your job is to make sure you’ve done your due diligence to end up on the right side of things – and to be okay if you don’t! Remember, any investment comes with risk. Never put in more than you’re willing to lose. 

For example, I love the NFT space and believe it will do so much over the next two decades, but what concerns me is people going “all-in” outside of their means. People gamble in new things like NFTs, cannabis, sports betting, alt coins, new areas of real estate, new IPOs/SPACs etc. with money that they need for their mortgage, food, or life. Please do not do this. High risk or new ventures must always be strategized with dollars you can afford to lose.

Please understand that many of these alt spaces are early days…it’s too soon to tell exactly what will happen. So only put in what you can afford to go to zero. 

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PROS

Potential profits aside, the main pros of investing for me will always be the thrill, the fun, the game. I don’t get enjoyment in buying Netflix stock and it going through the roof just because I knew Netflix would be a good buy. I get a hell of a lot more enjoyment in buying sports cards and seeing how everything shakes out. 

I can’t stress enough how important the enjoyment element is when it comes to investing. Investing is about research, intuition, using discernment, and betting on yourself and others. If you have a true interest, enjoyment is a pro that outweighs a lot of cons. 

What You Should Know Before Going into Alternative Investments

Now for three top pieces of advice for anyone interested in investing. Invest in things you a) understand, b) believe in, and c) can actually afford to lose. It sounds simple, but let’s break it down. 

Invest in Things You Understand

The reason so many people lose money in sports cards, comics, NFTs, crypto, cannabis is because they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing, but then they see one person tweet and suddenly they think, “I’ll buy that!” Please, never do this. 

Even when it comes to VeeFriends, I say it all the time…please do not invest until you have done your 100 hours and educated yourself on NFTs and why they matter. 

Invest in Things You Believe in

When you don’t understand something, you lack conviction. When you lack conviction, you cannot make sound investment decisions and you risk being swayed by the chatter of the crowd or by an “influencer.” The reason I believe in my investments is because I have conviction, not only in the thing itself, but in the person or team behind that thing. This is the principle of horses and jockeys. 

Let’s take NFTs as an example. The NFT project is the horse but the creator behind the project is the jockey. Where most people mess up is that they get so infatuated with the horse, that they ignore who’s steering it completely. For example, I hear lots of people saying they fell in love with the art…but if the people running the NFT project can’t make the masses care about their art, or you and a small group of people are the only ones that like the art, it’s game fucking over. 

Before I invest, I ask myself: Do I like the horse – the app, the idea, the business, the thesis? But then I spend even more time looking at the jockey. Is this just a great student that went to a prestigious university? Is this just a person with a stellar resume? Or is this a true entrepreneur? Does this person understand what it takes to lead a team, build a community? Are they just good at raising capital or are they good at leading men and women? Are they capable of pivoting when an idea isn’t working? Can they take a punch and keep on going? 

These are the questions that inform my investment decisions. Why? Because I’ve learned the hard way. In the past, I was right about concepts but very wrong about the people running them. Now I’ve learned to look at the jockey and lean on my own discernment. It doesn’t mean you’ll always get it right, but if you’re wrong, at least you’re wrong on your own terms. 

Life is a video game – you die a lot, and that includes business and investment. It’s just a lot more fun to die on your own decisions, so make sure you actually believe in them. 

Don’t Invest More Than You Can Afford to Lose

Lastly, I always remind people, don’t be frivolous with your money. Never do things that you can’t afford to lose and understand that very few things are ever completely “sure.” If you want sure money, investing isn’t the way to go – that’s what traditional jobs are for. Before you jump in, be practical about what you want to invest, and don’t romanticize it. 

Takeaways

I think what all these alternative investments have in common is that they represent a societal shift in what it means to invest, and who gets to participate. Young people or even 40-something year-olds like me don’t want to buy old, expensive ass art. I don’t want a picture of some random Englishman or a scene of a hillside to hang on my wall. I want to build a case and display my stack of 150 Hakeem Olajuwon rookie cards. I want to show my friends my sports cards and comics, or pull out my crypto wallet and show off my NFTs. The alt space is here and thriving, and it’s changing the way future generations think about investing. 

Let’s recap on some important takeaways: 

Alternative investments are non-traditional investments – meaning they’re not stocks, bonds, or cash.My favorite alt investments – NFTs, sports cards, comic books, ‘80s and ‘90s pop memorabilia, sneakers.Pros and cons of alt investments – investment is often high risk, high reward. 3 things to know before investing – invest in things you understand, believe in, and can afford.

I hope this article was helpful and provided some perspective on how I think about some of my favorite alt investment opportunities. Of course, be sure to do your research before you make any financial moves. For more of my personal takes on drops in the alt investment space, you can also check out my new two-man joint podcast, Props&Drops with Matt Kalish and GaryVee, available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and a range of other platforms. 

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this blog, I hope you share it with a friend. 

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VaynerX: Now Hiring Crypto Creatives and Strategists

After the successful launch of VeeFriends, the 500 hours of research, and hundreds more hours spent in Discord groups of other NFT projects, I’m very excited to announce a brand new chapter in the VaynerX world. Introducing, VaynerNFT! 

VaynerNFT is the latest VaynerX venture and my next step in doubling down in the NFT space. I wholeheartedly believe that NFTs can simultaneously build brand value while delivering community value. This is why I’m launching this offering for everyone – intellectual property owners, personalities, athletes, celebrities, artists, brands, associations – as a way to help strategically map projects in the NFT space that align to value for their own communities. 

While I trust and believe in my blueprint for building an NFT project with real, lasting impact, I cannot do it without your help. That being said, if you’re a creative, a designer, a strategist, or just bullish on crypto, keep reading to learn how you can be a part of something special with VaynerNFT. 

Calling all Crypto Creatives!

The VaynerX family is dedicated to building the future of NFTs – partnering with celebrities and brands to make magic happen. Day in and day out, we propel some of the biggest IP owners in the world to the intersection of attention and culture. NFTs are the enterprise of the future, and we are here to help our clients navigate this exciting new world…with your help!.

Who are you?

An (aspirational) NFT enthusiast and ultimate team player who will create value in any situation. You understand creative problem solving and will be excited to use your skill set for engaging storytelling around NFTs. You may be an expert or a newbie, but either way, you have an undeniable zeal for all things non-fungible tokens.

You have a passion for design and a hunger to learn how to create pieces that drive engagement and extend brand experiences. You have a unique creative style and point of view, however, you also understand that good ideas can come from anywhere and are open-minded when working with teammates.

Who are we?

We are creators, creative industry rogues, and SuperBowl stars. We are not just on the internet; we are creating the stuff the internet wants to see. We’re insane for what we do and the people we do it with. We move so fast and make so much good shit that we can’t even keep up with ourselves. So, we need more folks just like us: the unconventional, less-obvious, unseasoned (or over seasoned) creative pros. But above all – passionate makers and culture shakers. Want in?

Submit an application to become a Crypto Creative with VaynerNFT: https://boards.greenhouse.io/vaynermedia/jobs/3257279

We’re also looking for crypto strategists!

We’re looking for strategists native to crypto. Are you obsessed with NFTs? Do you get into real debates over your favorite L2? Do you want to work with some of the largest IP holders and help guide them on how to get involved in the crypto space in an authentic way? We’d love to hear from you! 

Fill out this form to apply to be a full-time NFT strategist with VaynerNFT: https://forms.gle/izQ8CR8DkWnAWTpw6

#pitchGaryVee

Do you have a pre-seed crypto company that you want to pitch to me? I’m always looking for new businesses either for now or in the future.  Ideally you haven’t raised money or haven’t fully built the product yet – but we want to hear from you! 

Fill out this form to pitch me your pre-seed crypto company: https://forms.gle/jxwUh7WuGwsqMLGH7

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Facebook Live Audio Quick Guide

On Monday, Facebook announced the U.S. rollout of its Clubhouse competitor, Live Audio Rooms. To me, this announcement was inevitable. Much like Snapchat and “stories,” there are social networks that come along that are not only networks themselves, but also features that can be adapted for other platforms. When Clubhouse first came around, it was obvious to me that their model was both a standalone network and a feature in one. 

Source: Clubhouse App: The New Audio-Chat Social Network

In general, I think that in-app audio chat is a great way to discover people, to build up your profile, and to learn and exchange value. I’ve frequently talked about The Rise of Audio & Voice and the power of podcasts in the past. With platforms like Facebook and Twitter adapting audio chat as a feature, it’s just further proof of the long term impact. Check out this clip to understand my POV on the significance of audio: 

Audio content comes with a lack of friction that makes it very easy to passively consume — the key word is “passively.” You don’t have to look at a picture or watch a video…simply click and listen. As a result, drop-in audio is a great timesaver that allows you to multitask; you can literally pop into a conversation while you’re driving, cooking, traveling, or working out. 

That being said, the reason why you should understand Live Audio Rooms is no different than why I encouraged you to understand TikTok. Even if it doesn’t stick around forever, having tasted what it can offer as a new adapter will give you a “first mover advantage” in understanding the ecosystem, connecting the dots with different audiences, and allowing you to build a voice in the white space. 

Live Audio Rooms are great for someone like me who already has a large audience on Facebook, but it will also be great for those just getting started once the feature is extended to everyone. I’ll tell you exactly how you can use it to your advantage. First, it’s about creating value. Start a Facebook group, build it up, and use that group as a launching pad for your exclusive Live Audio Room. Once you’ve built up consistency, you can then ask for others to join your group to gain access to your room’s conversations. Of course, never spam or bombard, but if you do it right, the value exchange in your room will speak for itself. 

As for Clubhouse, with Facebook and others on its heels, the next step is innovation. They need to do what Snap did — when other platforms began adapting the “stories” format, Snap didn’t allow itself to become a one-trick-pony. It built out Discovery, QR codes, AR, and filters to stay relevant…Clubhouse will have to do the same. 

For now, let’s have a look at Facebook’s take. This blog will explore Facebook Live Audio, how it works, why it’s different, and my general take. 

I hope you find it valuable. 

What is Facebook Live Audio? 

Like Twitter’s “Spaces” — which officially launched on May 3, 2021 to users with 600 followers or more — Live Audio Rooms are Facebook’s answer to Clubhouse. As of yesterday, June 21, 2021, the platform announced that it would be rolling out the new feature to select public figures and Facebook groups, as well as introducing select podcasts for U.S.-based listeners. 

Live Audio Rooms

According to Facebook, “Live Audio Rooms on Facebook enable you to discover, listen in on and join live conversations with public figures, experts and others about topics you’re interested in.” While both iPhone and Android users may join a Live Audio Room, rooms can only be hosted through Facebook’s iOS app. We’ll talk more in-depth about specific UX details in a bit, but for now, let’s cover the two different ways to participate in the new feature. 

How Does Live Audio on Facebook Work? 

Each Facebook Live Audio Room allows up to 50 speakers with unlimited room capacity for listeners. A room host has the option to invite people to their room either in advance or once the conversation has already begun. Currently, rooms can be hosted by a single user aka public figure or within a public or private Facebook group. 

Single User Live Audio Rooms

Facebook is inviting public figures to kick off the Live Audio rollout. You can expect to see rooms hosted by names like Kehlani, Joe Budden, D Smoke, DeRay Mckesson, and Tina Knowles-Lawson among others. Once a room has been initiated, public figures can then invite their Facebook friends, followers, or other listeners to speak as well. 

Facebook Group Live Audio Rooms

Alternatively, Live Audio Rooms can also be started and joined within existing Facebook groups. In this case, it is the group admin who determines who within the group can start a room. They can grant this permission to group moderators, other admins, or all group members. 

Live Audio Rooms held within a public Facebook group are available for any Facebook user to join and listen in, regardless of whether they are a member of that group or simply visiting for the conversation. Those held within private groups are only available for group members to join. 

How to Discover Live Audio Rooms 

You can discover new rooms — or live audio conversations — to join through your Facebook newsfeed or notifications. If you notify the platform of which conversations you’re interested in joining, you will be prompted with a reminder once a room has been started. You will also be notified when your other Facebook friends or followers join a conversation you’re listening to. 

Live Audio Rooms Layout & Features

Similarly to the Clubhouse format, Facebook’s Live Audio Rooms are split into speakers and listeners. 

Front Row and Stars

The “Front Row” of a room is reserved for highly engaged listeners who show their support for the room host by sending “Stars.” Stars are essentially how Facebook monetizes livestreams, with hosts receiving $0.01 for every star they are sent. 

How does it work within Live Audio Rooms? Basically, if you’re really loving a particular room, you as a listener have the option to purchase Stars or Star packs during the conversation. This will bump you into the Front Row where the host(s) can recognize you with a shoutout or maybe even invite you to speak. For more information on how to purchase Stars, see this guide. 

Raising Your Hand and Reactions

If you want to speak, click the button to “raise your hand.” This will notify the host who can then decide to grant you speaking permission or not. Even if you don’t want to join the conversation, you can still interact with different reactions. 

How Live Audio Rooms are Different from Clubhouse

While essentially identical in purpose, Facebook seems to have tackled some things that are left to be desired within the Clubhouse app. For one…Facebook Live Audio Rooms include the option for live captioning — a feature Clubhouse still has yet to offer. 

Another departure is Facebook’s in-app donation button. This button allows users to donate to a cause while in a conversation. The host can simply pick the nonprofit or cause of their choosing, and room participants can donate directly. Clubhouse, on the other hand, requires that hosts point listeners to links outside of the app to make their contributions. 

Facebook Podcasts

Separate from Live Audio Rooms is another push from Facebook towards audio: Facebook podcasts. Starting with select podcasts available to U.S. listeners, users have the option to listen through a full-screen experience or a miniplayer, making it easy to tune in while still browsing your newsfeed. Podcasts can be accessed either through the newsfeed itself, or on the podcast creators’ Facebook pages. 

While the platform plans to expand its podcast offerings in the coming weeks, it is launching with a few choice offerings from celebrities and notable podcast hosts. 

Takeaways

As of right now, only select public figures and Facebook groups have the option to host Live Audio Rooms, but anyone with an account can listen. While the plan is to expand the rollout to more users and groups over the coming weeks or months, you’ll already know the deal and be prepared when the moment comes. 

That being said, let’s recap on the high-level need-to-know on Facebook’s newest features: 

Facebook introduces Live Audio Rooms – Like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces, Facebook Live Audio Rooms is another example of the social media space trending more and more in the direction of audio and voice content. U.S. rollout to public figures – Live Audio Rooms were introduced on June 21, 2021 to select public figures and Facebook groups.Unique features – Facebook has evolved Clubhouse’s audio chat format with in-app direct donations, live captions, and unlimited room listener capacity. Podcasts – Facebook is continuing its audio push with select podcasts, available via newsfeed and on creator pages. 

If you enjoyed this article, I would love it if you shared it with a friend or on your favorite social media platform…and maybe I’ll talk to you in a Live Audio Room soon

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The First 30 Days of VeeFriends

Hey everybody. I’m super excited to write this article celebrating the first 30 days (and counting) of my NFT project, VeeFriends. First, let me just say thank you. So many of you have supported this incredible project since it first dropped on May 11 and I am so humbled. The stats are staggering and exciting, and so I wanted to recap on all that VeeFriends has done thus far — both as a disruptive launch in the NFT space and as a community. 

I hope this article gives you some valuable insights and information that will help you with your own projects. Cheers to the first 30 Days…and the next 45 years! 

Pre-Launch

Before we jump into the 30 day recap, I want to bring your attention to the importance of the pre-launch. When you’re getting ready to launch anything — an NFT project, a website, a new product or service — you have to think about how you will prepare your audience for the drop. The pre-launch period should be about increasing awareness and providing real value ahead of your drop, aka the jabs before your right hook. For VeeFriends, pre-launch was all about education, anticipation, and community. 

Building Education 

As many of you know, I spent months researching in the crypto and NFT space before ever introducing the concept of VeeFriends to my team. It was important for me to do my due diligence and learn from the people who have really been in the dirt with NFTs and blockchain technology for years. When I realized the long-term impact that digital collectibles would have on society, I wanted my community to be properly educated so that you could take part. 

Building education meant creating and putting out content — a lot of it — about NFTs. The main goal was to get you equipped with the understanding you’d need to participate not only in VeeFriends, but any NFT project that piqued your interest. First, we introduced the concept of digital art and collectibles with What is NFT? Non-Fungible Token Guide. Then, we got you all set up with your own MetaMask wallets in How to Make a Cryptocurrency or NFT Wallet. 4 Steps to Make Sure You Have Ethereum in Your Wallet made sure the community was ready to go come launch day, and 5 Things To Do To Best Prepare for 5/5 served as a quick-and-dirty checklist. Finally, we published 10 Ways to Protect Yourself from Scams to ensure that anyone participating in the launch could do so safely and responsibly. 

Ultimately, when preparing to launch anything you want people to buy, your main priority should be helping them to first navigate the space and understand how it will add value to their lives. Yes, I wanted VeeFriends to be successful, but more importantly, I wanted you guys to understand the real power of NFTs so that you could get in early, understand your investment opportunities, and start building your own projects. 

Creating Awareness and Anticipation

Another vital component to any successful project launch is building awareness within your community. Why? People can’t support what they don’t know about. In order to grow interest and anticipation for a launch, you need to put a lot of energy into generating buzz. 

VeeFriends Content

As far back as February, I started sharing my doodles across social platforms. While they might have seemed random to some at the time, I was really dropping sneak peeks of what would become the VeeFriends characters.

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Man …… pic.twitter.com/8xACVH0HBd

— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) April 3, 2021

Why was this important? By the time launch day came, many of you were able to figure out the real meaning behind these seemingly meaningless drawings. At the same time, you became more and more familiar with VeeFriends being integrated into my content. 

5/5 Countdown

Another way the team and I built anticipation was through the countdown to 5/5, which was the originally intended launch date for VeeFriends. Even though the launch was actually pushed back by a few days, all the 5/5 content we did helped build up momentum and prime the community to be even more excited.

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There’s a lesson here that’s really valuable: the importance of being able to pivot. Sometimes, things don’t go to plan. Missing the 5/5 deadline could have been horrible, but instead, it became an opportunity. While the auctions were delayed, 5/5 marked the public release of the VeeFriends.com website. While people could not yet purchase, they could still go to take a look at the site and familiarize themselves with all the different token categories and characters. This helped many of you know exactly which VeeFriends you wanted ahead of the launch. 

The point? Stay flexible when micro details go left, and focus on the macro. 

Community Building 

Another huge part of preparing for an impactful NFT project — or a project of any kind — is building a strong community. This meant building a dedicated home and voice for VeeFriends across social platforms.

VeeFriends Instagram

The VeeFriends Instagram account was launched on March 21. Since then, it has become the place to learn everything related to the project, from current top resales on the secondary market to potential future VeeFriends products and more. 

VeeFriends Twitter

The VeeFriends Twitter account came later on May 5th, coinciding with the public release of the website. There, the community gets a deeper look into the personality of the VeeFriends brand and messaging. 

VeeFriends Discord

Finally, we have the VeeFriends Discord. Launched on April 28th, the Discord server has become the go-to home for those interested in all things VeeFriends. With over 150k members, I’ve been blown away by the kind, compassionate, and hungry community that has grown there, so much so that it became the hub of my GOO token giveaways (more on that later). 

The Discord isn’t strictly about VeeFriends. It’s a place where anyone interested in cryptocurrency, digital art, or networking with like minded people can go to feel supported. It’s a place where people share their biggest wins and make friends both online and in person. I believe in the impact of Discord so much that I believe anyone looking to build a true community should understand how it works. For more information, check out my recent blog, How to Use Discord: An In-Depth Guide.

To strengthen the community even more, we created individual Discord roles and channels for members to get really involved. By appointing some of our most dedicated members as moderators, we have created a community — the VeeFam — that people can really feel a part of. 

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VeeFriends Launch

Now, let’s get into all the magic that has happened since VeeFriends went live. On Tuesday May 11 at 5:55pm ET, the VeeFriends.com website went live for the inaugural auctions. Within the first 24 hours, 3,129 tokens were sold. After a successful first day, the work had just begun. 

We followed up with additional educational content and materials, this time specifically geared towards aiding those interested in participating in the launch. How to Buy Your First VeeFriends was a step-by-step instructional guide on purchasing VeeFriends via the website. After the 5-day auction period, we released Meet the 268 VeeFriends Characters to begin the lifelong journey of familiarizing the community with each character.

Building VeeFriends Brand Awareness & Relevance

After a project goes live, your efforts will shift to increasing brand awareness and social relevance. We did this through fun, interactive tools for the VeeFriends community to use, express themselves, and bond with other members both on and offline.

Official VeeFriends GIFs

We created custom VeeFriends Gifs which can be found on Giphy.com and in Whatsapp, Facebook, and Twitter GIF libraries. This way, VeeFriends entered not only the NFT space, but also larger social conversation. Giving the community more ways to engage and interact with the help of their favorite characters grows the VeeFriends name and enhances brand recognition. 

Official VeeFriends Twitter Avatars

To that end, we also created individual VeeFriends character avatars to be used as profile pics on Twitter and across social media platforms. Available for anyone to download via our most recent blog, Official VeeFriends Twitter Profile Avatars, these profile pics increased VeeFriends’ accessibility and inclusion. Now, even those who missed out on owning a VeeFriend token during the launch, secondary resales, or giveaways can rep their favorite character — not to mention, the avatars make it super easy to spot and connect with fellow VeeFam online. 

VeeFriends Sold Out on VeeFriends.com

On June 1, 21 days after auctions began, VeeFriends officially sold out on the website. While this was a major milestone, it was also a prime chance to shift conversation to amazing opportunities to score tokens on the secondary market. 

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Changing focus, we shifted gears to informing the community on How to Buy VeeFriends on OpenSea. 

VeeFriends GOO Token Giveaways

One of the main highlights of the first 30 days of VeeFriends has been being able to give back to the community. In a Thank You Economy, it’s crucial to show your audience that they are valued and appreciated for their support. It’s good business, but more importantly, it’s being a good human being. 

That being said, I’m very proud that we have gifted — so far — 48 Gary Originally Owned (GOO) VeeFriends tokens to the Discord community. Not originally for sale on the VeeFriends website, GOO tokens are tokens I reserved specifically for this purpose. I knew that ETH would be pricey for many, so it was important for me to ensure that some of my OG community was able to benefit from the launch. 

Not only is surprise and delight central to the core of who I am, but it also enhances community building efforts through incentivizing and adding value. For any project launch, saying “thank you” should be a main priority. 

First VeeFriends Brand Collaboration

Finally, in just its first month of existence, VeeFriends was able to introduce its first example of IP in motion with the STAPLE Pigeon x Perspective Pigeon capsule collection collaboration. It all started with a simple Instagram comment from STAPLE CEO, Jeff Staple: 

From there, the concept was sparked. This was an exciting moment for VeeFriends, as it was the first taste of what’s to come for the next 45 years…more concepts, more collabs, more IP. 

VeeFriends Secondary Market Sales

Once tokens sold out on the website, the secondary market took off. To date, we’ve seen approximately 1,983.88 ETH in secondary sales, including some incredible resales on OpenSea…and we’re still going strong. 

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What’s most exciting about resales is seeing my community make a return on their investment. Whether you HODL or flip your VeeFriend, my goal was always for this project to add value to the lives of everyone who has supported, and it’s just getting started. 

Takeaways

Let’s take a quick look back at VeeFriends’ biggest milestones in the first 30 days: 

Building education — familiarizing the community with concepts like NFTs, crypto wallets, and Ethereum.Creating awareness and anticipation — using content strategy to generate buzz and build excitement for launch. Community building — creating an engaged community of VeeFam through social platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Discord (150k+ strong) Launch — introducing our inaugural 5-day auction and the launch of VeeFriends.comBuilding brand awareness & relevance — creating social capital around the VeeFriends name through fun, interactive tools like Veefriend GIFs and profile pic avatars. Selling out — hitting a major milestone and selling out of all tokens on VeeFriends.comGiveaways — saying thank you to the community with 48 GOO token giveaways on Discord.Brand collaborations — Dropping the first VeeFriends collab with the STAPLE Pigeon x Perspective Pigeon collectionSecondary market sales — 1,983.88 ETH in secondary sales on OpenSea.

Ultimately, I hope this article can serve not only as a look into the first 30 days of VeeFriends, but also a blueprint for how to structure and execute your own projects. Once again, thank you all for making VeeFriends one of the biggest launches in the NFT space in less than a month! 

If you found value in this article, please share it with a friend or on your favorite social media platform. 

The post The First 30 Days of VeeFriends appeared first on GaryVaynerchuk.com.

How to Use Discord: An In-Depth Guide

One of the more recent and exciting developments in my content, branding, and community-building lately has been my Discord interactions. Discord is an incredibly popular voice, video, and text chat platform that got its start in the gaming community, but has since expanded to much more. It piqued my interest over the last 12 months as I was learning about NFTs. Discord servers were incredibly important for other NFT communities like Cryptopunks and others that I paid heavy attention to. When it was time for the VeeFriends launch, I knew that Discord would be a great way to make sure my community was at the forefront of the NFT explosion. 

Initially, I wanted the VeeFriends Discord to be a great community tool for people to learn and exchange. My team would connect with members to answer questions, and members would network and share with each other as well. What I didn’t anticipate was how easy it would be for me to be involved so heavily. 

Much like early Twitter, I find myself being quite active in the VeeFriends Discord. It’s incredibly easy to use on both desktop and mobile, and I have a funny feeling this will be the prime social media destination for many of you trying to build your own communities moving forward. That being said, I decided it was time for a Discord 101 article to help you out. 

I’ll hand it over to my team for a comprehensive introduction to Discord — how it works and how to use it. I hope it helps. 

Team GaryVee here

Hi everyone. As many of you know, the VeeFriends Discord was originally created to build community, answer questions, and further NFT education ahead of the VeeFriends launch. Since then, it has evolved into a thriving hub where over 150,000 people gather daily to exchange ideas, information, and resources. For perspective, since it was started back on April 28th, there have been 350,000+ messages sent in the general channel alone! Without a doubt, we couldn’t have built such a dope community without the vast array of features and freedoms that Discord provides. 

Especially in light of the pandemic, Discord has been instrumental in helping people to get together even at a distance. Popular among gamers, the platform can be used for so much more…including streaming music with friends, hosting book clubs, meetings, or just hanging out online. From text and voice chat to moderators and bots, we believe that Discord is the best community-building tool out there. While there are other social media platforms that have community-building capabilities — like Facebook groups — Discord has hands down the most utility for anyone looking to start a public or private virtual group. 

Whether you’re an influencer, a business, or just interested in learning more about the platform, this article will cover all bases to help you get started. We hope you find value in it! 

Creating an Account and Installing Discord

One of the reasons we love Discord is because of its accessibility. For one thing, it’s completely free to use. Users do have the option to pay for Discord Nitro for access to premium features, but we’ll touch more on that later on. Secondly, Discord is available both in web version (via desktop browser) and as a downloadable app for your computer or mobile devices. We’ll talk about mobile later, but first, let’s start with the computer. 

To create your Discord account, go to discord.gg. There, you will see the option to either download the app to your computer or open Discord in your browser. 

If you are going with the latter option, click “Open Discord in your browser,” create a username, and check the box for Discord’s Terms of Service and Privacy agreement. After you confirm that you are not a robot with a quick CAPTCHA test (online test to determine whether a user is a human or a bot), you will be brought to a “Welcome to Discord!” screen. Enter your birthday and voilå! You’re ready to go. Before you exit the browser window, Discord will prompt you to claim your account by signing up with an email address and password. Claiming your account is an important step for storing all of your chats and server activity — be sure to do it! 

If you prefer to use the desktop app, click the download button and then double click on the file to begin the installation process. Once the app is on your computer, double click the Discord icon to finish the installation and launch the app. It will detect and sync up with the existing account you created via the browser version. If you are starting out with the desktop application, you will have to create your username and password and enter an email address. 

While either version works great, keep in mind that the app comes with certain freedoms that aren’t accessible with the web version, like streaming video to your channels. After you have Discord installed and your account is set up, you’ll want to get in on the action by creating or joining a community server. 

Most Frequently Used Discord Features

Discord offers lots of features that make it easy to tailor your experience to your needs. Let’s cover a few of the most commonly used, including servers and streaming. 

How to Make and Join Servers on Discord

First, what are Discord servers? Servers are essentially different community spaces hosted within the platform. They can be public — typically large with hundreds or thousands of members — or private — smaller, more intimate groups meant for specific friends. Servers are created based on specific interests or hobbies that the joining members have in common. You can think of servers as online clubs full of like-minded enthusiasts. 

Every Discord user can join up to 100 servers. 

Joining a Server

One way to get started is to join a server that you know already exists. For instance, if you have a friend who uses Discord and has a server, they can send you a link to invite you to join. Once they send you the invite link, you simply click it to enter and boom! You’ve found your first Discord home. 

Alternatively, you can use Discord’s search function to explore all the servers available and find one that you would like to join. Click the “Explore Public Servers” icon on the left hand side of the screen or app to open up a server browser. 

This will take you to a “Discover” page where you’ll find a selection of featured communities — these are typically larger, more popular servers with high member counts such as the Minecraft or Official Fortnite communities. You also have the option to search by niche or topic by clicking on a category that corresponds to your interests. The categories on the Discord Discover page include Gaming, Music, Education, Science & Tech, and Entertainment. 

Lastly, if you’re not sure exactly what kind of server you want to join and just wish to poke around a bit, you can simply type in any keyword of your choice in the “explore communities” search bar. For example, whether you want to find a group for all things cryptocurrency or a group for people who love K-pop superband, BTS, just type it in the search bar to see if the server exists! 

Making a Server 

Perhaps you want to create a server of your own. Hit the plus sign on the left hand side to add a new server. 

When the prompt window pops up, click “Create My Own” and then Discord will take you through a series of prompts to help you get set up. 

Decide whether your server will be for a larger public group (club or community) or just for you and your friends.

Once you’ve done that, Discord will ask you to customize your new server with a name and a picture icon. This is how people will come to know and recognize your community, so choose thoughtfully! Click “Create.” 

Congratulations, you’ve now created your own Discord server! Note that once created, your new server will be empty. In order to kick things off, you’ll have to create some “text channels” and/or “voice channels” for server members to interact with — more on that in a bit.

Admins and Mods

When you create your own server on Discord and claim your account, you become what is called an administrator aka admin. This just means that you are the person in operation of the server. You may then appoint other people to serve as moderators, or “mods.” Mods simply help you to run the server and manage the community and can have whatever responsibilities you decide, from deleting messages to inviting new members and more. For this reason, it is always a good idea only to appoint moderators that you trust. Admins and mods work hand in hand to oversee server communities and are typically the trusted authority figures that your community will defer to for help with any questions or concerns. 

Since reliable moderators are so important, here are a few tips the VeeFriends team used to find and assign our community mods: 

Create an online application — To avoid being overwhelmed with DMs, texts, and emails, we created a Google Form which consolidated all moderator applicants in one convenient location. Prioritize applicants who have prior experience — We found that it was best to choose people who already had a thorough understanding of the platform and were proven members of other Discord communities. A familiarity with bots and how they operate was also a plus.Use a bot to identify your most active community members — Statbot was great for helping us find existing server members who were already living and breathing the VeeFriends community. By choosing these kinds of members to be mods, we were confident that they would be strong eyes and ears for the server.

Inviting People to Your Server

Being the only member of your server is no fun…as the admin or mod, you’ll want to invite others to start building your community. Right click on your server icon and click “invite people.” You can either invite friends that already have Discord accounts or you can create an invite link to distribute wherever you like. 

How to Create a Channel on Discord

Within each server exist “channels” where members can gather to communicate via text or voice. Basically, if joining a server is like joining an online club, starting a channel is like starting a conversation with your club members. As you might have guessed, text channels allow members to chat in written form while voice channels are video and audio-based. The former are denoted by a hashtag symbol while the latter are represented by a speaker. 

Just like you name your server, you will have to name each of your text and voice channels. For organization’s sake, you can then group several channels under a category, which also has its own name. In the above example, “Text Channels” and “Voice Channels” are the categories while “general,” “Kitchen ,” “Igloo (meeting room),” and “Twitch Studio (lounge)” are the various channel names. 

Click on your server name at the top of the screen and then choose “Create Category.” You will then be urged to enter in a category name. Once created, your new category will appear on the left hand side of the screen. From there, click on the button next to your category name to create a new channel. Decide whether you want your channel to be text or voice, and then give it a name. Your new channel will then appear on the left hand side underneath its corresponding category. Note that you can create your categories first, and then your channels or vice versa. Once your categories are created, simply drag and drop channels under categories to organize them as you like. 

Ultimately, the main purpose of channels is to create micro communities within the larger server group. To create the best experience for your community members, we recommend starting off with simple channels to meet general needs, and then expanding as you learn more about your community’s different interests. For instance, when the VeeFriends Discord was first launched, the primary objective was to educate Gary’s community on all things NFTs, blockchain technology, and security/privacy. The team wanted to make sure that people had all the information and understanding they needed to be able to safely participate in the project, and the server’s early channels reflected those needs. 

Once VeeFriends was launched, the objective shifted into community-building, and so many of the subsequent channels were based on recommendations from group members themselves. From coder talk to crypto chat and collectibles/flip life, the team took cues from the community on how to build out new channels that would fill their needs. For example, the #helpful-articles channel links members straight to educational content on Gary’s blog. The FAQ channel addresses the most common questions. There’s a channel all about VeeFriends giveaways and another just for new members to introduce themselves. See all of the current VeeFriends channels below:  

It’s only just getting started! As the community continues to grow, the VeeFriends team will continue to build out more roles and channels to create an even better experience. 

How to Chat

Chatting in Discord channels is simple. To enter a channel, just click on its name. For text channels, just type and send like instant messaging. For voice channels, just start talking. You’ll notice a green highlight surrounding your avatar any time Discord picks up on your voice or audio. Within voice channels, you also have the option to turn on your camera to video chat with other users by clicking “Video.” 

(h3) How to Stream on Discord

One of Discord’s most popular features is live streaming or screen sharing. While the two are slightly different, both functions allow you to do essentially the same thing: share the contents of your screen with other users in a Discord voice channel. This is perfect to take your virtual hangouts to the next level, whether you’re gaming and want to show off a cool play, you’re in a meeting and need to give a presentation, you’re hosting a virtual game or movie night with your friends, or really any other reason. It is important to note that whether you are streaming or sharing your screen, this feature is only available in voice or video chats; it is not possible in text channels. Let’s first dive into streaming. 

Discord’s live streaming feature is also called “Go Live.” Basically, it allows the platform to recognize other programs you are using on your computer and stream them to your server in real time. This is an especially useful tool for gamers on platforms like Twitch who want to show their gameplay for others to watch. 

Here’s how it works. When you enter a program — let’s say, a video game — Discord will pick up on your activity and a Go Live button will appear next to the game you’re playing. You can then click this button to begin your stream and anyone in that voice channel will be able to join and follow along. 

(h3) How to Share Screens and Windows on Discord

Again, screen sharing is very similar to live streaming but with a slightly different process. Start by clicking on the voice channel you want to enter. Then, click the “Screen” icon to begin sharing your screen. 

A window will pop up asking you to choose what you want to share. You can either share your entire screen or a specific application window. Note that if you choose to share a specific application, viewers will only be able to see that window. This means that if you exit or switch applications, the stream will be paused until you re-select the chosen application. On the other hand, sharing your entire screen allows viewers to see everything on your computer, regardless of which applications you’re using. 

To begin screen sharing, make your selection and hit the “Go Live” button. To stop your live session, hit the red button. 

If you want to join someone else’s livestream, all you have to do is click their username. If they are currently live, aka sharing their screen, there will be a red “Live” icon beside their name. Once you click their name and join their stream, you can resize the viewing window and increase/decrease the stream volume to your liking. 

Discord for Mobile Devices and Tablets

For on the go users, Discord is available for both iPhone and Android devices as well as tablets. Simply download the Discord app from the App Store or Google Play Store. Launch the app by clicking the Discord icon on your phone. If you’ve already followed the steps above and have an existing account, all you have to do is log in by entering your email address and password. If, however, you are creating your first Discord account via the mobile app, press “Register” to create your account and enter a username, password, and email address or phone number. Then hit “Create an account.” You can also choose whether or not to opt for two-factor authentication. 

While the computer application provides the most complete experience, the mobile app is still a great option with ongoing updates upgrading the user experience. For instance, mobile users can now screenshare, a feature that was once reserved for the desktop app. That being said, the mobile layout will be slightly different than the desktop app or browser service, so if you plan on using Discord primarily on your phone or mobile device, be sure to read through this in-depth support guide on using Discord mobile. 

Customizable Settings

Discord is extremely customizable; the platform offers a variety of setting options to make your experience as simple or advanced as you need. You can adjust your settings by accessing the “User Settings” gear next to your username toward the bottom of your screen.

Appearance

As you might expect, the appearance setting refers to the aesthetic layout of your Discord. Here, you can choose between dark or light mode for your theme display and font size for your messages. You can even get super specific and set zoom levels or the space between groups of messages. It’s all up to you. Check out this guide for support on changing your Discord appearance/theme. 

Accessibility

When you begin using Discord you’ll quickly notice it’s a great place for using gifs and animations. While this is great fun for the community, Discord thankfully offers the option to reduce motion settings to make their platform more accessible to users who are sensitive to excessive motion and movement on screen. On this setting page you can choose whether to enable automatic play for gifs and animated emojis, as well as toggle on/off for the text-to-speech function. 

Voice & Video

Here is where you can customize your audio/video experience. Choose an input and output device for your audio source and control the volume. You can also choose between “voice activity” and “push to talk,” or even enable noise suppression so your friends can hear you crisp and clear. Select the camera you want to use for your video purposes and test both your camera and mic to be sure everything is up and running. 

Text & Images

In this window, you can control how all your messages and images are presented when shared. Do you want display images for your pics and videos? Do you want website previews when you copy and paste a URL address into a channel? Do you want the option of using emojis to react to other people’s messages? This is where you decide. 

Notifications

Discord gives you the option to enable desktop notifications so you can always stay up to date with your community’s latest conversations. You can even customize the length of time for which you need to be inactive on your computer before the app will send you a push notification. 

Keybinds

Another setting available only via the desktop app, a keybind is essentially a singular keyboard key or combination of keys that gives quick access to a specific corresponding function within the app. Discord allows you to add as many keybinds as you want, but you’ll need to create them each individually and assign them to a particular action. The actions the platform allows you to keybind are: Push to Talk (normal), Push to Talk (priority), Push to Mute, Toggle Mute, Toggle Deafen, Toggle VAD, Toggle Streamer Mode, Navigate Back, and Navigate Forward. For a more detailed explanation of keybinds and what they allow you to do, please check out this reference guide. 

Language

Discord allows you to select your default language from a list of 30 languages. 

Streamer Mode

Streamer mode is essentially Discord’s way of protecting its users from potential leaks of their sensitive information. Imagine that you’re sharing your screen with dozens or hundreds of people in your server when you get a text notification at the top of your screen. Well, everyone watching your stream has just seen it, and those with potentially harmful intentions can even screenshot and distribute your personal business on or off the platform. 

To avoid this, streamer mode allows you to hide certain information while you are streaming. By enabling this setting, you can hide texts and emails, make your DiscordTag (the number next to your username) anonymous, and disable sounds and notifications. It can also make your server invite link private so that random people cannot find and join your community unless invited.

For more information, check out Discord’s Streamer Mode 101 support guide. 

Activity Status

Let your fellow Discord users know what you’re up to with a status message. When toggled on, the platform will automatically update your status based on your current activity, like if you’re playing a particular game, listening to Spotify, or attending a public stage. 

Discord Bots

Especially for larger servers, it’s always a great idea to implement bots — or automated robots — to automate specific tasks and functions. For instance, with over 150,000 members in the VeeFriends Discord, it would be overwhelming for one or even several human members of the VeeFriends team to manage the community in 100% real time. By using Discord bots, we are able to make sure that the server runs smoothly and responsibly at all times. Some common uses for Discord bots include: welcoming new users, filtering out spam, banning members who violate community guidelines, and playing games. 

Now, let’s discuss some examples of how we use bots to our advantage in the VeeFriends Discord. For one, we have a bot that sends an automated message every 30 minutes in the general channel giving best practices and advice for avoiding scams. As this is our most active channel, the bot helps ensure that as many members as possible see this important information and are protected against potential VeeFriends-related scams and phishing attempts. 

Another bot filters out suspicious messages to help us actually catch scammers. Yet another one flags derogatory words and other offensive messaging we don’t want shared in our community. As you can see, bots are another set of eyes and hands helping you to scrub your server of potentially harmful participants and maintain a safe space for all. Like the VeeFriends’ Carl-bot, you can even give them a name and photo so they become a personable and easily recognizable member of the group. When used effectively, bots become an integral part of your Discord server structure that your community will appreciate.

Where to Find Available Discord Bots

All kinds of bots can be searched and found online and then added into your Discord server. Some of the most popular websites for finding bots are Discord Bots, Bots on Discord, and top.gg. Once you’ve found your desired bot, click “invite” to add them to your Discord server and authorize them to perform the desired functions.

How to Create Custom Discord Bots

Alternatively, you also have the option to create your own bots and add them to Discord’s Development Portal.  Check out this guide for a detailed reference on how to create, program, and implement your own Discord bots from scratch. 

Discord Nitro

As mentioned earlier, Discord Nitro is the paid alternative to Discord’s free service, and it is available in two tiers: Discord Nitro Classic and the standard Discord Nitro.  For a monthly or yearly subscription fee, Nitro users gain access to additional perks and capabilities to further customize and enhance their platform experience. While not necessary for Discord’s basic functionalities, upgrading to Nitro does come with valuable benefits including higher upload size limits, higher quality for video and live streaming, custom emojis and animations, and gif or animated profile avatars among other benefits. For a more detailed look, check out this breakdown of all the Discord Nitro offerings. 

Currently, standard Discord Nitro is available for a monthly fee of $9.99 ($99.99/year). Nitro Classic is more affordable at $4.99/month ($49.99/year), but comes with less capabilities. 

Discord Insights

Finally, Discord thankfully provides pretty robust insight information for large servers (500 members or more). These insights are very helpful to administrators and/or moderators who need to assess the health or growth of their server community. From the insights tab, you can view audience information like where your members are from and how long they’ve been in your community. You can also see your engagement information — your most popular channels, how many people are talking in your server, etc. For a full list of information accessible via Discord Insights, read this Server Insights FAQ. 

Takeaways

That was a lot of information, so let’s do a quick recap. Discord is a value-packed platform with a wide range of features and settings, but luckily, its customizable interface makes it pretty user-friendly once you get started. 

Creating an account and installing Discord — as easy as signing up with a username and password, and don’t forget to claim your account with an email! Choose between the browser version, desktop app, or mobile app. Most frequently used Discord features — from making and joining servers and channels to streaming, sharing screens, and more. Discord for mobile devices and tablets — access the platform on the go from your iPhone, Android, or tablet. Customizable settings — curate your Discord experience exactly how you want from theme and display to notifications, keybinds, and more. Discord bots — learn how to automate messages and manage your servers with the help of bots.Discord Nitro — want even more perks? Upgrade to the paid version of Discord with Nitro Classic or Standard for a monthly fee. Discord insights — all the information you need to track your server’s growth, from engagement to audience demographics and more. 

By now, we hope you have a thorough understanding of Discord and all that the platform has to offer. We also invite you to join the VeeFriends Discord community to take a look around and see it in action! 

If you found value in this article, it would be amazing if you shared it on your favorite social media platform! 

The post How to Use Discord: An In-Depth Guide appeared first on GaryVaynerchuk.com.

How to Buy VeeFriends on OpenSea

So many of you have been texting and DM-ing me asking how you can get a VeeFriend since it’s officially sold out on VeeFriends.com. Here’s the article my team and I have worked on to help show you how. What is OpenSea? It’s a platform where you can go to buy NFTs…and more specifically, where you can go to buy your VeeFriends on the secondary market. This means that even if you missed out on the inaugural auction, you can still get your hands on a token. 

Unfortunately, there are always a few people out there with bad intent, meaning there are some fraudulent posts on the platform posing as official VeeFriends listings. I’m writing this article with the help of Team GaryVee to make sure you have all the information you need to make a safe and legitimate VeeFriends purchase on OpenSea. 

Before we dive in, I just want to say again — whether you purchased a VeeFriend or not, I am beyond thankful to everyone who has shown interest in my NFT project. It’s been an amazing ride, months in the making — from research and education to the 5/5 journey and the official project drop. I love to see you guys tagging me on Instagram and Twitter with your purchases, and I’m hyped about the community that we’ve built in the VeeFriends Discord group. That’s exactly what this project is all about. 

Now, I’ll hand it over to my team to get you set up for your OpenSea purchase. I hope you find this blog helpful. 

Team GaryVee here

Hi everyone. We are so blown away by the amazing VeeFriends support thus far, but it’s not over yet! If you’d like to learn a little more about the VeeFriends, check out Gary’s recent blog, Meet the 268 VeeFriends Characters. If you’re ready to own a VeeFriend, join the community, and gain access to the exclusive superconference that is VeeCon, keep reading. 

While you can no longer buy VeeFriends on VeeFriends.com, there are still steals and availability on OpenSea. That being said, it is very important that you exercise caution when navigating the platform and triple-check listings before purchasing. Don’t worry — here is the step-by-step process for how to safely purchase a VeeFriend on OpenSea.

1. Have a Crypto Wallet with ETH

Before you can make any purchases, it’s important to know that you will need an ethereum wallet to use OpenSea. As always, we recommend MetaMask as an easy-to-use option. If you have yet to buy any Ethereum, read 4 Steps to Make Sure You Have Ethereum in Your Wallet. To learn more about crypto wallets in general or how to set up your MetaMask, check out How to Make a Cryptocurrency or NFT Wallet. 

2. Go to the VeeFriends Website and Connect Your Wallet

While the tokens are no longer available for purchase on VeeFriends.com, the site will still help you navigate safely to the correct OpenSea landing page. This will ensure that you are only browsing listings officially associated with VeeFriends, and not anything posted by a scammer. 

First, let’s make sure that your MetaMask is connected to the VeeFriends website. If you have the MetaMask desktop extension, make sure you are signed in to your account. On the VeeFriends homepage, click the black “Connect Wallet” button in the top right hand corner and select the option for MetaMask. You are now connected! 

Next, click on any VeeFriend character to open their page.

3. Click on “View on OpenSea” 

This will bring you to the OpenSea contract for that VeeFriend. 

4. Access the OpenSea VeeFriends Collection

From there, click the blue “VeeFriends” button with the check mark listed above the character name. This will bring you to the correct page for the entire VeeFriends collection on OpenSea. Here, you will be able to browse several categories, including “recently listed,” “newly minted,” and currently “on auction.” To see all the tokens, click the black “View all” at the top right hand corner. 

5. Browse Available VeeFriends 

On this page, you can check out all the VeeFriends listings sorted by various filters on the left hand side of the screen. Click “Buy Now” to view all VeeFriends currently on a buy now sale. Click “On Auction” to see all the VeeFriends currently on auction, and so forth. You may also find it helpful to search by price. On the right hand side of the page, you can click the “Sort by” button and click “Price: Low to High.” 

You can also tailor your search with other filters including which VeeFriends have offers, the OG prices, adjectives, benefit types (group access vs competition vs one on one, etc), animal types, and a range of other options. The “On Sale In” filter will allow you to search according to the type of currency in which the VeeFriends are available for purchase (ETH, WETH, DAI, or USDC). Note that if a token is on auction, OpenSea requires it to be purchased using WETH, or wrapped ETH. 

Basically, you can combine various filters to make your search as broad or as specific as you like. For instance, if you want to find a Very, Very, Very, Very Lucky Black Cat that is currently available to buy now, you can do that! 

6. Make Your Purchase

Once you’ve found the VeeFriend you want, it’s time to make your purchase! Click on the VeeFriend you want and click the blue “Buy Now” button. Once you checkout, OpenSea will send a transaction into your MetaMask wallet to be signed. If you are using a Ledger or Trezor hardware wallet, OpenSea will send the transaction to your MetaMask to be confirmed. Then it will send the transaction onto your hardware wallet to be signed and then back onto MetaMask. 

Once your transaction goes through, your VeeFriend will be transferred into your wallet. Congratulations, you have successfully purchased a VeeFriend on OpenSea! 

For a visual walkthrough of this entire process, check out the video below:

We hope you now feel confident in buying your first VeeFriend on OpenSea. If you make a purchase or have any questions, please join the Discord community and let us know what you got! 

If you found this blog helpful, we’d love it if you would share it on your favorite platform or with a friend looking to purchase VeeFriends. See you at VeeCon 2022!

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