I’m suspicious by nature and in Crypto that might be the best way to approach every project and community before exchanging money for a digital product. With the fast pace of crypto there is an undeniable need to exercise caution and common sense. If you have 2 working brain cells and value your time and money, then keep reading.
So, what to look for and what tools exist to help you weigh your options? Great question!
Let’s start with the basics by exploring a project together, and I’ll show you some of the free tools and resources available along the way.
Without further ado, I give you PunkAss.
Yes, PunkAss. I’m using you as my fabulASS project example. It’s for educational purposes so don’t get cheeky with me.
Imagine waking up one morning to see an ass all over your twitter feed. It’s going to capture your attention and let’s agree for the sake of exploration, PunkAss has also piqued your curiosity. You see they are minting, and you want to know more. What do you do?
Well, you look at the source of where you got the information from in the first place. In this case, it’s twitter.
When you look at the PunkAss Twitter account you see this:
Take your time to look at what information this project is giving you before doing anything else.
- The bio is a discord link and a mention of another account @nftcreativeca
- The location Uranus is clever, which indicates the playfulness of the team with the use of Butt Puns
- They have a project website. (Not every project will have one if they haven’t been around that long, but in this case, we see this project has been here for a year)
- They don’t follow many people, but have an impressive following (is this sus? Maybe but for now we are just looking at what information is being presented first without me doing anything).
- Much, much more!
The PFP has an advisory covering it’s bum. Is this censorship, or sarcastic?
The Banner. Look at the banner for additional information. In the top right-hand corner is a badge for $NFTC Rewards.
What is this? I wonder if it has anything to do with the @mention in the bio Without even engaging with the account, this project has put out a lot of information.
Glance
Let’s use some free resources to learn more: Glance
Glance allows users to study Twitter Profiles and see who they engage with and how they engage. It also allows you to look at their followers. Pretty Neat.
Botometer
Without ever clicking on the links within the project profile, we have explored the legitimacy of this project using 2 free tools. I’m sure there are additional tools that can accomplish this, so if you have other tools that you like, please share them with us.
Let’s Move on.
Website
Some questions to ask yourself when visiting the website:
- What information is available
- What links are available
- How easy is it for me to use and read
- Is there transparency about the team
- What is the purpose of the project
- Is it just art or is this project adding utility
- What about that @nftnreativeca they mention in the twitter bio
- Does the website mention what that is or what $NFTC Rewards is
- Are there Social links
- Is there a Roadmap
- Do they have Tokenomics
- How do I feel about the project and the art
- Is this project collaborating with other projects
- If they are minting, how are they minting
- Red Flag warning is a project that mints only on discord or Twitter. It’s a cash grab in my opinion.
Discord
The last place I go, is Discord
Personally, discord isn’t going to draw me into a project. Discord can become very needy and too time consuming. When looking at a project, the overall vibe of the community will dictate if it’s a project with real engagement with passionate members of the community. Discord is a great social hangout, where information can be shared quickly and efficiently.
Final Thought
Trust your instinct and look at things objectively when selecting what project to mint!
