10 ways you can participate in the NFT space, without owning an NFT.

For most, the NFT space is foreign territory, and the most significant challenge for newcomers is understanding the term and what the space is about. Consequently, the complex nature may deter many from actively participating within it. Similarly, there are also those who are immersed within the space but are unsure how they can best devote their time and efforts to meaningfully contribute.

In this article, I will outline a number of ways that you can participate in the NFT space. With the right mindset, motivation, and support, we can do anything with NFTs, most importantly, you can do anything.

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What are NFTs and web 3.0?

An NFT is a non-fungible token, and it can be represented via images, videos, audio, or GIFS. But why are they significant? They prove ownership of an asset through the blockchain, a decentralized data storage that tracks every single transaction and owner of the NFT. Furthermore, they have their own unique token ID, meaning that they cannot be replicated, and they cannot be forged, this is also the reason that NFTs can accrue such value, due to their non-fungible nature, and scarcity.

NFTs are also membership tokens, they bridge the digital with reality with behind the scene offers such as meet and greets, VIP experiences and events, exclusive to the NFT owners. Evidently, NFTs are much more than lines of code, they are vehicles for transforming the web and we are already seeing this through the utility that they offer.

NFTs are the cornerstone of web 3.0, they are the next iteration of the digital age and are providing us with truth, information and value through digital assets. How? This is occurring via the blockchain, and decentralization, two components that have been absent from web 2.0.

101 blockchain: Web 2.0 & web 3.0 comparison.

How to approach the space.

The first mistake that many newcomers make is that they think participating in the NFT space means minting every project that has hype behind it. This is not entirely true, and in actual fact, you do not need to mint a single NFT to be a part of the NFT community. Purchasing NFTs is certainly a way to participate, but of course, it is not the defining factor.

When I first entered the space in August, I was stuck. I wanted to contribute in some way but I was unsure how to. I was no artist, I had no developing background but I couldn't help but gravitate to the endearing community. It wasn’t until I read an article about NFTs that I had the epiphany, as an English language graduate I wanted to write, and this was the perfect opportunity to cover a space that lacked in coverage.

I engaged in the community, I networked, I made friends I learned, every day. I want to drive home just how important it is to interact, but also to find your niche and share it. Don’t be afraid to showcase your work and above all else, believe in yourself.

How to participate

Although you may be unsure about how you can best contribute your value and participate in the space, there are in fact a number of ways that you can engage. In the list below I outline 10 ways in which you can actively involve yourself in the NFT world.

1. Find the important names and interact with them, find out how they participate themselves and who they are interested in. Share your thoughts, ask questions and get to know the community.

2. Join Twitter spaces, join as many as you can and push yourself to interact even if you are stepping out of your comfort zone. When you remember we all have silly cartoon pictures as our profile pictures, it should feel a little less daunting.

3. Share your journey, share your passion, share your interests and put yourself out there. By putting a background to your profile, you will help to better connect yourself with the community.

4. Join Discords and engage with the communities there, the NFT future is built upon friendships and interactions, say gm, ask how everyone is, you will soon find that you are an active community member.

5. Support others, this is key to participating in the community and it should always be at the forefront of your mind. Liking and retweeting are the first steps towards a meaningful relationship!

6. Be active, it is very easy to quickly lose track of what is happening if you step away. Don’t just stay in one place, explore all of the avenues around you.

7. Research, there are so many web 3 and NFT sources of information, ensure that you are reading articles that discuss the NFT world to learn more every day.

8. Collect POAPs, they are free NFTs that reward you for showing up or participating in events. Just like paid for NFTs, POAPS can be tracked and stored in a digital collection. POAPs are great first stepping stones into the NFT world.

9. Scope out the different cryptocurrencies, ethereum is not the only prominent crypto that you can use to purchase NFTs with. Both Tezos and Solana are emerging marketplaces with lower entry points.

10. Enjoy being a part of the community that is developing the next stage of the internet with web 3.0. The NFT space is a collation of creatives, developers, and strategic minds all in one place. There is no better opportunity to connect than what we have right now, so connect!

Follow these steps and you will soon find that you are more involved in the NFT space than you once were. To summarise, connect, network, create, learn, support, and repeat. These should be the ethos that you consider every day, but most importantly enjoy yourself. If you are passionate about being in the NFT community, everything else will flow naturally.