Why hasn’t decentralized Disney caught on?

Article author: cc0studios

In the last cycle, retail investors and VCs alike latched onto the idea that crypto could give birth to a “decentralized Disney.”Despite lots of seed funding and high expectations, this vision has not come to fruition. Why?

Certainly, poor user experience, high transaction fees, slow speeds, and inadequate infrastructure all played a role. But the main point of failure was a failure to realize that the foundation for a decentralized Disney already existed and was thriving on memes that spread quickly through the internet.

Gen Z desperately needs a show that speaks their language—the language of internet culture. The old story of "boy and girl working hard in the big city, chasing their dreams and having a happy life" doesn't work anymore. The real problem: curation, not creation. Doge, Wojak (Feels Guy), Chad, Giga Chad, Trad Girl, Soyjack, Doomer, NPC, Zoomer Wojak, Virgin Wojak, dogwifhat, Popcat, Pepe the Frog, "Are ya winning, son"'s father and son, Schizo, Yes Chad, Midwit, LoFi Girl, Simple Jack, Retardio, Milady, Intellectual Chad, etc. (these are all internet memes/internet memes).

The number of characters and their derivatives generated by the internet is unlimited and growing exponentially in every direction (good, bad, ugly, left, right, healthy, extreme, hyper-financialized, etc.).

We don’t need to create new intellectual property (IP). Instead, we need to curate the communities and visual languages ​​that already exist, organically, and well-loved. Memes are the backbone of internet culture, and their decentralized nature embodies the spirit of cryptocurrency. We don’t need to invent new IP, and we certainly don’t need to slow down the creative process by hundreds or thousands of people.

What we need to do is curate the existing, organically grown, and well-loved communities. Looking at the chart below, there is no shortage of characters and content creation/development.

Centralized management of decentralized content efficiency

While the decentralized creative process promotes diverse contributions, it often leads to fragmentation and inconsistency in content. A centralized curator (in this case, I propose that CC0 Studios play this role) can manage these contributions, ensuring a unified vision and quality control. This approach combines the advantages of decentralized creativity while providing the structure needed to produce coherent and marketable content.

By centralizing management, we can streamline communication and ensure a more consistent end product because you don’t want to get stuck with “too many hands on the table”.

Why CC0 Studios and Normal mfer?

CC0 Studios and Normal mfer aims to leverage existing internet and crypto-native memes and intellectual property to create content that speaks the language of the internet. By living at the intersection of internet-native and crypto-native meme culture, we will build a library of super-viral and shareable online content. This strategy, supported by a community with shared financial incentives (e.g. if you own a Normal mfer NFT or $mfer token, why not share a Normal mfer GIF?), aims to bring these characters to the masses and drive a new wave of digital culture that is both creative and economically productive.

Conclusion

The future of entertainment lies not in creating a new Disney, but in recognizing and nurturing the decentralized Disney that already exists. By curating and inspiring thriving meme communities online, we can create a new paradigm of high-quality entertainment that is rooted in Internet culture.