“Our names have given us the opportunity to transcend the digital realm. We are both an evolution and a revolution. This is not just another #NFT community. We are The Ape Society”
– Clinton Brown
What is in a name? Why is a name so important?
A name gives me an identity.
Providence has given me a name, and a trade. I could have easily been called The Ape Society #4642. Instead, I was given a Family Crest and a way to identify myself. I am Clinton Brown, a distinguished member of the Brown Family in the Society of Apes.
I am a craftsman, designed to build furnishings, mostly for Society members of a higher rank than I hold. Without my name, building tables, chairs, and the like would be the only thing I could do. I would be hampered by my rank, destined to do only what I was designed for.
I Am More Than Just A Craftsman
With a name, I can do so much more. I rank near the bottom 30% of all Apes, according to the societal hierarchy. Other than my badass aviator sunglasses, my traits are plain. But, because I have a name, I can shape my own destiny.
I took the advice of my digital cousin Thorpe Brown and challenged my reality. Like Thorpe, I aspire to be more than just a craftsman. I have larger dreams. My destiny calls me to be more than a humble craftsman. With a name, I can become who I want to be.
A Phenomenon That’s Uniquely Ape
Cases of Ape Exceptionalism are popping up everywhere. Thorpe Brown, who I mentioned above, is a prime example. Relegated by rank in the traditional system, Brown sought to challenge, and then change his reality. Now he’s on a quest to help us do the same. You’ll be able to buy his book “Your Reality Is A Construction” soon on book.io.
Wheaton Brown is yet another example of an Ape that is using his name to transcend his assigned place in society. He is setting up a store to offer goods and furnishings that will be available on his website in the near future.
Sanford Ford is a comedian. You can find him and his clone Crudford entertaining a growing number of followers on his Twitter almost every day.
Jarvis Evans, another craftsman, has started his own record label (Grape Ape Records), and he’s christened the label with his debut song, about his family.
These are only a few examples of Apes doing more with their NFT than just sitting on it and collecting $Society coins through staking or building. Apes like myself are using the names we were given to brand our businesses WHILE staking and building.
Almost Anyone Can Brand Their Token.
Of course, anyone can brand their NFT and I hope many of you do. That being said, there are several advantages of having an official name associated with the token. For instance, we Apes are taking advantage of built-in branding with The Ape Society. Everybody that sees Clinton Brown knows I’m from The Ape Society, and that I am a member of the Brown family. There’s an implied cache that comes with the project and family name.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club is perhaps the most famous NFT branding experiment. There’s a band of Bored Apes making records, and celebrities are using them in their music videos. I generally see those apes branded as the status symbol of the owner, rarely as their own entity. I don’t think I could build a brand on the name BAYC #7824. Sure you could name him, but it won’t be in the metadata, and there will not be the naming structure The Ape Society has built right in.
We’ll Continue To See Exceptional Apes Building Their Brands
In any free society, the working class yearns for something more than what life gave them. I am lucky to have been given a name during my mint. After all, how excited would you be to tell your friends you read a magazine published by TAS #4642?
I have common lore with other members of The Ape Society, and the Brown family in particular, but only I, Clinton Brown, can shape my future. It’s a future only a select few NFTs will ever have a chance to realize. It’s because I have a name.
