Vogu: Now and Then, Here and There

Exploring our origin and our future

Where We Came From

First and foremost, a huge thank you to the community for being here when we launched three-months ago and an extra special thank you to everyone that is still here now. At the time of our launch, we had one of, if not the; most successful first few weeks of any NFT project.

We said at the time that any project that comes after us had the chance to do even better. Since then, we have been excited to see the EXPLOSIVE growth of the NFT market. Seems like a new user record is set with every new project. Which is amazing! It suggests that NFTs have massive potential and staying power. With that said, I understand how the crazy growth of “newer” projects can lead to concern regarding “older” projects (at three months old, I suppose you could call Vogu one of these vets). I am using this post to address these concerns because I think they are fair and valid.

Before we dive too deep into that let’s talk about what we have done as a project.

Hugely successful launch

• Sold out in less than 20 minutes
• Reached 10k members in Discord (first project pre-launch to do this)
• Secondary Sales at $20million+

One-of-a-kind companion drop

• MUTTS available for claim
• Will mark the first and most detailed fully animated companion drop in the space (that we know of)

Numerous art-focused collaborations

• One of the first projects to introduce artist collabs in its main collection
• Post drop collabs included Mech Nuggests, Doom Souls, Greycraft
• Only PFP project to have a Cryptocities collab (so far o.0)
• Gave away 4 hand drawn tars from the amazing artist Tomass
• One of the best remix/deriv communities in the space

Numerous collaborations within the Metaverse

• Metakey partnership enables cross utilization across multiple platforms
• Decentraland wearable
• Sandbox airdrop
• Vogu pet for Voxodeus holders

Worldbuilding lore that enriches user traits and builds the Vogu IP

• Zion Bugle and the Tar News Network
• Faction Lore building session
• Council Lore building session
• Webtoon in development

Giveaways and projects that strengthen our community

• Weekly giveaways to verified Vogu holders
• Weekly community events: custom DnD campaign, poker and movie nights
• Weekly Twitter spaces
• Regular Clubhouse and Twitch events
• Robotics build competition
• Webtoon casting call for verified Vogu holders

Milestones beyond the community

• $100k+ in charitable donations
• Pink initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

We are very proud of our team, our community and everything we have accomplished together.

Where We Are At

On October 19th, we opened the claim window for the MUTTS companion drop. We are now days away from the artwork reveal. We are beyond excited and so very proud of how these animated pieces turned out. This is certainly the first companion drop that I can think of with art more complex than the original collection.

These MUTTS are our way of saying thank you to dedicated Vogu holders. Our team worked around the clock to ensure the quality of the artwork and we hope you enjoy. We also hope you enjoy the MUTTS addition to the Vogu-verse lore — — these little guys are now canon.

Please don’t be disappointed if you find hype around the MUTTS does not meet your expectations. Especially in regards to the floor price. Should or could this drop help the demand for Vogu NFTs? Of course. But that is not the motivation behind the MUTTS. This drop is about continuing to build long term IP, strengthening our community, and rewarding holders.

Where do we go from here

I’m feeling it

After fielding various questions and concerns these last few months, we think it is important we help clear up our brand messaging and really drive home what this project is about and what our vision is. As we lay out these goals, you may find this doesn’t align with what you are looking for in a project. That is perfectly fine! The space is growing exponentially — there are other projects that will tick all your boxes. We just happen to have a different set of boxes. For those of you who do connect with our vision, please know that we are working hard to bring this all into fruition and are so grateful for all that you contribute to our community.

So, what do I get by owning a Vogu?

1. Exclusive access to some of the best art in the space

When you purchased a Vogu NFT collectible you received a unique one-of- a-kind generative art piece made by our artist and co-founder Jason (check out his website, he’s super talented). This art is your TAR. Your avatar for both our current digital world as well as the corresponding Vogu-verse, our literary universe in which all our lore is set. I know I am biased, but I truly think our art is some of the best in the generative space.

In addition to being a great piece in and of itself, this tar will grant you access to other exclusive art. Our MUTTS companions are currently being offered for free to all holders of the original Vogu NFT collection. These MUTTS further expand the Vogu-verse and reward our community.

Moving forward, you can expect regular holder rewards, monthly Twitch sessions with Jason, and new art pieces for auction. You will start to see more visuals that build out the aesthetics of the Vogu-verse storyscape — like our upcoming Webtoon. As we expand the artistic exploration of our world, we will introduce you to a talented roster of up and coming artists. Like our webtoon artist V and our MUTTS animator Pizza Later.

2. Access to the Vogu-verse

Your NFT collectible gives you unparalleled access to the Vogu-verse — an expansive fictional universe, which serves as the narrative basis for our art and storytelling.

Our website provides a basic overview of how your Tar fits into the Vogu-verse. The Tar News Network, run by fictional journalist Zion Bugle, has further built out our lore — even giving narrative relevance to some of our collection’s tar traits (like the red skull).

Moving forward, you can expect more of this world-building storytelling. The TNN will post bimonthly updates. The Webtoon will drop in November — exclusive to our holders. We will explore different mediums and will find additional ways to weave the community’s individual TARS into our stories. We hope to push the boundaries of what we can achieve in comics/webtoons/manwah/manga. We are currently looking at avenues for partnerships with larger publishers but also ways we can self-publish. Expect early access and potential exclusives.

3. An Early in on a big, multi-media franchise

Our dream is to bring Vogu to the big screen. We have created the Vogu art and lore with this adaptation in mind.

Collectively, the team has decades of experience in the film industry. We understand the pitch process and its various highs and lows. We are very pleased with the traction we have recently received on this front and are hard at work pursuing all opportunities. Because of our experience, we are quite realistic and expect this process to be a challenging and long one. Fortunately, we have a few partners helping us along.

4. The freshest merchandise

Our aim is to make the Vogu a household name. Merchandise will play an essential role in helping us do so.

Our first apparel partnership is coming soon! It will include Vogu branded T-shirts and hoodies. Items will be available globally! Early samples look sick!

The community will receive early access and first dibs on limited editions. Please note that apparel partnerships and holder exclusivity will vary vendor to vendor.

Also, clothing isn’t the only avenue we are exploring! Also looking into figurines/toys/models.

5. Metaverse partnership exclusives

Fully investing all of our time and resources into unreleased or unfinished metaverses isn’t something we want to do. However, we will always look to build a footprint inside popular metaverses. Our partnership with Metakey allows us to leverage their multi-platform tech and expertise so that we can easily pivot between the different metaverses.

Coming up: Our Decentraland footprint will be getting bigger. Wearables are only the start. We’ve partnered with an amazing set of DCL devs to help build out some exciting stuff. Look for more info about this in the coming months.

6. Become a member of a supportive, creative community

At The Vogu Collective we want to foster a community of helpful, supportive, and creative people (and robots). Each person has their own idea of what a “great” community looks like. Some want to be in discord every day and have an active chat. Others look for weekly sports and betting advice, maybe weekly poker, or game nights. There are even those that do not care about discord or interacting with anyone outside of their own circle of friends.

No one is wrong here. Community means something different to everyone. Our goal isn’t to force some idea of what the community should be onto every one of you. We don’t necessarily need an active discord if our community doesn’t find that important. You don’t need to come to movie night if that’s not exciting for you.

There are hundreds of communities within the NFT space and each of them are different. We don’t expect everyone who owns a Vogu or is a fan of Vogu to pick us as their main community. We want you to find the community that fits your personality. Being a fan of The Vogu Collective doesn’t have to mean you are constantly interacting with us. We hope you share your love of Vogu to your friends and family or share our announcements on social media. But we understand that not everyone is super active on NFT twitter or in Discord 24/7.

What we do want for our community is positivity and collaboration within the space. Our aim is to be a constructive resource for our members — whether you have a simple question that needs answering or a project that needs input or promotion. When people talk about the Vogu community, our hope is that they mention how positive and helpful we are. We have so many funny, smart, creative people in our community and we know that together we can build a better space.

So if you check discord once a month or once an hour we hope you find our community welcoming. Vogu isn’t an exclusive club. We aren’t a community of pumpers, and we aren’t here to force ourselves on the larger NFT community. We’re fans of the Vogu-verse, we’re fans of NFTs, we’re creatives, and we are here to help and encourage each other.

The Road Map?

We know that holders buy NFT collectibles for different reasons. Some like the art, some want community, some like speculating on value. We have tried to accommodate these varying interests in our plans and hope that you enjoy what we have to offer. However, we want to be transparent here, our biggest goal moving forward is to grow the Vogu IP using an innovative, never-taken-before approach.

No NFT project has ever gone on to become a major IP franchise. No NFT project has ever become a household name. Our goal is to do all of this and more. Ambitious yes. Impossible no. Someone will do this. The work we’ve done and the work we continue to do are all building towards realizing this vision.

So what’s the “roadmap”? Well, we don’t have a roadmap. We understand that some of you will be frustrated by this. But The Vogu Collective is not your average NFT project. We do not adhere to the usual standards and structure in the space. Rather, everything we do is to deliver on the following mission statement:

The Vogu Collective is reimagining entertainment and media while providing exclusive access to our NFT holders.

I suppose that is our roadmap.

Final thoughts

Owning a Vogu NFT collectible delivers on this mission statement in a few different ways.

• Some of the best art in the space
• Regular lore that builds on the Vogu-verse (ex. Tar News Network)
• Exclusive Art (ex. MUTTS)
• Global Merchandise (ex. upcoming apparel drop)
• Cross Media releases (ex. upcoming webtoon)
• Supportive and creative global community
• Various perks (ex. weekly giveaways, Metakey partnership)

When we can, we will announce specific news on the exact ways we will deliver on this vision. When we sign a merch partnership, partner with large brands or if we sign any entertainment deals we will announce it. When we can. When we find new and interesting ways to tell our stories, we will bring you along for the ride. When Jason has new amazing art to release, we will release it.

We may not always deliver in a time frame that people would like. When we do deliver, you can expect that it is of the highest standard. There is a reason our companion drop is the best generative fully animated NFT project in the entire space. Yes, we believe this is the best and most detailed fully animated collection in the space. When we deliver, it is to The Vogu Collective standards. As our project progresses, we hope you come to understand and expect our standards.

As I said, if our vision for the future doesn’t align with what you are looking for in an NFT project, we hope you find our community welcoming and wish you the best in your NFT journey.

We are all on this journey together. We love everyone in our Vogu community and are so excited to explore the Vogu-verse together. We have an exciting vision for our future and can’t wait to have you there with us. Whether you think the Vogu lore is cool, the art is great, or you love being in discord every day, either way, we believe you are a part of the Vogu family.

Thank you.