Author: Kyle

Translator: Kyle

Reviewer: Leon Lee

Source: Content Guild Translation

Have you recently noticed traces of green elephants? Have you heard the greeting “gm dumdumz”? Recently, the entire Arweave community has been infiltrated by Dumdumz. The origins of this phenomenon might be traced back to the rise of the “avatar changing trend.”

The Arweave Community's New Avatar Trend

About a year ago, the Arweave community experienced its first wave of avatar changes, with many core builders adopting the Permaweb mfers NFT series as their avatars.

Permaweb mfers hold special significance as they were among the first atomic assets (Arweave’s native NFT standard) listed on the BazAR marketplace. They sold out within hours of release but did not garner wider market attention.

A year later, the Arweave community is once again swept up in an avatar-changing trend. This time, the spotlight is on Dumdumz, a new NFT (atomic asset) that quickly gained market and community popularity. Each Dumdumz NFT was snapped up almost immediately after listing. The design and concept of Dumdumz captivated many, who spontaneously changed their avatars.

Despite minimal marketing and fewer than 200 Twitter followers, Dumdumz has been embraced by Arweave enthusiasts and builders since its launch. This isn't just about the appealing UI design and the cute, playful imagery; culturally, the slang term “Dumdum” fits well with the Arweave community's ethos, while the design elements reflect Arweave's core values.

The Confluence of Dumdumz and Arweave

The Elephant Prototype: Embodiment of Immortality

Dumdumz uses the elephant as its prototype, symbolizing Arweave's mascot. Elephants are the largest land mammals (surpassed only by certain whales), living up to 50-70 years, with rich emotional and complex social lives. These characteristics align closely with Arweave's attributes.

Elephants' longevity makes them repositories of experience and wisdom in their ecosystems. Similarly, Arweave technology can (theoretically) store data for at least 200 years, serving as an immortal archive of information and knowledge, ensuring that important data remains accessible and usable for future generations.

Additionally, elephants depend on their community's strength and structure for survival and reproduction, showcasing deep social bonds and cooperative spirit. The Arweave network also relies on decentralized participation and collaboration of global nodes (miners) to maintain network stability and permanent data storage. Unlike other blockchain ecosystems, Arweave fosters a strongly connected global community with shared values and goals, promoting long-term stability and growth through collaboration.

Tribute to "1984": Memory Holes and Winston

The number 1984 holds special meaning for the Arweave community, representing George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984" published in 1949. This masterpiece explores themes of information control, privacy invasion, and the deprivation of personal freedom.

"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." The world in "1984" is adept at creating "memory holes" that can erase any information at will. In contrast, Arweave founder Sam Williams has expressed, "Essentially, we want to use Arweave to defeat memory holes." Arweave's anti-censorship features ensure that once data is written, it cannot be altered or deleted, guaranteeing the authenticity of history and transparency of information, providing a platform for free expression without fear of oppression.

Interestingly, the protagonist of "1984" is named Winston Smith, and Arweave uses “Winston” as its smallest unit, where 1 Winston equals 0.000000000001 AR.

Dumdumz incorporates "1984" references in its design. The issuance price of Dumdumz is set at 0.1984 $wAR, with a total supply of 1984 units, and “1984” is printed on Dumdumz's clothing. Dumdumz is not a hastily launched NFT project but one meticulously designed to reflect Arweave's philosophy and values.

The Playfulness and Contrast of Dumdum

“Dumdum” is slang for describing someone as foolish or slow, usually with a light-hearted, teasing tone. If “mfer” is a serious insult, then “Dumdum” is a milder one. In a community setting, Dumdum is more like a term for friendly banter among acquaintances. In the Arweave community, Dumdum has transformed into a green elephant. It looks cute and playful, maybe a bit clumsy, but it is full of goodwill and endless imagination and creativity. Dumdum is not just a name or image; it represents a kind of contrasting charm, embodying diversity and contradictions in character. Everyone can see a bit of themselves in Dumdum.

Dumdumz NFTs are also modeled after Dumdum’s green elephant, but with a slight difference in the name. Founder Cherie explained the naming and concept: "We wanted a similar name but also to differentiate from the original Dumdum to indicate that we are moving away from the original Dumdum and its art style, focusing more on a cute and playful green elephant. The 'z' helps distinguish us from the original while also showing that Dumdum lacks the adult-level intelligence to spell the word correctly. When I think of our Dumdum, I imagine a small child."

If Atomic Assets Are the Awakening of Rights, Then Dumdum Is the Self-Deprecation of the Clumsy

The emergence of Dumdumz has sparked widespread interest in Arweave atomic assets. It abstracts complex technical concepts, allowing everyone who loves Dumdumz to invisibly own a truly personal digital asset. For creators, the combination of atomic assets and the UDL protocol ensures autonomy and potential future earnings. Because of Dumdumz, we are introduced to Arweave and atomic assets.

Following Dumdumz, reflect on your true inner self. We are not ashamed to reveal our clumsiness; we are simply earnestly doing what we love. We are not idealists but have found our ideal selves in some corner of this vast world. We are not striving for progress, but there is always something we want to do more, even if it’s just lying still. Dumdum lives freely, sometimes stagnant, sometimes striving, but always with a fire in their heart that has been or is waiting to be ignited. We are all Dumdum.

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Disclaimer: This article does not represent the views of PermaDAO. PermaDAO does not provide investment advice or endorse any projects. Readers should comply with their country's laws when engaging in Web3 activities.

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