In this week’s issue:

• Touch Grass: Field Notes from SheFi + A Crypto Conversion Story

• It’s Giving: Token-Gated Energeee

• Still Downloading: We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Programming to Bring you…

• Bible: Bookmark These Bad Boys

• Bonus Palate Cleanser: Feral File & the Digital Canvas 

What to Expect from Babe (the unexpected, obvs)

Every Tuesday, at whatever time the data says is the best time, you’ll find Babe in your inbox. Each issue will look something like the one you’re reading now, only different. To keep things classy and somewhat organized, it will almost always include the following four elements. It will for sure serve.

Scene: week three of eight of SheFi classes have come and gone (Maggie & team, you’re the shit). I'm getting up at 6:15am 2x a week to attend in person (live just hits different you know). I have some crypto skin in the game. I’ve minted some NFTs and have a slightly firmer grasp on layer2 solutions, DeFi, and dApps, and am finally starting to understand what people mean by "gas fees.” I'm diligently taking notes on the difference between CEXs and DEXs. I've got my first non-custodial wallet. I'm deep in it.

And… something is happening. You know, the kind of happening that happens when the light starts to say hey, I’m just right here—see me yet? And then whatever it is you’ve been wading and trying and learning through (in this case web3) stops being so abstract, or at least less so, and starts feeling like a portal to a different reality.

A reality where, in this case, the internet doesn't have to be this extractive hellscape where we trade our attention and personal data for access to cat videos and discourse. A reality where creation, ownership, and community might actually align in ways that don't make you want to barf on yr keyboard before setting it afire and smashing it in an open field, Office Space style.

Throughout all the reading and the podcast binging, I’ve come across examples of artists using NFTs not just as digital assets but as access tokens to build communities around their work. They're creating token-gated classes, special events, and collaborative projects where the price of admission is owning one of their pieces. 🤯 The value of the art isn't just the image itself—it's everything that comes with it.

And this really kinda sets the scene for things being more about reimagining the relationship between creators and their communities. Between artists and their audiences. Between value and access.

As I continue to learn about various token models (I’m for sure at the v beginning of the curve here), I’m thinking holy shit, so many have spent years feeling vaguely exploited by web2 platforms, watching personal work get vacuumed up by corporate algorithms, all while trying to build something meaningful through newsletters, social media, and content that ultimately serves someone else's business model.

Fuck. That.

And so now Web3 suddenly feels less like tech jargon and more like a real alternative. An internet where:

• Creators can build direct relationships with their supporters

• Value flows to the people who create and engage, not just to platforms

• Communities can self-organize around shared interests and values

• Ownership of digital things actually means something

I'm not saying web3 solves everything (cue my typical caveat here about how nothing solves everything and anyone who says otherwise is selling you snake oil). But I am saying that, for the first time in a long time, I feel genuinely excited about the internet again. Not in a starry-eyed, techno-utopian way, but in an "oh wait this actually makes sense for how humans want to interact" kind of way.

I mean, just imagine participating in your first DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) vote—even if it's something small, like deciding on a community artwork project. I have yet to vote in a DAO, but I wonder if it wouldn’t feel strangely significant compared to our usual online interactions. Instead of just liking a post or leaving a comment that disappears into the void, you'd be making a small but permanent mark on a collective decision. Kinda like the digital version of showing up to a local community meeting that’s actually a global community meeting. Fucking cool.

There's something about the permanence and the proof-of-participation that feels fundamentally different from the usual social media engagement. It's not just about clout or likes—it's about contribution and co-creation. It’s the long view/game, not the short.

Beyond DAOs, there's also DeFi (decentralized finance) unlocking financial tools without gatekeepers, NFTs creating new ownership models for digital art and experiences, and token economics that could reshape how we incentivize cooperation online. It's all these possibilities stacked together that make this space feel electric—not just one innovation, but the whole ecosystem of potential.

Of course, web3 still has its share of problems. The environmental impact (though that's “getting better” with new consensus mechanisms). The technical barriers to entry (try explaining gas fees to your 80-year old dad). The occasional scams and rug pulls. The jargon that makes tech bros feel like gatekeeping wizards. I'm not ignoring these issues—in fact, if I think about it, they're maybe part of why I originally kept my distance.

But reading and listening and consuming and being in SheFi has shown me that these aren't inherent problems with the concept—they're growing pains. And more importantly, they're being addressed by people who give a shit about making this space more accessible, more diverse, and more aligned with human values rather than just profit.

So—is it perfect? Fuck no. Is it interesting? Absolutely. And as someone who's spent most of her time in life trying to carve out spaces for thought and creativity in an increasingly corporate digital and irl landscape, that's enough to make me pay attention.

So here I am, on week four of SheFi, falling headfirst into the web3 rabbit hole. Send help. Or better yet, send NFTs.

1. Shit my brother sends me (actual text message from actual brother who actually builds things):

1. My husband’s “college guys” text thread (fifteen members deep) is full of kind, thoughtful, funny, smart men—yes such a thing does exist. Every week they post a chat ranking of who’s… winning the chat I guess, based on who tf knows what and it’s adorable. Here’s a screenshot of last week’s ranking. If anyone wants to place crypto bets on next week’s, lmk.

PS: Subscribe now if you want in on this arithmetic. Miss the last issue? It’s right here.