MY FIRST NFT. WHAT'S THE HYPE?
I celebrated my 40th birthday recently by purchasing my first NFT (Non Fungible Token). Oh Steady on, Katie!
My chosen NFT is a ‘Rare Sister’ that guarantees me lifetime membership to the @Allbright, a global community that connects women in business, through digital and physical spaces.
By purchasing this NFT, I was able to help The Allbright raise investment to develop their offering, through making an investment of my own. The Rare Sister provides exceptional value to me through Club membership, workspace, education and networking events.
My new NFT (and membership) is now an asset that can be resold and each time it’s exchanged, the creator of the NFT will take a commission, into perpetuity.
So what is an NFT and how does it work?
For those who are not familiar, an NFT is a small file that exists on a Blockchain in the same manner as Crypto Currency.
The most popular blockchain for hosting NFTs is Ethereum. In the case of my Rare Sister, I had to purchase the NFT using the ETH Cryptocurrency (as each blockchain has its own specific Crypto Coin). I can also store it in a virtual wallet alongside my Crypto.
The reason that many NFTs exist on the Ethereum blockchain (rather than say Bitcoin) is because the Ethereum blockchain is built to facilitate ‘smart contracts’, which is essentially what an NFT represents. A smart contract is a set of algorithms which represents an agreement between the creator and the purchaser spanning the entire legal and financial framework, disenfranchising any agencies or middlemen.
What this means is that artists can make a commission directly from the sale of the NFT whether that art be visual, musical, film or other. The commission repeats every time the token changes hands, allowing creators to build legacy projects and generational wealth. NFTs also cannot be counterfeited, because of both copyright law and their unique position on the blockchain. You cannot take a screengrab of the Mona Lisa, upload it to the blockchain and declare it an NFT. They are also far more secure than the latest Banksy that was ripped from the wall of a local community centre!
NFTs slot nicely into social and gaming environments, but it’s important to note that as mentioned, they provide value beyond use in the metaverse.
Anything which requires a contract and is available digitally can be represented via an NFT, such as a Premier League season ticket, a new album or a limited edition collectible.
NFTs embody the Web 3.0 values of decentralisation, independent control and transparency. To understand why this is so important, we must view Web 3.0 within the context of its predecessors.
Web 1.0 was the written Web where users could view static content and carry out transactions, not to mention the era of AOL discs and being unable to use the Telephone and Internet simultaneously.
Web 2.0 came crashing into our lives in the early 2000s, bringing us the social web where users could upload their own content and interact with each other on social networks. The Web 2.0 infrastructure is managed by the Big Tech companies, using personal data as an access key and controlling the information that people are fed through algorithms.
Web 3.0 represents a decentralised web, where the owners of the assets are the viewers themselves and no data is collected by third party intermediaries. Everything exists transparently on the blockchain.
As we experience decreased trust in governments, news media, big tech and central banks, Web 3.0 represents distributed and independent control of data and resources by the people who own them. It’s exciting!
By purchasing my own NFT, I’m able to learn first hand about the value inherent in this approach and lean into the benefits that this system represents. Whilst Bored Apes and Immortalised tweets will come and go, NFTs that represent true value will simply become a fairer, more transparent way of doing business.
Together, my Rare Sister and I will join marketers worldwide on the journey into Web 3.0 and the evolution of technology, into a more equitable and democratic space. And because of the measurable value that this NFT represents, I know that a real life community has my back, every step of the way.
If you’re interested in chatting about NFTs, Crypto, Web 3 and the entire spectrum of Blockchain technologies, please get in touch with The Runway via email (katie@therunwaymedia.com), The Metaverse (via Roblox @Knackeredmummy123) or through the old fashioned medium of a coffee. I look forward to catching up.
This is not financial advice. I’m not a financial adviser, just a media planner with an interest in Big Tech. I recommend you do your own research. Also a note on security, the NFT space is rife with fraudsters. Never click on an unverified link even if it looks like it comes from an official source.
