Mark Zuckerberg's Meta rebranding & declaration in building "The Metaverse" has gotten the whole internets abuzz with conversation about the possibilities. One area in particular that has garnered a lot of attention is crypto, which is seen as the most likely solution to populate the metaverse with digital assets that can effectively be "owned".
This brings with it many implications, much of which we have not grasped yet because of what we're used to. Just as we all collectively made fun of Apple's airpods, the idea of "owning" a piece of digital art that we can right click and save seems just as ridiculous. But this is just because, against our current environment it does seem like a ridiculous premise. Many of us also thought (and still do think) the same of not "owning software", and yet here we are, almost completely shifted to a subscription model in most digital things of our lives. It's easy to forget how quickly things can go from ridiculous, to common stay.
However, what happens when right clicking and saving a jpeg is no longer possible? What if platforms require us to upload NFT's rather than jpeg's as proof of ownership? Could the next generation of social media run on NFT's or Verified NFT's? While it may seem ridiculous (and in some ways counter-intuitive to the freedoms crypto is supposed to bring), this is an actual possibility, as it becomes a way for artists to protect their work. Much in the same way a pair of Gucci shoes hold certain value, despite the fact that it can be copied, slightly altered, or even be a perfect factory reject and not hold the same value. We place a certain value on "authentic" goods. Much like a first edition comic book, figurine or card print holds value, despite having an army of replica's, all it is, is a mindset shift to expand to the digital, something we have already started to do without realizing it. A url can be as valuable as prime real estate in the real world. A World of Warcraft item can sell for thousands of dollars, and people spend hours, days and weeks camping FFXI housing complexes to get a property location. Much like we do for an Iphone. So does NFT's start to seem as ridiculous when we look at it from this lens. The value is there, we've only just started to build the world that will make use of it.
Within the concept of the metaverse, NFT's can become part of our identity. Replacing or augmenting what gives us status. A Cryptopunks and BoredApes are the new Rolex's & Cartier's of this exciting new world. Having it as part of your image, in a way that only you, it's owner can use, just adds its value.
The internet changed the way we lived and changed what holds value. Url's became real estate democratized certain media, and began the decentralization process. Social media did the same, democratizing, and in many ways de-valuing photo & video. It brought us closer together, but also putting more of a spotlight on us than ever. The metaverse seeks to upend that and start the process anew. What will be the new things that hold value? What will lose value? What will be the things we hold most important, and what will we disregard?
Only time will tell, but NFT's seem to be a major part of that conversation.