An NFT Manifesto
Our history on the Internet was a test run for this moment.
No longer will we be at the mercy of giant media companies who turn us into the product and sell our information to the highest bidder.
NFTs are the first platformless media. They exist on the blockchain which is a globally spread out computer network that exists across thousands of machines, unable to be controlled by any one entity. Everything that happens on the blockchain is open source and transparent to all.
Finally, our information is ours.
And it is the network and our peers who will decide what our data is worth.
When a video went viral on YouTube, who saw the profit on those millions of views?
When a post received millions of "likes" on Facebook, again, who profitted?
When a song streams on Spotify, how many fractions of a penny is the artist entitled to?
NFTs flip the table over on this system of platform dominance.
Now, memes, art, music and culture are valued and directly attributable back to their creators. The blockchain gives credit and funnels the flow of value and money to the original creators.
Do you see where this is headed?
It's also like the early days of Amazon or Apple, only the next giants of culture are going to be individual creators sitting behind laptops on beaches or wherever they want to set up shop.
Buying a Bored Ape or a CryptoPunk now, is like buying shares of Microsoft back in the day. It's an early, early bet on where the future of value might be centered.
NFTs create a virtual stock market of culture.
And the canon of culture will all be traceable on the blockchain, forever. Platforms will come and go, but the underlying NFTs and units of culture will exist forever. Think what these early NFTs will be worth in ten or twenty years from now.
Hint: Now is a good time to dip your toes in.
NFTs are mankind's wall paintings. For the first time in human history, the things we make, can all exist in the same medium. The cultural playing field has been leveled. We are coming out from the shadows of the corporate algorithms and have finally been empowered (we have empowered each other) as individual creators who are valued for what we build and make.
Great article, and very true. I didn't even look at NFTs like this but yeah, you are so right. It seems so much more fair this way, doesn't it? Creators have more control and more privacy...and I especially love the fact that creators and buyers can decide themselves what they think someones art is worth without the influence of big companies and social media....