The Problem with NFTs (Part 1) [Metaversian News Issue 007]

Published almost 3 years ago • 5 min read

Metaversian News Issue 007

Thursday February 17, 2022

“A large part of capitalism is built on artificial scarcity, and web3 is no different.”

Welcome to Issue 007 of Metaversian News.

Last week's issue got skipped because I had an identity crisis.

I watched this video, Line Goes Up, which is a 2 hour documentary about a lot of problems with NFTs and web3 in general.

And then I wasn't sure I even wanted to be involved in this stuff anymore.

I wanted to do a special edition of Metaversian News that was going to be a single essay response to the video.

But the more I research all of his points, the deeper into the rabbit hole I go.

The reality is there are a lot of problems.

With NFTs, blockchain, the metaverse, and web3.

I highly recommend watching the video (I watched it at 1.25x speed and it was still really easy to understand).

I titled this issue "Part 1" because I want to go through it again and follow up.

Hopefully it won't be book length.

Anyway...

Let's go!

Building the Metaverse

“It ain’t gonna build itself.”

We need to change the definition of "web3".

Right now, when people talk about web3 they use it as a catch all for blockchain technology.

There's cryptocurrency, built on blockchain.

NFTs are built on blockchain.

The metaverse is built on NFTs which are built on blockchain.

So, web3 is the internet run on blockchain.

I'd like to treat all of the web# eras as less about the technology and more about the problems they solve.

Web1 was all about solving the problem of getting information around the world instantly.
Web2 was all about solving the problem of getting communications around the world instantly.
Web3 is all about...?

What I've gathered is that people want to own their content again.

The ability for that never went away, and why blockchain was decided to be the vehicle for that is beyond me.

Protocols like ActivityPub allow different sites to talk to each other seamlessly, as blockchain is supposed to do.

IndieWeb and Keybase allow identity verification amongst various platforms, another problem blockchain is supposed to solve.

The only thing that blockchain is solving that we don't already have an answer for is the commoditization of anything digital.

Right now, in the real world, if you own an object and you don't want it anymore, you can sell it.

Digitally, that's often difficult to do.

More often than not, it's actually illegal to resell something you've purchased online.

For example, I can resell a physical book that I've purchased, but I can't resell an ebook.

I'll admit, blockchain has made that easy for the average consumer.

But I still believe that it doesn't have to be blockchain to solve that problem.

And web3 should be focused on solving specific problems rather than focused on using specific technologies.

Metaverse Events

“Meet me in the metaverse.”

For Decentraland events (there are a lot!) check out:

https://events.decentraland.org

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For Somnium Space events, check out:

https://somniumspace.com/events

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The Sandbox game still doesn't have an events calendar on their website.

NFT News

“All the news that’s fit to mint.”

Is it just me, or are NFTs getting boring?

It's really starting to feel like they're all the same.

I've mentioned before that the only NFTs I'm really interested in purchasing anymore have to have a Play-to-Earn (P2E) aspect to them, or have to be digital property.

The more time I spend on Twitter and in Discord groups, the more bored I get with the same old "get one of 6666 randomly generated anthropomorphized animal."

A lot of them have roadmaps that say they will become P2E games but when will that be?

What are these people's track records?

How many roadmaps are not actually happening?

I think I understand why the Apes are Bored.

It's all become the same.

Even mine are stupid.

What are your thoughts on this? Hit reply and let me know.

Metaverse (& NFT) Marketing

“Web3 is already an oversaturated market; here’s how you stand out.”

Roadmaps are really important to the success of your web3 project.

Whether it's NFTs or a SaaS (software as a service), everyone wants to see a roadmap now.

As I mentioned above, how do you trust a roadmap?

Right now people are believing in roadmaps blindly.

Anyone can start a project and write their dream roadmap, but will it ever happen?

To successfully market a web3 project, you not only need a realistic roadmap, but you need proof that you can and will follow through on it.

Almost no one is doing this right now, but as roadmaps start to fall through, it's going to become important.

Instead of waiting for that to happen, be ahead of the curve.

Be one of the first to have a realistic and provable roadmap.

And then follow through on it.

This will be critical to the success of web3 projects.

Meatspace

“Life is only a dream, and the metaverse is an extension of ourselves.”

Have you seen a VR music video?

It's a cool concept, but they still feel very passive.

This one is one of my favorites, but it's still just a theme park ride.

Gorillaz did a better job with this one, but again -- theme park ride.

I released a new album of my music last week, and I'd like to make VR (and eventually AR) music videos that are a little more interactive.

I picked up some 3D modeling courses and Unity 3D courses and tools, but who knows when I'll make the time to sit down and learn them.

Between day job, client work side hustle, this newsletter...

Anyway my idea is that it would still have things happening outside of the users control.

Instead of just sitting in a It's A Small World rails cart, the user should be able to move around the scene freely.

Maybe some small interactions from the user to change small things, but I don't want it to become too much like a video game.

I love video games, and I plan to make more in the future (I have a degree in game design), but I still want to differentiate a VR music video from a music video game.

AR music videos will be pretty wild when we get to that point.

Touch Grass

“So we don’t lose touch with reality.”

This section of the newsletter is probably going to move more in the direction of health.

Not just bodily health for us Metaversian travelers.

Mental health, and planet health.

Something I've decided is that I'm no longer going to be involved in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other power-hungry coins/tokens.

It's #CleanNFTs only for me.

Right now, I'm particularly into Tezos ($XTZ) but I've also heard about Cardano (ADA), which I need to do more research into.

I'll report back on my findings.

See you next week,
— Garrett AKA megabyteGhost
MetaversianNews.com

P.S. you can buy NFTs of this newsletter at FiveDollarNFTs.com

At least 10% of the money will go towards pro-environment causes.

The rest goes towards making more of this newsletter.

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Disclaimers:

Nothing in this newsletter constitutes financial, legal, or any other kind of advice. You are solely responsible for the decisions you make.

No person or other entity mentioned in this newsletter is being officially endorsed by Metaversian News. Their opinions do not reflect the opinions of Metaversian News.

I shouldn't even have to say this stuff.