What are NFTs… really?
The heart & soul of a technological, cultural, and psychosocial phenomenon that’s here to stay
Julius, Chief Branding Officer & Editor at Akyllers, Akalabs Inc
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. NFT is short for Non-Fungible Token. Duh… But c’mon, let’s be real for a second.
Set all of the bullsh*t aside!
Forget all of the conventions and norms and usual definitions, and take a second to really think about the title of this article. Whether you’ve heard of them, minted them, flipped them, HODL’ed them, or even created them, what are NFTs, really…?
Even when you think that you’ve gotten pretty good at something, or are quite familiar with it and know it well, it’s always good to ask yourself the seemingly dumb & obvious questions. You’d be pretty surprised at just how much you don’t know. But who am I to judge, and for you to take me at my word, right? So let’s give it a shot; let me show you just how much you don’t know to build some cred, so bear with me a second.
“Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise” — Michael Jordan
Things you think you know, but really don’t…
What’s cold? Unless you’ve been living in the heart of the Sun or any other ball of gas doing nuclear fusion and fission at temperatures in the thousands of Kelvins, then you’ve had a run in or two with cold. Whether you’ve seen & felt it in the snow, or the vapor coming out of your mouth during winter, or the shivering of your skin as you rush for a blanket & extra padding, cold is inextricably linked to human experience. Now, how many of you can define it?
And when I say define it, I mean really define it. None of that “It’s the opposite of hot, duh…” mumbo jumbo.
Still not convinced? Fine. Can you define dark? That thing that fills your room (and everything around us) when it’s night time, half of the day, everyday of our lives? That thing that causes you to bump your toe against the edge of your bed, and helps you get away with all manner of tomfoolery in the school auditorium when an electricity cut happens. Can you really define it?
Yeah, exactly…
If you feel like you’re doubting existence itself and your entire knowledge base at this point, and your brain is all scrambled up and looks something like that image up there, then don’t worry! That just means I’m doing my job right, and your brain is primed to soak up all of the juicy NFT info I’m about to throw your way. If not, then listen up anyways cz let’s be real, what else do you have that’s better than this right now?
What the heck are NFTs then?!?
To understand NFTs, we need to adopt a tripartite (that means three-way, btw) definition. NFTs are obviously, at their very core, a form of Tech, but to reduce the definition of NFTs to just technology would be a great crime indeed.
If you ask me, NFTs are built upon 3 pillars: Technological, Cultural, & Psychosocial.
Technological
NFTs were born out of the amazing capabilities of blockchain technology, so it’s only natural that one of the pillars of its definition be Tech.
If you’re not very technical and tech-savvy, those letters and numbers you often see on the websites of NFT projects (i.e. ERC 1155), yeah that’s a reference to the specific blockchain technology the project has decided to adopt and use for their NFTs. In this example it’s the ETH, or Ethereum, blockchain. Think of the numbers as model numbers: they represent a different model / iteration / technology which allows you to do different things than, let’s say, ERC 721.
Technologically, what makes NFTs so special?
Well first, their non-fungible aspect. To put it simply, they’re non-reproducible. So if you own an NFT, you have an imbedded certificate of authenticity for that asset recorded on the blockchain, and nobody can claim it or pretend it’s otherwise theirs. This show-of-authenticity is becoming more and more prominent, and is being adopted increasingly in our daily lives (ex., Twitter Hex for verified NFT profile pics). Humans have always had a knack for wanting to show off that they own a 1/1 collectible, & NFTs & their technolog just made that easier!
Second, their utility. NFTs are technologically linked to the wallets of their users. This allows the creators of a collection to, let’s say, decide to airdrop to holders 100$ per NFT owned from the collection. Now, imagine with me having to do this with physical art, like a Monet painting: we would have to physically go to each and every owner, and inspect and verify the authenticity of the piece before allocating the prize, and even then human biases and errors may occur. With NFTs, all of this hassle is in the past. Cool tech, eh? And that’s just one of the utilities that NFTs can bring! Don’t get me started on access to communities and social networks, crowd-funding, accelerator programs as part of roadmap activations, etc…
Cultural
When you hear the word culture, the first thing you think about is internet culture. To some extent, that’s true! A lot of projects are jam-packed with Internet lore. However, the space is truly maturing now, and we’re beginning to see more and more traditional cultural elements in projects, the kind that really brings people together.
Take Azuki for example! Beyond my own personal research and vetting, anyone who is a strong member of The Garden will tell you that it is a cultural experience by all means. Beyond the clear hints to Anime and Asian culture from items to streetwear in the art, Azuki’s ‘Enter The Alley’ event organized at NFT NYC 2022 was a pure display of, nay, immersion into Asian culture at its finest. From the tattoo parlor, to the food, the Boba, the music, or even the vibe and decorations, the cultural element was undeniable. Not only that, it brought everyone together beautifully, despite them meeting for the very first time and that potentially being their first interaction with each other!
Another example is Muri. I have had the honor of joining the Muri community fairly recently, but the cultural vibes are undeniable since the very first moment. From the hard-working team, to the community’s vibe, the ever-improving art, the traits, the website, or even the Tweets and the famous catchphrase “Yabai!”, Muri is a true cultural experience.
But what does this all mean for NFTs? It has become apparent that NFTs, or at least the worthy ones, MUST contain an element of culture, of human culture and experience, which goes beyond the web. It is the glue that keeps the community together, and keeps the project going, as outsiders peep inside wanting a taste of the cultural richness being a part of said project would make them privy to!
Psychosocial
Hein, what do psychology and sociology have to do with NFTS!? — Probably you right now
Yep! The previous two pillars tie directly into (and inadvertently create) this aspect of NFTs, which I consider to be the most crucial and interesting tbh.
Fundamentally, after stripping it down and moving it all away, NFTs are a form of communication. They are a form of self-expression. Just like your thumbprint is the hallmark of your physical identity, NFTs are your digital thumbprints. They say a lot (everything actually) about who you are, what you do, what you like, etc… and just like a thumbprint, they are unique to you and non-reproducible or non-duplicable. In web 3.0 terms, they’re non-fungible! (See what I did there?) The upside to NFTs is that, contrary to a thumbprint or physical identity that you’re more or less confined to at birth, NFTs give you complete and utter freedom to go as cray cray as you want with your Web 3.0 self.
If anything is gonna keep NFTs for the long haul, it’s this. The fact that we can now, more than ever, express ourselves and create infinite digital personas of how we see ourselves or how we want others to see us, via NFTs. They also connect us to like-minded individuals who share our vision and identity via NFT communities, taking human interaction yet another giant leap forward!
In a nutshell, if we had to sum this up neatly in one clearly defined sentence (if at all possible), I would define NFTs as:
A unique cultural movement, powered by psychological and social drives of human interaction, self-discovery, and identity formation, and based in revolutionary technology, that’s here to stay for good…
