Why You Need To Keep An Eye On NFTs As A Content Creator

The first time I heard the word NFT was when Twitter’s founder, Jack Dorsey sold his first ever tweet. On March 22 2021, he sold his first tweet as a Non-fungible token to Sina Estavi (CEO, Bridge Oracle) for about $2.9 billion. The potential of NFTs are mind blowing for the everyday content creator.

Would you like to sell your content (simple things you already do) to people who value it and are willing to pay an exorbitant amount to own it? If this interests you then you need to keep an eye on this new phenomenon.

Digital content creators are seeing their fortune soar thanks to huge sales from this new crypto-audience. Celebrities are not left out too, as they spot a new opportunity to connect with fans. NFTs are revolutionising how we share and consume digital content. It leverages the virality of a digital asset to increase the value of its original.

Firstly, let’s clarify the term “Non-Fungible Tokens”

To understand Non-Fungible Tokens we need to understand “Fungible items”. Fungible items are things whose units are interchangeable because they are identical and equivalent. A perfect example of a fungible item is currency. An old $500 note can be exchanged for another (new) $500 note because they essentially have the same value.

Make sense? Go over it again if you need to.

Conversely, Non-Fungible items are unique. A unit can not be replaced with another unit. A prime example is a house. This is because a house is different from any other house anywhere in the world due to individual properties like location, style, interior design, environment and even the builder. (The ultimate example of Non-fungibles are humans, there’s no other you anywhere in the world.)

Non-fungible tokens are digital assets registered and verifiable on the blockchain network. They are another form of tokens (bitcoin and altcoins). NFTs allow us to prove authenticity and ownership of digital assets such as photos, pdf, videos, memes, gifs. They are more like digital certificates of authenticity.

Let’s use the analogy of a wildlife photo to simplify this better.

A wildlife photographer takes a good picture converts it to NFT, and uploads it online. The more the picture gains popularity online, the higher the value of the original content created on the Non-Fungible Token blockchain. Catch the drift? Great.

NFTs gain their value from what the collector is willing to pay for it. This can be a lot of money if the owner is a renowned person with a proven track record of quality work. For instance, a LeBron James highlight rookie card that showed him dunking over Nemanja Bjelica was purchased by an NBA top shot for more than $200,000.

Here are ways Non-fungible tokens can be useful for you as a creator:

• Non-Fungible Tokens provide a platform for artists and content creators to monetise their products. Popular digital artist Mike Winkelmann, (known as Beeple) sold his digital artwork- “Everydays: The First 5000 Days,” for a record-breaking $69.3 million.

Prior to that sale, the highest Mike Winkelmann ever sold a print for was $100 (Incredible right? Yes, I think so too.) NFTs have opened a whole new platform for digital artists and creators to profitably sell their products.

• Royalties can be programmed into the Non-fungible blockchain. This allows you to receive a sales percentage in the future when your art or products are resold.

There are blockchain infrastructures which enable creators to integrate royalties (payments to the original creator) to the NFT. This ensures that whenever the product gets exchanged on the secondary market, the creator gets a percentage.

• Non-Fungible Tokens can be a great way to raise money for charities and NGOs through auctions. It allows them to raise funds in an open way, while relating with a new audience and consolidating brand awareness.

This can be done in different ways. One of them is getting the brand ambassadors to create some digital content like digital art, music, or film, create an NFT for it and auction it in a marketplace.

For instance, in April 2021, an NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden auctioned an NFT image named “Stay Free” for $5.4 million. The image showed his face during a US appeals court decision which ruled the mass surveillance program Snowden exposed had violated US law. The funds raised were donated to a non-profit organisation.

Now, here are quick tips on how to keep an eye on NFTs

• Follow credible educational news websites, blog posts, and social media accounts that cover the latest NFT events, auctions, and projects.
• Research how to create NFTs. You can find free courses (here’s one) on popular educational platforms where you can learn how to create your NFT.
• Keep improving your craft (content) to make your work so valuable that someone would be willing to pay millions for it.

NTFs’ development is proof that the world is becoming more crypto-friendly. They have redefined physical art collections (at least for our grandchildren). Artwork collections will no longer be hung on a wall, rather they will be stored on a digital wallet. If you are a content creator, keep an eye on NFTs so as not to leave money on the table.