I have something to tell you.
The first time I heard about NFTs I thought the whole thing was ridiculous.
Somebody had paid thousands of dollars for a digital photograph.
A few weeks later, another sale made headlines for an even larger sum.
I probably made the same reply as millions of other people.“This doesn’t make any sense at all.”
So I ignored NFTs for a bit.
Whenever they came in conversation, I dismissed them as just another trend that would eventually go away.
But crypto has a funny way of making you doubt your assumptions.
The more time I spent in the blockchain space, the more I realized I wasn’t really a crypto-skeptic.
I just didn’t understand them.
And these are two different things.
Looking Beyond the Headlines
The worst mistake I made in the beginning was to focus completely on the stories that got attention.
The expensive art.
Celebrity collections.
The overnight success stories.
You couldn’t help but see those headlines.
But they weren’t telling the whole story.
It’s like evaluating the whole internet based on viral videos.
You see the most obvious examples first, but they don’t necessarily explain why the technology is there.
Once I got past the headlines, NFTs began to make a lot more sense.
The Question of Ownership
Consider how much of our lives is now online.
Photos
Music.
Game stuff.
Memberships.
Digital IDs.
We’ve become accustomed to the idea of ownership, but ownership is less obvious in the digital world.
It was there that NFTs caught my attention.
Not because they could get people rich.
But because it introduced a new way to prove ownership in a world online.
For the first time, ownership of digital property could be proved on a blockchain.
That idea felt much bigger than any one NFT collection.
The Most Interesting Projects Weren’t the Loudest
During the NFT boom, it sometimes seemed like every project was trying to outdo the next.
Larger promises.
Larger communities.
Greater expectations.
But the projects that interested me most were usually the quiet ones.
The teams were focused on creating something useful.
The makers experimenting with new ideas.
The communities that were for more than speculation.
These projects rarely made the biggest headlines.
But often they had the strongest of foundations.
What the Market Taught Us All
Back when enthusiasm was high, NFTs seemed like they could do no wrong.
Then the reality hit.
Prices dropped.
Interest declined.
Projects vanished.
That was a letdown for many people.
It was a typical educational experience for me.
Because when the excitement died down it was easier to see what was really innovative and what was just passing fads.
It’s the case with every new technology.
The internet had a field day.
Social media lived through it.
Crypto is still on a bumpy ride.
NFTs were no different.
Creativity Opens New Door
One thing I really like about NFTs is what they did for creators.
Musicians, designers, developers and artists suddenly had new ways to connect directly with audiences.
Did those experiments turn out okay?
No, of course not.
But that’s not how innovation usually happens.
“The important thing is that doors have opened.
People started thinking of things that had never been thought of before.
Some of those ideas are still developing today.
The Conversation Turned
Now people talk about NFTs in a different way.
The hype is not what it used to be.
And that’s probably a good thing, to be honest.
“We’re having more practical discussions.
How do NFTs make gaming better?
How can they be used for memberships?
Could it help with digital identity?
Could they build better experiences for online communities?
These are much more interesting questions than whether a collection will double in value next month.
Conclusions
With hindsight, I have no regrets about my skepticism.
Skepticism is a healthy thing, especially in crypto, I think.
I regret that I dismissed something without taking the time to find out what it was.
NFTs are not perfect.
They’re not the answer to everything.
And they’re certainly not all created equal.
But after watching the space develop over years, I am starting to get what NFTs are.
Pictures are not costly.
No market speculation.
But the ongoing attempt to figure out what ownership is in a world that gets more digital year by year.
That’s what keeps me listening.
And that’s why I stopped laughing at NFTs.
