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I think misunderstanding of NFTs is caused by one or all of: a persons generation, a persons hatred of crypto, a persons lack of openness to change. - Generati
by joeman1000 5y ago
I think misunderstanding of NFTs is caused by one or all of: a persons generation, a persons hatred of crypto, a persons lack of openness to change.
- Generational: I grew up playing Habbo hotel, club penguin, TF2. I am comfortable with the idea of digital goods. You pay for something that is not real and can sell ‘it’ later. ‘Ownership’ is a decidedly different concept for me and many other younger people. If I ‘own’ a hat in TF2, I can display it on my avatar, but I really have nothing. It’s a piece of code in Valve servers that renders some pixels on my characters head. Imagine if you buy some NFT art, and the metaverse becomes popular. You will have the ability to display the art (in your ‘house’ or something). If you think this is dorky and no one will bother, think about the resistance then explosion of social media in the mid 2010s.
- Hatred of crypto: people hate crypto ideas for various reasons. Either environmental reasons, social pressure (from news and friends), fear of missing out, resentment at having missed out etc. I don’t comment on the validity of these beliefs, but they cloud peoples judgement either way.
- Lack of openness to change: it is just a weird concept, like many crypto concepts. Even the thought that there could be underlying value to crypto currency was indeed a radical notion. Now it is mostly accepted (in my experience). The only people who don’t accept it are older and less willing to uproot the institutions which served them so well. Banks and traditional finance are still entrenched in our society. There are a huge set of people that have interests which oppose crypto. This is fine, I don’t blame them for disliking crypto. It is just something to keep in mind when making decisions.
I hope my perspective helps some people.
- edanm 5y agoI mean, all of these are plausible reasons to misunderstand/hate NFTs. Then again, it's also possible that people who dislike NFTs don't misunderstand or hate them, they understand them perfectly and hate them anyway. And maybe you misunderstand them as well. NFT is just a technology. It's entirely possible to understand the technology and still hate it, e.g. I understand what nuclear weapons can do, yet I still hate them to some extent and would prefer they didn't exist. Not saying this is correct, just saying that you don't seem to leave open that possibility in your post. For the record, I don't really get NFTs. I mean, I kind of get how it's the same as autographs / collectibles, which I vaguely understand, but I don't particularly get how mapping that into a digital-only setting makes sense to people. But then I probably fall into some of your boxes above :) (I'm 36, I think blockchain is mostly overhyped though I do think cryptocurrencies specifically are interesting. I do think I'm open to change but who knows?)
- ly 5y agoI don't think the point you made in the generational section of your comment is entirely valid. I do get digital goods, I myself have owned furni on Habbo. However, in that case you buy a digital good and can display it in your room (Habbo) or on your character (TF2), and Sulake and Valve make sure only people who paid for the item can show off with it. In the case of NFTs I can just download any NFT myself and show off with it. It's like everyone being able to show off a hat in TF2, but the people having paid only have the advantage they can boast in chat about the fact they paid for something available to everyone.
- joeman1000 5y agoYou are right for the moment. I think if the metaverse is popular then displaying NFTs will become more meaningful. You will be able to show them in a home or on your avatar rather than just as a profile picture.