“Born as human, with a collecting nature”Blockchain makes digital collections unlimited
【Published by: BlockTempo | Editor: Justine Lu | Translator: Statecraft 】
In 2020, due to the severe impact of COVID-19, the application of the virtual world is rapidly spawned, and the digital transformation of industries is being carried out across the world regardless of national borders. The question is, how can creators prove that they are creators of works? It is also because digital works are too easy to copy, and the resulting problems include the inability to prove their scarcity. This article is the latest opinion of the “Blockchain Trivial matters” column. The author is Justine Lu, the current co-founder, and CEO of Lootex, a blockchain virtual treasure auction house.
“ Born as human, being has the nature of collecting. “
From small to large, as our financial resources grow, we have some collections at different stages, whether it is shiny stickers, stamps, game ace cards, comics, NBA player cards, dolls, all the way to fashion brand sneakers, brand-name bags, Famous watches and even works of art.
As long as we can satisfy the emotional connection or the thrill of hunting, we are willing to spend time, money, and energy to collect. In addition to enjoying it at home, we can also show off with others, create topics, obtain keys to enter the community, and make friends, And even exchange transactions with people to expand your collection lineup.
And projecting into the virtual world is also easy to imagine
For example, in the game ⟪World of Warcraft⟫, there are always people who are pursuing 100% full achievement, unlocking ⟪Pokémon GO⟫ illustration book, collecting exquisite furniture in ⟪Animal Crossing⟫… The reason why game designers put achievements and the collection system is nothing more than arousing the player to collect, assisting the player to experience the content that has not been done, and motivating the player to continue the game, just to extend the life of the game.
What are digital collectibles?
In addition to the well-known game virtual treasures, “digital collectibles”, the digital badges you collect in many applications, or the artistic creations you buy on various websites, as long as they exist in digital format, are also generally called “digital collections” Products”, and this is not limited to manuscripts, paintings, animation, photography or music.
But, did you know?
The existing “digital collectibles” still have some inexplicable problems that make it difficult to be recognized for their value:
1. Easy to copy:
The greatest benefit of the invention of the Internet is that “information transfer” has become convenient and rapid. When I want to share a freshly drawn computer drawing creation for your appreciation, I can copy it and send it to you within a few seconds.
The question is, how can I prove that I am the creator of this work? It is also because digital works are too easy to copy, and the resulting problems include the inability to prove their scarcity.
2. Lack of real ownership:
The biggest disadvantage of current digital collections is that they are “subject to others.”
For example, the virtual treasure you have worked so hard in the game will eventually disappear when the game manufacturer stops operating. This means that your virtual treasure is only bound in the game world, not assets that can be used freely.
Why use blockchain to create “digital collectibles”?
Compared with the well-known cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, another currency format is very suitable to represent unique, indivisible, and irreplaceable characteristics, called Non-fungible Token (NFT).
I personally prefer to call it an encrypted certificate, because the literal meaning can accurately describe the characteristics of the “item”.
Because of the use of blockchain technology, digital collectibles can also reflect their value:
1. Digital authenticity
The information on the encrypted certificate can prove to be the authentic product issued by the issuer or creator, and cannot be altered, and the scarcity is guaranteed.
2. Easy to track
Anyone can query the issuer, owner, issuance quantity, and transaction history of the asset on the public blockchain. There is no need to argue about ownership anymore.
3. Highly circulating
Ethereum’s ERC-721 standard is still the most mainstream digital format today, which is the largest consensus in the community. It is easy to interface with applications on the blockchain, and digital assets will be truly cross-platform applications.
To give an easy-to-understand example, like the 3C hardware specification USB 2.0, no special modification is required, and all hardware can easily read it. Since it is unimpeded, it also brings tradable and exchangeable characteristics to it.
In other words, blockchain creates digital assets that can exist independently and can be used in different applications without special communication.
As for how to define the “material value” of digital collectibles, we have to return to the old topic of currency consensus and demand and supply. Many wonderful articles on the Internet are worth reading, so I won’t repeat them here.
Digital collectibles have become a trend
The concept of digital collectibles has been around for many years abroad, and in recent years there has been a wave of applying blockchain technology to make NFTs. List several relatively large trading platforms currently on the market, such as:
1. SuperRare:
It gathers many well-known artists and takes “only selling works of art approved by them” as its biggest selling point, and the price is relatively high.
2.Makersplace:
A digital art auction house founded by early members of Pinterest. Inheriting the style of Pinterest, the community functions of collectors or artists are the most complete.
3.KnownOrigin:
The creations collected on this site feel more street hippie, and the prices are relatively close to the people.
These three platforms all use smart contracts to design a profit-sharing mechanism. 85% of the revenue from direct sales of works is attributed to the creator, 15% is attributed to the publisher (platform); in the second-hand market, the seller can get 87% of the selling price, Creators can still get 10%, and publishers (platforms) get 3%.
Think about the current collections that need to go through a long period of operation and market creation, the subsequent profits created are often not related to the original creator, which makes the original creator inevitably have many grievances. The current platform uses smart contracts to get rid of traditional marketing methods, which is a great boon for new creators.
Of course, it’s not just works of art. Even the NBA player cards that we liked to collect when we were young will soon be released in the digital version. Through the expression of multimedia digital format, the player cards are not limited to 2D planes but record the exciting moments of Stephen Curry in the championship game, Isn’t this more vivid than rigid paper cards?
There are also cases of digital collectibles in Taiwan
In August 2019, Taiwan’s SELF team also cooperated with the blockchain startup Lootex to launch the NFT cards for the movie ⟪The Last Thieves⟫, and these cards can be used in real-world games designed by SELF.
In the past, the peripheral products of movies were at most movie soundtracks, postcards or posters. Now digital collectibles can also be launched. Film companies can even actively manage the fan community through the list of collectors. SELF perfectly demonstrates digital collectibles. Become a CRM marketing tool, and continue to tell fans the stories they haven’t finished telling in the movie.
Remarks: NFT owners and transaction history are recorded on the chain, and anyone can query their blockchain address.
How can I play digital collectibles?
Speaking of physical collections, dolls are used as examples. They can all be used to play, decorate the home, publicly display and show off, and speculate on price investment. The same goes for digital collectibles.
If you have NFT digital collections, as long as you go to virtual platforms like Cryptovoxels and Decentraland, you can decorate your home on it as you like (provided that you need to buy land on the platform to build a house). Please refer to Lootex’s open-source Ukiyo paintings using Metropolitan Museum of Art to make NFT videos and put them in the exhibition space:
Since the collections are all made into digital format, of course, we should show the advantages of multimedia. If it is made into a 3D format, you can also combine AR and VR to show off your proud prizes.
Major international brands such as LV and Gucci in the fashion industry have already launched design virtual models with games such as ⟪The Sims⟫ and ⟪Animal Crossing⟫; F1 cars in the automotive industry, Nike and NBA in the sports industry, for the adoption of NFT This asset format is also in droves.
These brands not only need to sell physical goods, but also create topics through digital goods, and even create another application scenario (currently the most common is that digital collectibles can also be used in games, such as NBA team management games ), perhaps it can also create another source of financial resources.
What’s even better is that the brand owners have mastered the list of core fans, which can convey messages more conveniently, airdrop gifts to honorable users at any time, and add gamification design to ensure a higher degree of fan adhesion.
Conclusion
In 2020, due to the severe impact of the epidemic, the application of the virtual world has been rapidly spawned, and the digital transformation of industries is being carried out across the world regardless of national borders. The music industry suddenly started a wave of online concerts, but I still feel that simply streaming videos is too outdated.
I have to praise the well-known rap singer Travis Scott for the virtual concert held in the game ⟪Fortnite⟫ in April this year. The virtual concert was full of creativity, and there were as many as 27.7 million players (without repeating accounts) watching!
He himself was the biggest winner of this virtual concert. He received 9,478 reports, 1.4 million fans in his social account within a week, and Spotify streamed more than 80 million times.
Of course, he did not give up the opportunity to sell digital peripheral products. ⟪Fortnite⟫ has launched Travis Scott themed styling for fans to buy.
When the concert is placed in a game that requires payment to enter, there may still be brands that worry about being taken advantage of, and the threshold for fans to enter is too high, losing the willingness to contact consumers in large numbers.
It is conceivable that in the future, more and more physical activities will be “forced” to be held in a free virtual world.
Perhaps one day, the Japanese singer I love Sheena Ringo no longer needs to force herself to overcome the fear of flying and go abroad to hold a concert. Fans all over the world can still enjoy her wonderful singing while sitting at home, and even buy her NFT. The digital poster is decorated in the virtual house, together with the commemorative NFT ticket, it will be stored on the blockchain for a lifetime.
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