NFTs, Futility Without Utility?…
Most of us have experienced the joys of becoming a new pet parent, bringing that new family member home that first time. Perhaps in particular us ‘dog people’ that crossed paths with that puppy we met thereafter immediately crumbling to it’s will, fully convinced the unconditional mutual love will remain until tearfully uttering eulogies and last goodbyes.
The bond that’s formed, the adrenaline of providing for life, and the simple pleasures of playtime in the grasses with a new ball or toy are all signs of kinship, affection and a comradery that solidify a faithful and loyal connection, the familial link that binds and imprints upon a person and canine enriching an unwavering companionship and friendship, garnering the common moniker ‘man’s best friend.’
Similar excitement can be seen mirrored in artist launch within an already established project, not-so-much the taking on walks and picking up after them, but when a long-time, loyal investor and active member of a community, discloses their artistic endeavors and previews some pieces that will be in their upcoming 1 of 1 collection launch that are stunning, even referred to by some as the best NFT art they have seen. The symbiosis of an enthusiastic community and an artist’s forte thrive in positivity of what could be their first collection, or first on a blockchain, fuels the interest for mint details and undeniable anticipation.
‘Quote of the night: “Art is the utility” What does that mean? If you’re an artist and you put your blood, sweat and time into your pieces that alone is the UTILITY. The approach on a utility based NFT and art should be differentiated.’ — E
The hard work has been done, the metadata uploaded and transferred, and the expectation or precedent has been set for a sold out or successful mint, only to find when the time comes, the artist is stuck in a limbo or purgatory, possibly even questioning their skill, or community, or blockchain. After so many weeks and/or months of overwhelming support, they are faced with questions of utility, price is too high/low, and a seemingly extended torturous period of being overlooked. Compliments are given as it’s viewed and graciously appreciated, but comes without mint support, and unfortunately just doesn’t pay the rent. A like and retweet will suffice in some cases, and is sometimes necessary in DeFi as we cannot invest in everything, but when precedent is somewhat set by the sheer level and number of vocal supporters, an artist can pin their hopes, career or livelihood on that mint out.
‘Artists create to create. If I had to create to get paid, then it just becomes a job. If it was something I had to do full time I might have a different opinion for sure. I can see how some artists might be let down that their art isn’t getting the recognition that they want, while monkeys smoking joints with 6000 small differences, that are the same across every collection on the ecosystem, sell thousands of dollars worth a day.’ — Sheriff
In that case, let’s discuss the term utility. Firstly, what did the free/degen mints of Summer do to alter the meta of the space and mindset of investors? From a lot of angles it has demonstrated an overlooking of phenomenal artists and a ravenously selfish greed and need for impossible utility that’s expected to have been planned for the next decade or foreseeable ion to come. So what does utility actually mean, and what is a utility token? The definition itself can vary slightly in context, however utility tokens can only be 1 of the following 3:
- Utility Token
- Security Token
- Equity Token
The Meaning of Utility
In short, utility is defined as a ‘usefulness’, or the state of being useful, profitable or beneficial. In economics however, it is the capacity of a commodity to satisfy human wants. An economic term generally used to measure the total satisfaction or value a consumer experiences from purchasing and using a service or product. From the Theory of Consumer Behavior, the meaning and concept of utility is:
‘A measure of satisfaction an individual gets from the consumption of the commodities. In other words, it is a measurement of usefulness that a consumer obtains from any good. A utility is a measure of how much one enjoys a movie, favourite food, or other goods. It varies with the amount of desire.
IRL art collectors don’t get a use case for the art other than occupying wall-acreage. The feeling or color or any number of countless reasons harbor the satisfaction of purchase, thereby fulfilling their utility use case, or promise of. It can even be broken down further into the 6 major principles of economic utility. These compartmentalize the asset as well as the use case in which it is intended and these utilities influence the individual’s decision on product purchase.
- Form Utility
- Time Utility
- Place Utility
- Possession Utility
- Service Utility
- Knowledge Utility
Form utility is under the assumption a customer sees value in a finished form or version a product has rather than its individual parts. Consider a scarf and yarn, the utility is derived from the altering of form to satisfy a want.
Time utility is the idea that products are accessible whenever needed by consumers. Based off the idea of supply and demand, it is derived from the storing and keeping of goods to be utilized in the future, over a time.
Place utility comes from the transporting of goods from one place to another, making goods or services available in locations that are readily accessible to customers.
Possession utility refers to the actual act of product possession, like driving a new car off the lot or having furniture delivered, the value and virtue given to legal right of ownership of a product.
Service utility surfaces for personal services rendered by a variety of professionals, i.e. services of doctors, teachers, lawyers, etc.
Knowledge utility is the acquiring of knowledge on a product or project by the consumer, like knowing a new smart phone’s or computer’s capabilities is knowledge utility.
Before we define the tokens, one last word on why is utility important in crypto:
Having utility tokens allow you decentralized storage. These tokens provide the exchange value for the services they give. It also improves the user experience by giving rewards for particular things. Utility tokens act as currency in the blockchain.
Utility tokens were created for specific purpose, like in a dApp or game. They often offer access to holder products, services and benefits.
Security tokens (STO) are digital, web3 versions of the financial securities by offering ownership of or in an asset and are regulated by the government, like classic securities.
Equity tokens, usually the stock of a company with conditions recorded on a blockchain, signal the equity in an underlying asset. Furthermore, a nation’s securities law regulations govern the issuing country guaranteeing investors legal protections.
“The most visible cryptocurrencies are those addressing or solving specific problems on a macro level,” says Roman Matkovskyy, an associate professor in finance and accounting at Rennes School of Business.
“Any cryptocurrency is only as good as its use case,” says Katharine Wooller, UK and Ireland managing director at crypto wealth-building platform Dacxi.
Finding Value For Yourself…& Your Own Utility
Within the confines of those descriptions and definitions, would you then consider a person utility, or a child for that matter? In the days of yore they’re were no labor laws or educational systems that went beyond maybe a few years, enough to survive perhaps. Certain religions like Mormonism capitalized on the idea of free family labor on the farms and lands they owned or inhabited with polygamy, though a great majority no longer condone the practice.
It should also be noted that we as humans, are mammals, are animals, that plants use to fertilize each other and continue the species. As shown on Planet Earth and the various other nature documentaries that prove the pollens and seeds that stick to noses, furs and paws is then transferred to the next upon feeding of the horticultural nectars.
“Yesterday everything I thought I believed in died
But today is my birthday,
Today is my birthday
I don’t need you,
I’ll say it to myself
It doesn’t mean I won’t need somebody
Anyone with half a soul
Will hear this and they’ll never leave meIf you don’t know what forever feels like
I’ll show you what it feels like without it
I’ll show you what it feels like without itThis time I won’t hesitate
To kill to protect what I believe in”
Society or groups within societies can also operate people as a utility. The Mob had nicknames of members, often times their preferred and skilled way of taking out a mark, but conversely an election is the same principle to this day with sitting potus.
“You see everything, you see every part
You see all my light and you love my dark
You dig everything of which I’m ashamed
There’s not anything to which you can’t relate
And you’re still here”
A trend to a certain few that has continued for ages, urban areas are not exempt, but a rural upbringing resulted in the country version, but the story is typically the same. When a pet is determined to be unwanted, it is driven miles away from the residence then deposited in an unfriendly environment to spend it’s remaining life in survival mode, left to its own devices and fending for itself, for food, shelter and fighting off wildlife.
“Ooh, this could get messy but
Ooh, you don’t seem to mind
Dude, don’t go telling everybody
And overlook this supposed crime
We’ll fast forward to a few years later
And no one knows except the both of us
I’ve more than honored your request for silence
And you’ve washed your hands clean of thisWhat part of our history’s reinvented and under rug swept?
What part of your memory is selective and tends to forget?
What with this distance it seems so obviousJust make sure you don’t tell on me, especially to members of your family
We best keep this to ourselves and not tell any members of our inner posse”
A 1 of 1 artist could argue that’s a metaphor for their collection being overlooked during mints. A loyal community member, no matter the size, exercises their talents in their craft, launching collections of their own. They are not a project trying to compete on chains, they are the independents that for all their skills, release a collection that they believe will be minted out by the community they’ve been loyal too, but instead are ignored for the most part if not altogether, and/or inundated with questions about their NFT’s utility and purpose.
“So close your eyes
It’s only a dream
When you wake up
Rinse off all this pain
And your makeup
Stare into the mirror
Apples are always something to fearAre you alright?
’Cause I’m not okay
All of these lies
Are not worth fighting for
Are you alright?
’Cause I’m not okay
All of these lies
Are not worth fighting for”
The previous month has witnessed a reversal in this case. As many know, my recent transfer of residence and return to Spaces and social medias also brought several references to my emancipation. Remember the dog that was released to the wild I mentioned, well twice at 10 and 12 years of age, while being told the story by my mother on a drive through the fields miles outside my midwestern hometown, she pulled the car over to the gravel shoulder and with a finality in tone as I realized I was the dog she said,
‘That’s what people do around here when they don’t want a dog anymore. That’s just what they do. And that’s what we’re doing now, so get outta the car.’
As many also know my 40th birthday was recently that came with a reckoning. Less than 7 days following, my father that sat comfortably atop the mental pedestals for the entirety of those 40 years and due to those recent circumstance that occupied my September, in logic I will never understand nor be complicit, referred to me as a 40 year old useless woman, because of my being the opposite gender and of a homosexual nature.
“Eyes wet, toward
Wide open frayed
If God’s taking bets
I pray He wants to loseDay one, day one, start over again
Step one, step one, I am barely making sense
Just yet I’m faking it ’til I’m pseudo making it
From scratch, begin again, but this time I as I? And not as We?”
Some people have struggles in either their adolescence, some in only their middle ages or beyond due to market collapse or business going under or the many other variables, but some have struggles within the familial infrastructure that last, and surface, for a lifetime. This time, I recognized my own value and usefulness, and was not going to be made to feel like that dumped dog again.
“You decide if you can live
Or you decide to let someone
Decide for you”
I altered my perspective of those that were to only provide unconditional support, by their own actions garnered them and their negativity got the permanent exile from me, my successes and my future. My nuclear relatives provided me no satisfaction in usefulness, profitability or benefits, therefore I decided they now have no utility. The Legion proves that no matter what, a person, an artist, or a project will forever have a useful utility for their NFTs through our Farming Platform. So I thank them, my parents, for the tools of survival, in DeFi, and the wild.
“This body is a place
That has never been lovedSure, I’m glad I survived
But I got nothin’ but contempt for you”
