Download that NFT as a JPEG. It Probably Won’t Be Worth More Than That At Some Point

Do I think it’s all going to burst? Best believe. But, hear me out.

Image Credit: Common Moto Affairs — Living in a tunnel with a bubble at the end

I spent the most part of my after work hours on Wednesday having quite an intriguing conversation on j̶p̶e̶g̶s̶ NFTs, blockchain, defi, allFis and I learnt two things (and no, I don’t live under a rock!):

1. “Gen Zs” know blockchain $#!+ better than you. Really, don’t bother. This is their world.
2. We’re mostly all viewing NFTs in tunnel vision. Speaking for the naysayers, sorry millennials, here.

I’ll write on these two things as Malcolm Gladwelly as I can. I have a good feeling that by the time I’m done, you’ll take my(our) side. But then again, it can go either way. My active-blog-writing-past-self figured that out enough to write a post about it in 2016.

Balls and Birds

The Telephone Switchboard

By the early 1900s, the telephone “network effect” and the switchboard (howbeit manual) had done the Lord’s work for the telephone industry. The (US) world was getting socially decentralised, new communities were forming (the criminal community wasn’t left out of course), new words were introduced, life was generally looking better.

The world was getting smaller (keep your privacy concerns to yourself!). Our (Boomer & Gen X) parents used this really well.

But, hold that thought.

Our Parents

Gen Alpha? You can skip this section entirely. No cap.

Remember having to wonder why our parents considered Whatsapp or Facebook so darn complex. And I’m talking Whatsapp/Facebook of 2013 when life was much simpler. Where the most complicated thing happening on Facebook was making your profile picture blend into your header image.

Achieving synergy between profile picture & header image was considered god-like.

Okay, okay, your mum can now use Instagram Reels, but do you recall (reelcall 👀 No? No laughter?) how many times you had to show her how to add text? THE “ADD TEXT” IS RIGHT THERE, MUM!!! Ever wondered why it was ridiculously difficult to get them to figure it out?

Yet another thought to hold.

The World-Wide Web

As the last set of millennials are being born, a new wave is rising. Some hyper-text format thingy where you can splash bright orange text on a lemon green background, while you’re at it, add a star for emphasis for the world to see your creativity.

Image Credit: Justinmind — you can’t make this up. The most advanced Apple website till date.

Game changer! You mean I can snap pictures of books, put them up on the Web through a browser software? There we go again with new words — talmbout software & browser. But, that shouldn’t matter. As long as the world is getting smaller and socially decentralised, new knowledge is such a small price to pay.

You know what to hold. I hope you do.

ugh! the thought, dammit!

The Billion Dollar Code

If you’ve not watched this documentary, sorry, spoilers.

TL;DW: In 2014, ART+COM sued Google for (allegedly) stealing their “Terravision” idea/code and making it into Google Earth. That’s the summary of it all. The back story is what I’m more interested in here.

Their name is the back story. Art + Com. Get it? Don’t be nasty. Get it?

While most were still seeing the software revolution as a movement for colorful blog posts, artists were pushing the boundaries of their art expression through code.

Hmmm.

Remember our parents?

I would understand why our parents struggled with adopting the Web. Even when it moved from black-screen-command-line type interfaces to No-code tools like Medium. Absolutely nothing prepared them for it (not even the elder status).

But, but…remember how good they got in using the telephones? From the switchboard era? You would think this would give them a head start on adopting the mobile phone. I mean, it’s a grand child of the telephone right?

With a siimpleeee abstraction, jk jk, an abstraction of the telephone idea, their current competence became a disadvantage. Thus began their pilgrim’s progress against experience.

History repeats

If history has taught us anything, it’s that h̶e̶ ̶s̶h̶e̶̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ it is too lazy to create new content. It is said that the last 10 years (eg: Facebook — Instagram) would be like the next 10 years (eg: Instagram — TikTok). And the last 100 (Telepgraph — smartphone) would be like the next 100 (Internet — blockchain?).

There’s a lot to be said here, but I might leave that for a different post. I really hope to write more. But, no promises.

Where was I?

Ahem, history class.

Historically, artists and (give credit where credit’s due) criminals, sadly, have been seen to be very early adopters in technological advances. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

We all become our parents

If you agree that history is as lazy as they come, then you should know you’re just your parents if left in free fall. As a millennial, there’s a reason you’re struggling to grasp the concept.

Most of the baby boomers & Gen Xs couldn’t transition from Microsoft Word to Google Doc (same idea, with a sprinkle of abstraction). Why then do you expect to naturally transition from “Web 2” to “Web 3”?

Oh, you felt because you switched from saying bro to fam, that meant you had it in you to transition easily? No Cap? That’s wild fam.

If you don’t agree history repeats itself, now would be a great time to stop reading. Shuu, move along.

You’re not leaving.

Aha! I see.

So, looking back, what does the telephone and the internet, have in common?

Asides the fact that they both enjoy the benefits of network effect;

• They both are centred on bringing communities together
• The abstraction ideas always seem ridiculously insane.
• Their transition/abstraction would make life better and more complicated at the same time. Introduce security and privacy concerns.
• The terminology always changes (Telephone Exchange/World-Wide Web/Blockchain today, something stickier tomorrow)
• The medium (Switchboard/Browser) would evolve.
• The original concepts grew to almost become “frameworks/protocols/standards” not solely guarded by individual entities.
• It only gets further decentralised. Maybe I was coincidentally on to something entirely different from my initial thought (on Monopoly) here:

Solving Monopoly

So, Bubble or Fad?

With the internet, we know that the first iterations/buzz mostly happen too early and drastic events (such as bubble bursts) are a necessary evil for normalcy. It’s somewhat inevitable. So, brace for impact!

But do I think NFTs are a fad? I think that would be the tunnel vision view to it. I think NFTs are only a peek into the possible applications of the blockchain.

See it as someone in 2000, thinking Terravision (or Google Earth 👀) or art expression would be the sole application of the Internet. Laughs in Mark Zuckerberg.

Remember when I said don’t bother?

“Gen Zs” know blockchain $#!+ better than you. Really, don’t bother. This is their world.

You agreed because you just don’t want to “start over”. Not necessarily because they are wrong.

I know I promised to write short. I’m sorry, this one was beyond me.

Thanks to Daniel for helping me proof-read this.