Traditional newscasts have this way of turning every newsworthy item into a short, repetitive headline, and nothing more. This is due in part to the time constraints involved with a newscast and as well as to keep viewership engaged. While this approach may be helpful in getting the gist of a story across, it causes the audience to neglect some of the deeper and more foundational elements surrounding whatever the topic at hand is. This is currently taking place in the news industry with everything related to Web3, the Metaverse, crypto, and NFTs. News companies are failing to answer the question of what’s an NFT before they begin to unpack all the trends and developments happening with this technology. To combat this, here is everything you need to know about these topics.
Crypto simplified
It seems that everyone is discussing crypto around us without a full understanding of what exactly this thing is. Did you know that without a completely independent computer network, cryptocurrency would not be possible? It’s not some obscure idea that people have suddenly assigned value to. It is a fully traceable and intractable commodity that holds value because of the independence of the computer network. The goal here is to eliminate the need for and presence of governing bodies like banks or governments as some people feel the reach of these entities is far too great. While you can’t hold a physical cryptocurrency in your hands, a digital wallet will accurately track how much you’ve bought, held, or saved just as you would with a traditional wallet. It’s important to remember that you can’t fully answer the question of what’s an NFT without first going through the details of cryptocurrency.
Whats an NFT
Often, when new developments come along, it is easiest to compare them to similar and already existing items which are just what we’ll do here. Simplified, an NFT is like a trading card put in a digital format. This may seem counterintuitive to the concept of trading cards as all of us have shared images with others online while keeping our image – there’s no exchange, rather, it’s simple duplication. So how would you prove you’re the owner of a digital trading card? The answer is the blockchain. NFTs are possible because of the security, personal identity elements, and unchangeability of the nature of the blockchain. Seeing as one of the key aspects of blockchain is decentralization and total openness, anyone can confirm or deny whether someone currently holds a specific NFT or not. Obviously, if we dive a little deeper, we can find more answers to what’s an NFT than just a digital trading card, But, you get the basic idea here.
Web3 explained
For any person who has disdain or discomfort with the current state of the internet, Web3 may be just what you’re looking for. According to experts, the internet has had two major eras – Web1 and Web2. Web1, while rudimentary, served its purpose and accomplished what it set out to do with an open computer network available to anyone. However, things went awry with Web2 as companies across the globe realized how much influence they could have online, and their practices resulted in the very corporate and highly monitored internet we use today. The hope for the impending Web3 is that the internet can return to some of its old ways where the largest corporate players can’t dictate the future of the internet. Essentially, Web3 hopes to put some of the power back in the hands of the everyday user so another way to look at this is the internet with digital equality.
The Metaverse
As kids, we watched movies and read books that made us want to travel to imaginative and artificial lands that never truly existed. What if I told you that this dream is quickly becoming a reality in the present day? This is thanks in large part to the Metaverse. When broken down, the Metaverse is a digital world created by designers with the intention of it being immersive to the point where people want to spend time here. If you remember the massive headlines that Fortnite generated when it hosted millions of players for an online concert, you have some experience with a simple version of the Metaverse. This technology has advanced to the point where people can own digital property or even live aspects of life within the Metaverse. The future that was depicted in the Jetsons does not seem that far off when you consider something like this.
All the concepts above are new to society and to seek an understanding of them is wise. A simple question like what’s an NFT is a wonderful jumping-off point in doing so. There’s no shame in admitting you don’t know something, especially when it comes to something as new as Web3 or crypto. These concepts have shown they’re going to continue evolving so staying ahead of the education curve is beneficial.