Is The Future Digital?
It’s no secret. Cryptocurrency is on fire at the moment, as NFTs have become increasingly niché (the marketplace amounted to 25 billion sales in 2021) amongst gamers, Twitter users, and artists fascinated by the decentralisation of individual assets.
While NFTs have definitely endured their fair share of criticism from sceptics, especially in regards to inalienable ownership rights and verification systems, the popularity of the digital collectibles definitely has not yet subsided.
Twitter has taken the latest step towards embracing NFTs on the platform, debuting hexagon-shaped NFT Twitter profiles on January 20. In this new rollout, Twitter Blue (a premium paid-service) users may change their profile pictures to NFTs that they own.
Twitter rushing to support the speculative digital asset, which encourages decentralisation and the abolition of third-party copyright infringement, is only one step towards adopting a new, futuristic approach.
The future. There have been so many digital iterations predicting, and forging a path to digital revolution. Perhaps the most notable is Web 3.0, otherwise known as “The Metaverse.” The revolutionary term, coined by none other than Mark Zuckberg, established a fleeting image of the next digital frontier, in which online assets and digital avatars were adopted to navigate the brand new virtual reality.
The concept of entering The Metaverse, accompanied with decentralised digital currency such as crypto wallets and NFTs, is fascinating. As a business owner, I will say that watching how capitalism has evolved through decentralised measures to better preserve privacy concerns and copyright ownership is incredible to witness.
While The Metaverse and NFTs have certainly endured criticism from sceptics in terms of safety and efficacy, I would prefer to view Web 3.0 as an experiment in the works. With successes, failures, trials and regulations along the way.
The bottom line is, NFTs, cryptocurrency and The Metaverse are here to stay. Here to revolutionise our daily interactions, purchase decisions, businesses, and the world as we know it. Twitter launching hexagon-shaped NFT profiles is only one step towards that bright, shiny, and ultimately inevitable future that we are inching towards in both our professional and personal lives.
There is one more point I want to make regarding The Metaverse. Perhaps a peripheral point, but a critical one nonetheless. Avatar 2 will be released on December 15, 2022, over 10 years after its predecessor.
When Avatar launched in 2009, audiences reveled in the wake of a seemingly impossible futuristic reality. Habitable moons? Genuine avatars? The prospect seemed laughable.
But now, as we enter a digital realm in which more and more virtual possibilities are coming to fruition, Avatar is becoming less of a fever dream. And, as Avatar 2 launches on December 15… more of a genuine eventuality.
Just something to consider.
