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As we get older, we think we know more, age begets wisdom, right? Maybe we do and maybe it does. But, it’s usually about stuff we’ve already learned, witnessed or experienced. What about the new things we don’t know about yet?
What about what we don’t know that, all of a sudden, we’re pushed into knowing or at least being made aware of whether we like it or not?
That day, for me, was March 15, 2022. I was at a social media marketing conference in San Diego. I love marketing, and I love social media. I’ve been studying and learning about both for more than two decades.
I wasn’t surprised that something new was on the agenda for the day. I walked into a workshop purposely to discover something new. This was more than I expected. It blew my mind.
There were three words mentioned that were unfamiliar to me. These three words piqued my curiosity.
- Web 3
- NFTs
- Blockchain
Please don’t cringe and don’t stop reading. I’m a curious “newbie” and I’m sharing what I learned, hopefully in laymen’s terms, for newbies. My intention is to make a simple introduction to these concepts. It’s perfectly safe.
Plus, I’m not a “crypto bro” so let’s all hug and sing Kumbaya together.
Too much too soon? I get it.
The first thing I learned in the workshop was that Web 3 is the next step in the evolution of the digital era.
“Web 1” was the birth of the internet and our new digital world. For most us, it was a read-only experience. There were limits on our interactions on the web.
Enter Web 2 where platforms such as MySpace, Facebook and Linkedin improved the experience where people could communicate online with one another. It was more interactive, there was a sense of community, but the platforms owned the place, owned your content whether it was images or written content.
When a platform closed, it was gone forever. If Facebook didn’t like something you created or something you said, they could remove it and/or you and there was nothing you could do. You were in “Facebook jail”.
Today, Web 3 saunters into the room bragging about blockchain, its transparency and ownership rights while simultaneously befuddling most of us. We’re thinking, “What the heck does that mean? It’s Bitcoin, right? No thanks!”
The venerable technology company known as International Business Machines or IBM defines Blockchain as:
“…a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network. An asset can be tangible (a house, car, cash, land) or intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights, branding).”
I had a lightbulb moment.
My partner, Trevor is a professional musician who’s been waiting for decades to create music and write books. He was mangled into a mortgage career to pay the bills but his heart was always with his guitars and stories. I immediately saw a connection with his dreams and Web 3.
I learned at the conference that a platform such as Spotify reaps most of the monetization rewards. This leaves the artist, the creator, with a pathetic fraction of the profit pie. My “lightbulb” moment inspired me that with blockchain, anything Trevor creates would include royalties far greater than the meager offerings from online distribution platforms.
Next, let’s discuss the barrier to entry.
Onboarding is difficult due to the new lingo of the crypto world and the stigma of the possible scams and potential slimy characters involved. Getting into the Web 3 world can feel very challenging.
You may feel vulnerable due to a lack of knowledge and concern about scams. Here are a few questions we’ll cover:
- How do you buy crypto?
- How to become aware of NFTs?
- How do I buy an NFT?
- How can I protect myself?
How do I buy crypto?
Buying cryptocurrency is easier than you think. However, it requires more steps than just sending money from your bank via Zelle or PayPal.
You have to create something called a “crypto wallet.” There are many platforms to do so. Currently, Metamask is the most popular. Two other platforms are Coinbase and Phantom. You’ll need to use the correct web browser on your computer. Currently, it’s Chrome or Firefox. NOTE: If you’re on an Apple computer, Safari won’t work properly.
Then you’ll access a plugin to create your wallet.
You can also create a crypto wallet on your phone by visiting your app store.
Once you’ve created a crypto wallet, you have to get money into your wallet. There are various methods to deposit money into your wallet.
You may find some deposit methods more expensive than others; be sure to compare. I discovered that Metamask offered a wiring platform. However, it requested multiple pieces of private information that I wasn’t comfortable providing such as address, date of birth, social security number. This method was also more expensive.
Upon further research, I opened a custodial wallet with Coinbase. There are transaction fees ranging from $2.99 and up depending on how much you transfer from your bank to convert into your wallet for the deposit.
The Coinbase custodial wallet allows you to hold multiple types of cryptocurrencies and to send and receive cryptocurrencies to your crypto wallets used to make transactions on the blockchain. Typical blockchain transactions include trading in Bitcoin and purchasing non-fungible tokens.
What is a non-fungible token also known as an NFT?
Wikipedia defines an NFT as “…a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership.[1] The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchain and can be transferred by the owner, allowing NFTs to be sold and traded.”
Note, in the IBM definition, they described blockchain as a “ledger.” In the Wikipedia definition of an NFT, they call it a digital identifier. Think of your NFT as a digital entry in your ledger.
Let’s compare fungible vs. non-fungible. If you need a dollar bill for a vending machine but you have 4 quarters, you ask me to exchange my dollar bill for your 4 quarters, it still equals $1.00 despite the different, physical currency used in the transaction. The physical currency is different but the value is the same. That’s what makes it fungible; it’s “interchangeable.”
An NFT is not physical and can have unique properties creating different values between different NFTs. This is what makes them non-fungible.
What’s the purpose of an NFT?
An NFT, similar to physical currency such as a coin or a paper bill, is a token that grants you access to something of value. That access can be a membership pass, an experience, an event, digital rights or ownership of artwork. Artwork can include photos, music, books or other similar creative content.
Pertaining to the visual properties of an NFT, think how paper money has design elements so you can distinguish the value of the currency or the country of the currency. An NFT has unique visual properties for each token.
Think of how these properties make up an NFT as a piece of digital art.
How do I find NFTs?
Currently Twitter is the primary social media platform where people are promoting their NFT projects. There are a few ways for people to learn about NFTs on Twitter.
- You can search for people tweeting with hashtags such as #NFTCommunity, #Web3, etc.
- You can find communities of people tweeting about NFTs known as Twitter Communities.
- Twitter has social audio access. This is known as Twitter Spaces where people are having audio conversations about NFTs.
Once you’re on Twitter, an NFT project (founder/creator) will provide access to their community where other folks interested in that project can communicate with one another.
Currently, the most popular platform where people go for a community within an NFT project is called Discord. Think of it like joining a Facebook group. One place for like-minded people with a common interest.
However, Discord, as a platform has proven vulnerable to spammers. To protect members of the community, there are safety measures that can be implemented to protect against spammers and bots. This security aspect contributes to a barrier to entry which can be daunting to a new user.
For example, you have to verify you’re a human by clicking on an emoji and then there could be other steps necessary before entering the community to verify that you’re not a bot or a spammer.
Similar to Discord, there are other community platforms such as Telegram and Geneva.
How do I buy NFTs?
The first time an NFT is purchased, it’s known as minting. When an NFT is minted, it is the first time it’s blueprinted onto the blockchain. This means it now exists on the blockchain and whoever mints it, is the first owner of that NFT.
When a person mints an NFT, a project will have its own website describing the NFT project including:
1. Why the project was created
2. Who created the project (who are the “founders”)
3. A Roadmap that outlines the “utility” of the project
4. A link or button to connect your wallet to mint (purchase) an NFT or multiple NFTs at once
In the NFT (or crypto) world, most websites dedicated to NFTs have extensions such as .io or .xyz as opposed to .com.
If an NFT has already been minted, you can still buy an NFT, but you must buy it on what’s called a secondary marketplace.
The most popular marketplace is called Opensea. Other notable marketplaces, according to Forbes, are SuperRare and Rarible. On these marketplaces, you can find different types of NFTs. This is why you’ll need a crypto wallet.
Since NFTs are digital art, there are platforms for NFT artists to sell their art. A couple of the most popular platforms are:
- KnownOrigin
- Superrare
- Objkt
What types of scams occur in this space?
Just like getting a fake but legitimate looking email from a bank or Paypal or any other type of vendor, there are copycats, spoofing and phishing scams. Twitter accounts are created by spammers to look like a prominent (blue chip) NFT project. The Twitter username for these fake accounts will often be slightly misspelled.
Sometimes, the fake Twitter accounts also have a website that has a slight misspelling of the website or different website extension altogether.
In Discord, spammers will often direct message (DM) you with information pertaining to a minting opportunity. You think they’re part of the project so you click on a link where it takes you to a fake minting site. You connect your wallet thinking you’re minting a legitimate NFT for a legitimate project but nothing ever materializes and your cryptocurrency is gone.
What’s worse is, depending on how they set up the website and coding, you could risk having your wallet compromised and the entire contents of your wallet stolen.
What happens when a scam occurs?
Currently, there’s no real way to recover the contents of your wallet. This is the nature of decentralization. This is both a blessing and a curse of the blockchain. There’s not one party or platform with complete ownership or control over anything. There’s no banking authority to call and no customer service representatives to assist you.
This is why you must research a project and pay attention to what you’re looking to purchase.
By the way, when you’re setting up a crypto wallet, there are safety and security measures that exist to protect you and your wallet. If your wallet is compromised, there is no way to recover it or regain access to it.
For example, there is a 12 word recovery phrase that should not be stored online or on your computer. You want to keep it safe and never share it with anyone.
Spams and scams are nothing new. They’ve been perpetrated in every possible way: door-to-door, phone calls, mail, e-mail, computer hacking, you name it.
But, let’s not end on such a negative note. Let’s look on the bright side of this whole new frontier.
There are projects that understand the onboarding of new folks into this space can be overwhelming. Therefore, they’ve provided a gateway to make purchasing an NFT a little more palatable and relatable by providing traditional purchasing methods. For example, using a credit card instead of a crypto wallet.
We’re humans who are wired to connect. Most people are not scammers in this space. Most are either looking to create something, build something or be a part of something with others who believe in the same mission.
Be curiously cautious and keep curating knowledge. Learning is sexy.
Find out more about my project, BIZ Glitch NFT by researching here.