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Greetings, my fellow Packers! First, apologies for the hiatus. Moving across the country chews up free time like Violet Beauregarde chews bubble gum. In the interest of transparency, the cadence going forward will probably fall closer to one pack/month.
Episodes included: 6
Featured pods: Modern Finance, Founderâs Field Guide, The GaryVee Audio Experience, The a16z Podcast, The Future of Everything, The Daily
Time to listen: ~2.5 hours
If youâre totally new to the world of crypto, stop here and check out my blockchain basics pack. Otherwise, get listening! The packâs ordered from least to most technical, so just start with the intro and keep going as long as youâre digging it.
If youâd like to read my intro instead of listen to it, scroll on.
It was a wild, wild summer in the world of NFTs.
Gradually, then suddenly, non-fungible tokens began to realize their long-promised potential as so much more than glorified jpegs. From cartoon apes emerging as the ultimate status symbol, to hundreds of thousands of Filipinos earning a living playing a pokemon-esque video game, to a decentralized community mobilizing overnight to create a fictional universe, things got crazy out here, and fast.
I could, and well may, curate dedicated podcast packs for each of these trailblazing projects, but, to start, I wanted to cover the basics. If youâve been sitting on the sidelines watching in wonder as pixelated profile pictures proliferate on your Twitter feed, hereâs hoping this pack pushes you over the hurdle, through the woods, and down the NFT rabbit hole.
First, letâs define the hottest N-lead acronym since NSYNC.
âNon-fungibleâ is a fancy way of saying unique. A dollar (or a bitcoin) is fungible because it can be exchanged for any other dollar (or bitcoin). The declaration of independence, on the other hand, is non-fungible, because thereâs only one and it canât be exchanged for the replica from the gift shop (unless, of course, youâre Nicholas Cage in National Treasure).
âTokenâ, in this case, just means that ownership of the asset is digitized and tracked on a blockchain in the form of a standardized contract. As a result, said ownership can be indisputably and instantly verified by anyone. This point is simple but critical. Itâs what enables NFTs to be transferred, traced, and even built on top of like digital lego bricks.
Many associate NFTs exclusively with digital art, like Beepleâs $69M âEverydays - The First 5000 Daysâ. In fact, any digital object can be an NFT, and thatâs where things get really interesting. To prove it, I decided to turn this very podcast pack into an NFT by minting it (minting is the process by which a digital object is added to a blockchain via a smart contract).
I know what youâre thinking. Why would you spend money to buy something youâre accessing right now for free?! Well, hopefully, this little experiment shows you why NFTs are less about accessing an object and more about accessing ownership of the object.
Here are a few reasons you might want to access ownership of the NFT primer pack:
To prove your fandom
If youâre a die hard Greenbay Packers fan, you might buy an autographed Aaron Rogers jersey to frame and hang up in your basement. If youâre a diehard (podcast) Packer, you might buy this NFT and display it online. Best part is, itâs a lot easier to display ownership on social media than it is to get someone to come check out your man cave/she-shed.
To support yours truly
If you want to support your favorite digital creator, you might buy them a coffee by donating a few dollars via their Patreon page. If you want to support Podcast Packs, you might buy this NFT. In this way, NFTs provide a new mechanism for creators to solicit support from their fans. The difference is, the creator isnât the only one benefiting here. Which brings me to our next point...
To share in the upside if podcast packs heads to the moon đ
If you believe a company will succeed, you might seek to own a piece of it so you can sell your share once its value has increased. If you think a creative project, or even a specific creator, will succeed, you might seek to own a piece of their work. This sort of speculation hasnât been possible to date because abstract assets like a podcast playlist simply werenât own-able. Now, theyâre not only own-able but also divisible and tradable too! To my knowledge, the NFT primer pack is the first and only podcast playlist thatâs been minted. Thatâs gotta be worth something, right?
To capture owner exclusive benefits
If youâre a local restaurant, you might reward your most loyal customers by inviting them to help pick the next seasonâs menu. In this scenario, you could easily identify your regulars based on how often they come by to eat and mingle with them by pulling up a chair to their table.
If youâre a digital creator, you might want to reward your most loyal fans by giving them input into your creative process. However, identifying these fans with absolute certainty isnât as easy as peeking out from the kitchen. Whatâs more, if youâre going to invite them into your digital space, youâd want a secure way to grant them access.
Because the smart contracts behind NFTs are not only public but also standardized, they make it easy for anyone to identify the owner of an asset and extend the assetâs value through owner-exclusive benefits.
When I minted this NFT, I added an additional clause to its contract: whoever buys it gets exclusive access to a discord server with me where weâll decide what the next pack will be about đ. I may never know this personâs identity (beyond their Discord username or ethereum address), but I will know without a single doubt that they own the NFT primer pack, and for that, Iâd like to reward them.
So, are you sold?
If youâre looking to show the world youâre a Packer, throw me a bone, pick the next pack, or make a quick buck, the auction for the NFT primer pack will be live for the next week. To the victor go the spoils.
Whether this little experiment had you pulling out your crypto wallet or not, I hope it opened your mind to some of the many ways NFTs will transform our culture.
Weâre witnessing the birth of a universal open media library. Soon enough, every digital object, from tickets to tweets, will be minted as an NFT by default, creating a foundation of virtual building blocks for anyone to buy, sell, or build upon. Thatâs a wild future to envision! Â
I could wax poetic about the opportunities and ills this redefinition of cultural value will bring, but this whole introâs been a bit heavy as is. For now, sit back, relax, and let it all sink in as you tune in to the pods in this pack