No Fungible Way

On my way to work the other day, I heard a report on NPR about Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

This little guy sold for $170K

"They're sort of like bitcoins," the reporter said.

My head started to hurt just a little at the mention of cyberspace cash. Not having extra clams to hurl about the internet, I never thought much about bitcoin. Or blockchain. Two "B" words that I could reasonably ignore without being impacted.

Now here they were talking about NFTs. I was inclined to given the subject the same cold shoulder as bitcoins, but I was just a little bit intrigued. And in need of a topic this week. So down the rabbit hole went I.

As it turns out, NFTs are essentially bragging rights. 

For example, you buy a cute little cat meme you've had your eye on. Then you get to tell everybody it's yours.

Except...it is in an electronic format. So potentially billions and billions of people can still download it and share it and use it to say "Happy Birthday" or "Get Stuffed" to their friends and family.

But...if you buy that bit of imagery, you get to say that it's yours.

To help illustrate, it's like owning an original Van Gogh. Sure, there are lots of prints out there, but if you're a serious art collector, possessing Starry Night is quite the coup. 

Some collectors are hoping to buy up the most popular cyberspace art in the hopes this trend will really catch on, and they can then sell their NFTs to make a profit.

Clearly, this is a game for those with way more dinero than yours truly.

On the other hand, it's been purported to support artists, so I guess that's something.

Now that I know what NFTs are, I can move on without giving them anymore thought, confident in the knowledge I'm not missing a thing.

I can continue to borrow and share silly kitty memes willy nilly, then set them free. 

Hmm. Maybe that's why I like libraries so much...