NFT Day Paris Blockchain Summit
During this week, Paris is the center of attention for the blockchain community. Besides the fact that blockchain-based possibilities are endless, the Paris Blockchain Summit got them all covered. The NFT Day was full of highlights for business developers, entrepreneurs, engineers, and people trying to learn more about what you can do with this technology.
To begin with, NFTs are not just naive jpegs, as many might think. On the contrary, they have grown powerful, making an impact in all kinds of businesses. From companies like L’Oréal, which curated a unique collection of female artists’ NFTs to raise awareness of women empowerment, to complicated tech architectures aiming to prevent hackers and counterfeit products and brands.
From DAOs to games, from Intellectual Property to ownership in the digital world. NFT Day in Paris was a complete overview of the standard for non-fungible tokens technology.
Some of the highlights are directly connected with the growth of the business around NFTs. As I mentioned before, the naive jpegs time has come to an end, and we are seeing the rise of the new big corps in this space.
Today we see big tech web2 companies on the top of charts like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook/META (by the way, when do we stop calling them Facebook?), but these are soon to be replaced by companies like Ledger, Binance, Coinbase, and much more.
Highlights
Decentralization
- Once a must-have feature, it is not the center of attention anymore. Definitely decentralization still matters, but it’s not key anymore. Since the subject was brought to attention with the argument that decentralization is the answer for real digital ownership, new business models and very skilled engineers are bringing new solutions. Transparency is the new word. Blockchain transactions are transparent even if they have a centralized database, so, no matter what, the users want transparency, and they are going to get it.
DAOs
- Despite some people voicing concerns about this model to operate a business since we are talking about Decentralized Autonomous Organization (the name does not help to understand, I know), they are getting authentic licenses to operate in legal ways, like in the State of Wyoming, in the United States of America, where you can register a DAO as an LLC. DAOs are often called the future of business organizations since you can operate your business remotely with the participation of private and undisclosed individuals from all over the world, without a single brick-and-mortar office. The feeling is…Let’s see.
NFTs are not just art
- When you say NFT out loud around anyone, the first thing that will pop up in their head is art. That was the first application of a unique technology that now rises in many other ways. NFTs are boosting engagement with consumers and fans, making their time spent within their supported brand, company, or sports organization, rewarded, for example. A new generation that was born without paper to write but with big screens with keyboards totally understands the meaning of having ownership of a digital file. In the physical world, with papers and pens, the owner is the one who holds something. With the NFT technology, everyone can have a copy, but there is only one owner. That’s huge, considering that 95% of what we create at work are digital files, right?
Web3 transition and user experience
- Companies are watching this environment from two perspectives. Whether they hate it because they don’t have any stake in it or can’t understand it, or they simply embrace the trend. The issue to discuss is how to make such a transition since a considerable part of the users and companies’ clients are not yet educated in the subject. The key here is UX/UI. Not just in terms of design and visuals, but really in being easy to use. Most people don’t engage with web3 applications fearing losing money or getting into a scam (rightly so, given the number of scams out there). So, businesses all around the world, be aware that the transition to Web 3 is not just to make an NFT drop but to educate the user.
Intellectual Property and authenticity
- Counterfeit products are something that has been around us since the beginning of trade. Brands are being abused in the sense that they get a big bite of their business taken from them, harmed by others trying to use their popularity by creating cheaper products and selling on their behalf. NFTs are on the brink of being a great way to prevent that, and apparently, IP deals for licensed digital products are happening and solving the initial problems. By itself, it does not solve the problem because people are not going to stop counterfeiting things and brands, but it definitely soothes it. Ultimately, what is at stake here is authenticity. Brands need to differentiate themselves to prevent such issues.
Communities
- “NFTs are all about communities” Speaker, Every. The word community was all around, and one of the most interesting takeaways came from Robby Young, the CEO of Animoca Brands: “You don’t create and raise a community; they gather around seeking support and attention. Growing a web3 community is a matter of having a great support network and very engaged operators that can not just help, but be always there as a reliable source.”
In conclusion, NFTs are just a tiny piece of the blockchain puzzle that is reinventing the way businesses work and relate with their users. By the way, user is such a web2 word; now they are members.
