NFTs, Exclusivity, and Networks

A recent article, “​​NFTs as Micro-Social Networks: The Path to Crypto Adoption,” details the recent emergence and growth of the virtual network of digital owners. This article claims that NFTs are currently on a path of becoming a significant factor of social interactions, and are shaping a new type of social interaction in itself.

NFT stands for non-fungible tokens–”non-fungible” essentially means it is one of a kind, and “token” insinuates that it is a thing that holds value to be traded or collected. While NFTs can be music, recordings, tweets, etc., digital art NFTs tend to be the most well known. Digital art has found an opportunistic market through the popularization of NFTs, with some of the most valued pieces selling for millions of dollars (but bought in crypto). An interesting comparison can be made between the value of NFTs with the seemingly exclusive communities that bid on them, and the value of traditional–tangible–art and the networks that have had access to possessing these symbols of wealth and status.

Buzz about NFTs seems to have reached the mainstream only recently, though they have been around since 2014. The article insists that “the ideas forming in NFT communities highlight a new type of social interaction built on NFTs instead of follows and likes” (Caseres). 

However, their current popularity in mainstream networks seems contradictory to the apparent exclusivity within NFT networks. They have reached other platforms and the general public because of the average person’s fascination with the idea of NFTs, rather than the average person’s ability to penetrate NFT communities and join in on the collecting, trading, and profiting of this somewhat novel phenomenon.

NFTs seem to relate well to Networks; in further discussions, it would be an interesting topic for social networks, auctions, and perhaps the Rich-Get-Richer principle.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/nfts-as-micro-social-networks-the-path-to-crypto-adoption

https://www.artnews.com/list/art-news/artists/2021-year-of-the-nft-1234614022/