Greetings to all who have somehow wandered into my tiny little corner of the internet.

Welcome back.

I know I haven’t posted in a while but here’s why: I have been obsessing over NFTs for the last month or so. 

And it did truly take me about a full month to begin understanding what NFT means. I’m kind of annoyed that Paris Hilton wrote a blog post about NFT before me, but it’s all good.

Anyway, if you’re interested in a two minute crash-course on the internet, cryptocurrency and NFTs, read on. Disclaimer: I am no expert on any of this. I’m honestly mostly just posting to have bragging rights when this shit changes the world. Gotta establish myself on the ol’ bandwagon, you know?

Anyway, when I first heard of NFTs I barely knew the meaning of cryptocurrency. I honestly didn’t even know what the f*ck the internet is or how it works. So let’s start there. 

The internet connects computers all over the globe. It does that by transporting data, providing access to webpages (YouTube etc.), and allowing streaming of live media (video on YouTube, etc.). 

In real life, internet access means fiberoptic cable networks across the world, under oceans, etc. Each internet-enabled device has a unique address on the internet (an IP address). 

There is a server that can carry out a request sent from an IP address. A request, for example, could be that a person like you or me has a device and they type in “YouTube.com” in a search bar.

The request to access YouTube goes to the server and the server fulfills the request by jamming photons through fiberoptic wires. These photons travel to a router (like the one you use for wifi in your home). The router transforms the photons into electricity and it then sends the information to your device: you finally arrive at your YouTube destination, congratulations!

What the f*ck right???? The internet exists in the real world, and it is literally light particles being shot across the globe in tiny wires. Yuuuuup. 

So the internet actually costs us energy, a physical resource…

Wow rabbit hole. So wait what does this have to do with NFTs again?

I wanted to know what the internet is to better understand what cryptocurrencies are. 

Now let’s get into that:

Cryptocurrency uses fancy math to create unbreakable codes to create a traceable, authenticated internet currency.

Cryptocurrency uses something called blockchain technology as its backbone. Blockchain technology seals together every transaction into one long unbreakable chain of information (super hard math and tons of electricity required). In theory, if you try to alter one transaction in the chain, the whole thing breaks. This ensures that every transaction can be traced and confirmed.

Okay, on to the next: fungibility.

Fungible things are things like coins: you can trade a nickel for another nickel and you will still have a nickel. 

Non-Fungible things are things like ketchup and mustard: you can trade a ketchup for a mustard but then you will not still have ketchup. You will instead be left with mustard. A piece of art is non-fungible because if you trade it you will no longer have the original. A house is non-fungible. A festival pass is non-fungible. I am non-fungible, you are non-fungible. 

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are non-fungibles that are carved into the blockchain as a permanent record. 

Okay so if you’re like me, you probably reading all this and are like, “Kay got it, but what is an NFT, like why does is mean anything to you or have any value in real life?”

This is where it gets really interesting. 

What I’ve tried to describe so far is that NFTs are unique, traceable and permanent. 

What I hope to describe now is that NFTs are creating a community. NFTs are giving credit to artists and other digital laborers for their work. 

Here’s a personal anecdote about the time I realized what an NFT means to me:

I was scrolling Instagram (surprise, surprise) and got a message from a group chat. The message contained a piece of animated artwork. I see hundreds if not thousands of this type of digital art every day on Instagram. Usually what happens is I watch it, I think it’s cool for a split second, I scroll down to the next one and I quickly forget about it. 

This particular animation was different. I recognized it immediately as a published NFT. I dug around and found the artist’s page. I gave a follow because I liked their work. 

NFTs give digital art its source back. It puts a name to a face. It connects artists with enthusiasts. Suddenly all those anonymous, meaningless pieces of media become part of a traceable web of creation and sharing. 

A piece becomes an NFT and once it is minted as such, it can never be undone. NFT is the moment where the piece becomes fused with its source. It can then travel across time and space to meet its audience in a respectable way. 

NFTs change how we think of digital art. It is a paradigm shift for art in general. 

NFT is the legitimizing factor.