The term Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT’s) has been all the rage for some time now. As with most things that are technology-oriented, many people bandy about new terms without having a functional understanding of how the technology works or what it is designed to do. Most people do not display their ignorance for fear of being ridiculed. Worse, they develop a faulty understanding of the new acronym just so that they can blithely use it at a cocktail party or at the workplace. And since most of their coworkers are also foggy in their understanding, the chances of being caught out are slim.
I have seen this phenomenon occur often with new technology concepts. I have worked with people who throw out terms like “neural networks” or “Web 3.0” during a work-related conversation without the faintest idea of what these terms mean. If they are in a senior position, they often get away with it. The courage to say “I don’t know” is the preserve of the few.
We have been bombarded with news this week on Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter. Musk is a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist”. In a press release on Monday, April 25, 2022 announcing the deal, he said “free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy”. He claims he is going to work with users and management to “unlock” Twitter’s “substantial” value. Meanwhile, there has been little press on the fact that Musk is having production issues at Tesla, but that’s a topic for another day.
Before the takeover, Jack Dorsey, the founder and ex-CEO of Twitter, sold his first tweet (also the very first tweet ever) as an NFT for more than $2.9 million. Meanwhile, creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club have created an NFT collection of cartoon pictures of apes depicted in various states of ennui. A particularly popular digital artist, Mike Winkelmann, (known online as Beeple) sold a single painting as an NFT for almost $70 million.
So, what exactly are NFTs?
While most of the noise…
