#4 What’s good in NFT/Metaverse

Issue 4 is ready to rock. We’ve got a selection of metaverse & NFT happenings across brands and platforms, a peek into what an event looks like in the metaverse, some tips including how to use my NFT Sniff Test, my thoughts on innovation and some interesting research on what the courts are saying on IP right for NFTs and metaverse. Let’s do it…

Metaverse & NFT updates that stood out & why

Want to see what an event looks like in the metaverse?

Metaverse platform AltspaceVR is a vast world to explore with many different spaces available for artists, brands and businesses to run events in pre-built spaces with customizable drag and drop. Cathy Hackl delivered a keynote with Linkedin in AltspaceVR and shared this clip of what it was like.

MY TAKE: Definitely explore this platform — as an individual or a brand. Runs in VR (Oculus) or desktop. Great way to bring folks together from anywhere in a fun virtual space to meet casually or formally. I’ve previously attended a live vocal performance, comedy show, roasted marshmallows by a campfire with others and a digital marketing meetup and had great experiences each time (see below).

Coke celebrates Pride Month with Pride-inspired digital collectibles

A series of 136 unique digital collectibles created in collaboration with South African fashion designer and LGBTQIA+ advocate Rick Minsi. They all sold out are currently running at a floor price of 0.05Eth on Opensea. Coke’s mission is to increase visibility by radiating the full spectrum of the community’s colors and spreading a simple message of Love.

MY TAKE: Love when new tech can help shine a light on messages like this. “We are always exploring new ways to connect with our fans in both the virtual and physical worlds and have more exciting digital collectible initiatives in the pipeline.” (Pratik Thakar, Global Head of Creative Strategy and Integrated Content, The Coca-Cola Company). A missed opportunity if they don’t unlock some type of additional benefits for holders such as access to exclusive memberships, merchandise or IRL events.

Shopify goes all-in on NFTs with ‘Tokengated commerce’ angle

The biggest name in the US eCommerce market with over 2M daily active users, Shopify has turned on the NFT tap. This allows small businesses to create NFT-gated storefronts as a new feature to make their stores more exclusive where only NFT holders can purchase. Shopify also announced partnerships with massive NFT collections: ABS, Doodles, World of Women, Invisible Friends, Superplastic, Stapleverse, and Cool Cats. They’re also adding IRL (In Real Life) token-gating at brick-and-mortar stores — this means only NFT holders can purchase at physical stores.

MY TAKE: A huge move by such a big player. This screams exclusivity. The VIP digital club vibe that web3 offers has big rewards for loyal brand supporters. Expect more and more brands to dive into NFTs as a way to unlock perks and talk directly to the web3 wallets of customers — the next holy grail for brands.

A few of my tips & insights

Can your project pass my NFT Sniff test? Try it.

How do you make sure that an NFT project is solving a unique problem, speaking to a specific challenge or unlocking value specifically? Consider the utility, the access, the community, the benefits. Ask yourself could your project be done via email. Check out by NFT Sniff Test below. How do you differentiate value with NFT projects?

Thinking about innovation — How ‘time’ & ‘perception’ plays into it.

An idea I pitched to a global brand went live this week. It took 5 yrs to launch. Some felt it wasn’t innovative. I love getting this feedback, it gets me thinking about the varying degrees of change and progression and the impact it can have on organizations. See below, I’d love your perspective.

Research I’m following

Map of NFT interest around the world

Countries most interested in NFTs

(Here is a full size map view).

This study by CashNetUSA shows some fascinating insights and was shared a lot amongst the web3 / NFT community this past week. Singapore searches for NFTs more than any other country. Poland is the most anti-NFT country. Montenegro is the most pro-NFT country.

Here is a link to the full study and other useful global NFT statistics. These insights were sourced from Ahrefs tool and Twitter’s API by searching “NFT” in every country and overlaying that with the top 100 NFTs of all time from Opensea. Smart, huh?

Looking for some great web3 & metaverse definitions? I’ve got a short video for you.

Web3 has decentralization and societal implications … Metaverse is technology-driven and is ‘the internet in 3D’. Check this out from the godmother and godfather of the metaverse.

The metaverse, NFTs and IP rights: to regulate or not to regulate?

A fascinating read that covers key questions such as “Should the law adapt to the metaverse or should the metaverse adapt to the law?”. And how if we want to use the trademark of any company as an NFT or item in the metaverse, we need permission from the owner of the mark. It concludes with information on what the courts are saying. Check it out here.

That’s it.

Thanks for being here 👏. Please share with a colleague.