News
The Evolution Of A Metaverse Brand: RTFKT’s CloneX Drops Today // Forbes
RTKFT has been making waves with their streetwear brand and NFT drops, and this interview with one of it's co-founders is a good opportunity to learn more about how they approach the future of web3 and their new virtual avatar project CloneX.
UK data watchdog seeks talks with Meta over child protection concerns // The Guardian
Parental controls play a key role in the need to monitor versus mentor good behavior, and the current stat of Meta Quest's parental controls may violate the United Kingdom's 15 tenants for age appropriate design practices (also known as the Children's Code). Don't expect that this will prompt any recalls, but do expect software updates to address this in the future.
Kevin Hart Buys A 'Bored Ape' NFT For Over $200,000 // Ceng News
Kevin Hart joins a growing list of celebrities, governments, private investors, and everyday people adding NFTs to their investments. The Bored Ape Yacht Club is one of the more well known NFT collections currently available, second only to CryptoPunks.
Crunchfish Patents XR Shifting-Keyboard Password Technology // The Virtual Report
Crunchfish Gesture Interaction has received an Intention to Grant from the European Patent Office (EPO) for what in hindsight is simple, clever, and helps address a common problem when publicly entering a passcode. Shuffling the numbers for the AR/VR viewer allows for gestures that won't grant an onlooker account access if they were to try repeating it. Quite clever.
Reading
Taxation of Cryptocurrency Non-fungible Tokens
If you've ventured into the realm of NFTs and are wondering how that may effect your taxes this is an article you should read, and follow through some of the linked articles to make sure that you're avoiding an accidental audit for how handling things appropriately. This was also the first article we've encountered that considered charitable giving and fundraising, which we see becoming an even bigger area for NFTs to be used.
Business
How Virtual Pop-Ups increase ROI on pop-up stores - Obsess
We like it when there are data to backup claims, and the company behind virtual pop-up stores for brands like Coach, AT&T, and Christian Dior Paris would be a reliable source to read about how virtual pop-up stored are making more money for brands and serving as early steps into bridging physical and virtual retail opportunities.
Videos
Demo passthrough features in ShapesXR // YouTube
There are a number of XR platforms that let you sketch and arrange geometry, and with official support for the Passshrough feature on the Meta Quest you can have a truly extended reality by adding virtual elements into your space. Watch this video of how the fine folk behind ShapesXR have adopted this to see a glimpse into the future. If you'd like to apply to get early access to the Mixed Reality features within ShapesXR use this form to get on the waiting list.
One More Thing
Step into Cat Art Online Exhibition | VIVEPORT
We're fans of Shu Yamamoto and his CAT ART, so when we came across this partnership with VIVEPORT to create a virtual exhibit we couldn't help but make this our One More Thing. If only for the Hisstine Chapel Mural comprising 160 pieces of artwork. Tickets for the virtual experience are on sale now and the exhibit will run until the end of May.
Commentary
If you're the type of person to rant about how you're sick of hearing about NFTs, this isn't the issue for you.
Way back in issue 21 we highlighted how some startups are going about funding themselves through funds and venture capital. That hasn't changed but the growth of NFTs and crypto have changed how brands, startups, and artists engage with their audiences. The reasons for this are varied, but the ability to bypass any gatekeepers or need to map your path as an iteration of something understandable are two very big reasons.
A savvy content creator with a sizeable enough audience can sidestep most of the traditional paths of securing money for a team or project and use NFTs to crowdsource funding their operation. This has already worked for an increasing number of teams and has gotten RTKFT acquired by Nike.
The reason people are, and will continue, talking about NFTs is that they are changing the landscape of digital products in ways that actually deserve all of the hype that they garner. If that bores you or makes you want to tune out just be warned that you may find that you'll be behind the curve fairly soon. And potentially missing out on part of the digital revolution happening right now.
Thank you for reading and subscribing, and we'll see you next week!
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