Thread
1/ I am here to let you know that, over the next decade, art might actually save the world.
Our world is becoming progressively digital. It is critically important that this world, the coming metaverse, is open and free and interoperable.
And art might get us there.
Our world is becoming progressively digital. It is critically important that this world, the coming metaverse, is open and free and interoperable.
And art might get us there.
2/ But before all that, a brief intro.
I am @punk6529.
I'm known for buying a lot of NFTs and for tweeting about the open metaverse
There are 30+ loooong tweetstorms on this topic here:
&
a rough game plan here
I am @punk6529.
I'm known for buying a lot of NFTs and for tweeting about the open metaverse
There are 30+ loooong tweetstorms on this topic here:
&
a rough game plan here
3/ Also, before we put on the turbochargers, a brief aside on art and NFTs.
My views are very simple: Art can exist in every medium - canvas, marble and, of course, pixels too.
In each medium, there is "important" art, along with a huge tail of art-for-expressive purposes
My views are very simple: Art can exist in every medium - canvas, marble and, of course, pixels too.
In each medium, there is "important" art, along with a huge tail of art-for-expressive purposes
4/ I collected a bit before NFTs - I once tweeted about my multi-year exercise in exasperation in finding an Andy Warhol tomato soup can from a gallery - while I lived in Soho!
It is ok fam, I finally procured the soup can which now watches over the dining room table
It is ok fam, I finally procured the soup can which now watches over the dining room table
5/ And I have deeply enjoyed the last year in NFTs, getting to know and become friends with some wonderful artists.
Permit me a couple of JPGs.
summer.jpg by @XCOPYART
Permit me a couple of JPGs.
summer.jpg by @XCOPYART
6/ The Tulip (Fidenza #313) from @tylerxhobbs's wonderful generative collection. 
7/ "Its such a shame I fixed this bug" by @dmitricherniak, another wonderful generative artist 
8/ "Labios" by @manoloidee, a generative art pioneer (you might guessed, I particularly love generative art) 
9/ But OK, so what?
Why shouldn't we buy these pieces from Gagosian instead?
Art is art.
All the artists above made art before NFTs.
WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL? WHY WON'T THE CRYPTO PEOPLE EVER SHUT UP ABOUT NFTs?
Why shouldn't we buy these pieces from Gagosian instead?
Art is art.
All the artists above made art before NFTs.
WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL? WHY WON'T THE CRYPTO PEOPLE EVER SHUT UP ABOUT NFTs?
10/ Time to put the art to the side for a moment and let's think about the architecture of our digital lives.
Just like in the real world, our digital world is built on a certain architecture, with certain design choices.
And those choices have consequences.
Just like in the real world, our digital world is built on a certain architecture, with certain design choices.
And those choices have consequences.
11/ The first generation of the web (web 1) was primarily built in academia.
This was the generation of packet switching, of email, of HTML.
It took ~25 years for the pieces to come together, and when they did, we had the explosion of innovation that is the "internet"
This was the generation of packet switching, of email, of HTML.
It took ~25 years for the pieces to come together, and when they did, we had the explosion of innovation that is the "internet"
12/ The major protocols of this generation were built as open standards, as interoperable protocols.
SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It is the standard for email.
SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It is the standard for email.
13/ Anyone can build software to send emails - so long as their software adheres to the SMTP standard - the email interoperates with the billions of email clients worldwide
You don't have to get permission from the "CEO of Email" to send emails, because there is no such thing
You don't have to get permission from the "CEO of Email" to send emails, because there is no such thing
14/ The second generation of the internet (web 2) was built primarily in Silicon Valley and was funded by VCs.
By then it was obvious that the internet was very valuable.
So something changed.
The protocols of web 2 ended up not being protocols, but companies.
By then it was obvious that the internet was very valuable.
So something changed.
The protocols of web 2 ended up not being protocols, but companies.
15/ The protocol for "short messages online" became Twitter.
The protocol for "medium sized, graphics rich messages" online become Facebook/Instagram.
But these are not protocols open to all, there are proprietary technology of a specific company.
The protocol for "medium sized, graphics rich messages" online become Facebook/Instagram.
But these are not protocols open to all, there are proprietary technology of a specific company.
16/ Unlike with email, you are NOT allowed to build software to send or receive tweets.
You can only interact with the Twitter API (servers) based on a license Twitter gives you, on terms Twitter decides, that Twitter can change at any time, for whatever reason whatsoever.
You can only interact with the Twitter API (servers) based on a license Twitter gives you, on terms Twitter decides, that Twitter can change at any time, for whatever reason whatsoever.
17/ "But @punk6529, if you don't like Twitter, you can take your business somewhere else"
Unfortunately there are strong "network effects" in internet protocols.
You want to use the email protocol that everyone else uses, the messaging protocol that everyone uses
Unfortunately there are strong "network effects" in internet protocols.
You want to use the email protocol that everyone else uses, the messaging protocol that everyone uses
18/ In practice if you say, "I am going to leave for an alternative to HTML or SMTP or Twitter or Facebook", you will be cast out into the digital darkness, screaming into a void.
19/ To put it bluntly:
a) Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg had to decide in Jan if they should deny Trump access to short/medium messaging online
b) the CEO of email did not have to decide whether to deny Trump access to email because said CEO does not exist
a) Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg had to decide in Jan if they should deny Trump access to short/medium messaging online
b) the CEO of email did not have to decide whether to deny Trump access to email because said CEO does not exist
20/ This is @artnet so I assume the feed is mostly *not* the Trump fan club, but that is not the important point.
Mark Zuckerberg has voting control of Facebook and, by extension, 'medium sized messaging online'.
In the end, he only has to check with himself for his decisions
Mark Zuckerberg has voting control of Facebook and, by extension, 'medium sized messaging online'.
In the end, he only has to check with himself for his decisions
21/ It might be, in this case, Mark's decision matched up with your desired political outcome.
But I would not count on this always being the case.
More broadly, "what does Mark want to do this morning?" cannot possibly be the right internet governance system
But I would not count on this always being the case.
More broadly, "what does Mark want to do this morning?" cannot possibly be the right internet governance system
22/ OK, ok, ok. I am getting sleepy with all this internet protocol stuff.
What does this have to do with art?
What does this have to do with culture and society?
What does this have to do with art?
What does this have to do with culture and society?
23/ Over the next decade, our visualization layer for the internet is going to get much better
It will become progressively more 3D, more photo-realistic, more integrated with real-life
The fact that I am tweeting to you on a small screen to 2D avatars is a bug, not a feature
It will become progressively more 3D, more photo-realistic, more integrated with real-life
The fact that I am tweeting to you on a small screen to 2D avatars is a bug, not a feature
24/ The technical and buzzword terms for these visualizations are:
Augmented Reality: Digital objects in your field of vision
Virtual Reality: Your whole field of vision is digital
Mixed Reality: All of the above, plus physical reality
Augmented Reality: Digital objects in your field of vision
Virtual Reality: Your whole field of vision is digital
Mixed Reality: All of the above, plus physical reality
25/ The technical and buzzword terms for what emergent communities start to be created in these worlds is of course:
METAVERSE
The metaverse is not a place, a Second Life 2.0, a specific website.
It is a concept, there will be many metaverses, mixed reality communities
METAVERSE
The metaverse is not a place, a Second Life 2.0, a specific website.
It is a concept, there will be many metaverses, mixed reality communities
26/ I consider the NFT community to be a proto-metaverse
- Twitter and Discord are the social / communication layers
- Avatars/Pseudonyms are forms of identity (see yours truly)
- Sites like @oncyber_io give proto-3D spaces.
eg
oncyber.io/6529photo
- Twitter and Discord are the social / communication layers
- Avatars/Pseudonyms are forms of identity (see yours truly)
- Sites like @oncyber_io give proto-3D spaces.
eg
oncyber.io/6529photo
27/ "But @punk6529, this is pretty basic stuff. Twitter is the metaverse now?. I saw a online photo 3D gallery years ago, etc"
I have visibility into what is coming. We are about to hit the steep part of the curve.
All of this will be unrecognizably better in 2030.
I have visibility into what is coming. We are about to hit the steep part of the curve.
All of this will be unrecognizably better in 2030.
28/ By 2030, we will have heads-up displays the size of sunglasses that will seamlessly manage high resolution mixed reality.
They will be our default screens, replacing phones.
The digital world will leap off the screen and come all around us.
They will be our default screens, replacing phones.
The digital world will leap off the screen and come all around us.
29/ "Oh but 6529, I am salt of the earth, not going to use them"
Respectfully, I doubt it.
*Average* screen time in the United States is 7 hours and 11 minutes in 2020 and that is not because we are all out farming & hiking.
Also, you are here with us on Twitter 😉
Respectfully, I doubt it.
*Average* screen time in the United States is 7 hours and 11 minutes in 2020 and that is not because we are all out farming & hiking.
Also, you are here with us on Twitter 😉
30/ You will use these better visualizations, these better devices, for the same reason you've upgraded your phone.
It will make your life better, easier, more convenient, more productive, more fun.
This part is inevitable.
It will make your life better, easier, more convenient, more productive, more fun.
This part is inevitable.
31/ Imagine, for a second, this world.
Digital objects will be native to this world.
A picture of your family
A video call
A work of art
An avatar
This world will be intimate, it will literally be in your field of vision.
Digital objects will be native to this world.
A picture of your family
A video call
A work of art
An avatar
This world will be intimate, it will literally be in your field of vision.
32/ The major battlelines being drawn right now are not at all between tech and art.
It is a civil war *within* the tech industry, extending to all of society.
The civil war is about the architecture of web 3, of the metaverse
It is a civil war *within* the tech industry, extending to all of society.
The civil war is about the architecture of web 3, of the metaverse
33/ Version 1: Meta/Facebook
Your digital world, your field of vision, runs through FB's servers in Palo Alto.
That world has an absolute king who can decide everything, including what you can see, what you can create, what ads to show you, whether you can exist in this world
Your digital world, your field of vision, runs through FB's servers in Palo Alto.
That world has an absolute king who can decide everything, including what you can see, what you can create, what ads to show you, whether you can exist in this world
34/ Version 2: NFTs as the architecture for digital objects
You own your digital objects. You can take them from one website, one metaverse to another
You want a safe family friendly PG-13 space, you take them there
You want a no-censorship space, you go there.
You own your digital objects. You can take them from one website, one metaverse to another
You want a safe family friendly PG-13 space, you take them there
You want a no-censorship space, you go there.
35/ This world is more challenging to be honest
Freedom has a price, including and in the digital world
To take a simple example, you fumble your keys/password to your crypto wallet, it is gone
You can't call customer support to reset your password because it does not exist
Freedom has a price, including and in the digital world
To take a simple example, you fumble your keys/password to your crypto wallet, it is gone
You can't call customer support to reset your password because it does not exist
36/ You will have to make more decisions in this world.
In Facebook/Meta world, you sit back and an algorithm designed to cater to your biases (so you stay on the site) will tell you the world is as you think it is.
In an open metaverse, there are far fewer filters
In Facebook/Meta world, you sit back and an algorithm designed to cater to your biases (so you stay on the site) will tell you the world is as you think it is.
In an open metaverse, there are far fewer filters
37/ The lack of filters has bad effects too.
Just like in the real world, there are scammers in the crypto world.
You have to educate yourself.
The price of freedom in NFTs is education. For some people, that is too much effort. I understand.
Just like in the real world, there are scammers in the crypto world.
You have to educate yourself.
The price of freedom in NFTs is education. For some people, that is too much effort. I understand.
38/ Side note re carbon impact.
Most articles of the carbon impact of NFTs have outright silly math, but *nonetheless*, if this is a concern for you, you can choose a "proof of stake" chain, which will consume significantly less electricity to run than, say, Twitter.
Most articles of the carbon impact of NFTs have outright silly math, but *nonetheless*, if this is a concern for you, you can choose a "proof of stake" chain, which will consume significantly less electricity to run than, say, Twitter.
39/ So, after all these detours, back to art.
You like oil paintings, you like sculptures, you like graffiti art.
Great! So do I. The physical world is not going away.
Physical art will always be with us.
Carry on as you were! It is great fun.
You like oil paintings, you like sculptures, you like graffiti art.
Great! So do I. The physical world is not going away.
Physical art will always be with us.
Carry on as you were! It is great fun.
40/ At some point though, you might consider creating or buying some art in a digital world.
Perhaps not today, maybe not next year, but this decade, I think it will happen for most of us.
My kind request is for you to remember this thread then
Perhaps not today, maybe not next year, but this decade, I think it will happen for most of us.
My kind request is for you to remember this thread then
41/ If you are an artist, you have a choice on where to take your talents, your creative energy and your time.
If you are a collector, you have a choice on where to spend your money and to display your collection.
In aggregate, your choices matter a lot
If you are a collector, you have a choice on where to spend your money and to display your collection.
In aggregate, your choices matter a lot
42/ I believe when that time comes, you will have a choice between:
a) corporate controlled digital art spaces (Facebook, Epic, etc)
&
b) open and interoperable digital art spaces controlled by nobody (NFTs on a variety of blockchains)
a) corporate controlled digital art spaces (Facebook, Epic, etc)
&
b) open and interoperable digital art spaces controlled by nobody (NFTs on a variety of blockchains)
43/ Personally, I am not a fan of:
❎ Corporate control of culture
❎ Absolute dictators
❎ Panopticon corporations
❎ Censorship
But many people are, maybe even you, anon
All I ask is that you think about your choice, not just click blindly on the Facebook opt-in
❎ Corporate control of culture
❎ Absolute dictators
❎ Panopticon corporations
❎ Censorship
But many people are, maybe even you, anon
All I ask is that you think about your choice, not just click blindly on the Facebook opt-in
44/ The world we live in is a reflection of our choices.
It is a reflection of ourselves.
We have a shot at restoring the original ethos of the web this decade, open, free to all, a billion independent voices blooming.
I hope we make it 🙏
It is a reflection of ourselves.
We have a shot at restoring the original ethos of the web this decade, open, free to all, a billion independent voices blooming.
I hope we make it 🙏
45/ Some of you might own NFTs or might mint some, now or in the future.
I do not want you to lose them. This is my 107 tweet thread on how to keep them secure.
On this topic, I know more than you, just do what I tell you please 🙏
I do not want you to lose them. This is my 107 tweet thread on how to keep them secure.
On this topic, I know more than you, just do what I tell you please 🙏
46/ The NFT world has all types of inside jokes.
72 of them are here in this glossary.
72 of them are here in this glossary.
47/ Finally a non-NFT personal note.
For everyone, the struggle for a better life is real. Some thoughts on what "making it" might mean
For everyone, the struggle for a better life is real. Some thoughts on what "making it" might mean
48/ I think there is a rare window now to "Seize the memes of production" and have equal access to a new media platform as the most powerful people in the world.
But regardless of what you do, good luck with your journey, keep loving art and 🙏
Thank you all for having me.
But regardless of what you do, good luck with your journey, keep loving art and 🙏
Thank you all for having me.
