- Erik
Wait, what's this all about?
Greetings #staynftympls community!
If you you have come this far it means you've probably checked out our instagram or twitter, discovered the 612 Series, and read a bit about us (if not, get to it already!).
While the concept seems great, you may be thinking "wait, what is this all about?"
This blog will provide a (relatively) quick intro to the world of NFT's and give some helpful hints for unpacking the steps needed buy your first NFT and join the staynftympls community!
Scroll down to find...
Step 1: WTF is an NFT?
(totally borrowed that phrase... and a lot of the language below... we're learning together folks)
An NFT, Non-Fungible Token, is a "token that that we can use to represent ownership of unique items. They let us tokenize things like art, collectibles, even real estate. They can only have one official owner at a time and they are secured by the Ethereum (among other) blockchain(s)" (ethereum.org/en/nft).
In short NFT's are things that folks can buy (physical or digital) on the blockchain, generally using cryptocurrency.
Okay great.... still confused. Check out some need to know info below:
Fungible vs. Non-Fungible
It may be helpful to start by describing fungible vs. non-fungible assets.
Fungible assets are mutually interchangeable - think of money. If you have $6.12 dollars in your pocket, you can exchange it at any point for cash of equal value: $6.12. It doesn't matter if it is in dimes, nickels, and pennies; if the dollars have peanut butter on them from making your child's picnic lunch; or if that cash is on a credit or debit card... $6.12 will always be exchangeable for $6.12. This can be extended to some additional things like tickets but it get's murky, soooo... not going to go there.
Non-Fungible Assets are things that are not mutually exchangeable. If you have an original concert poster from the legendary 1981 Rolling Stones opening fiasco in LA (you know, right?), a baseball from the 1991 World Series, or a pair of second-hand size 12 roller skates you discovered at the thrift shop that fit like a glove and smell like... the uniqueness of these items means that they cannot be replaced by an identical item (not that I would ever consider trading my skates).
These items often have unique and relative value. Are you a fan of the Twins? of Prince? Are you unable to hold back smiles when you slide your feet into a pair of roller-skates and put on your favorite song... hypothetically? Regardless of the relative value, what makes them non-fungible is that they are (a) yours - you own them, (b) unique, and (c) cannot be replaced by an identical item (I think those last two are the same but I'm tired).
Non-Fungible "Tokens" and the Blockchain
"We have tons of digital stuff, we've just never really owned it" (OpenSea Blog, NFT Bible) Think of your twitter or IG handle, the domain name for your online storefront of hotdish ready MN Nice oven mitts, or digital concert tickets to this weekends First Ave show. While you own many of these assets, the ownership is typically only valid in certain contexts. For example, it may be a challenge to sell your twitter handle or flip your First Ave tix on eBay. This is where the blockchains come in! Blockchains coordinate and store details and transactions associated with the digital assets giving users the ownership and management permission. That state fair inspired gif you put out on the internets being copied, pasted, repurposed? The blockchain allows you to write the details of that digital asset down in a contract and allow folks to own, buy, trade, or sell it. A shoutout out to the Non-Fungible Token Bible: Everything you need to know about NFTs on the OpenSea blog for heavily influencing the content in these last few paragraphs. Not pushing OpenSea... they just have a great way of boiling this content down and making it digestible.
What if I just want short videos?
What is an NFT?
What is an NFT? / The OpenSea marketplace
What is Blockchain anyways?
Step 2: Where can I find NFTs?
The 612 Series
You can learn about the inaugural staynftympls 612 Series on our website
You can explore the full collection on OpenSea.
Tips for browsing the 612 series on OpenSea
OpenSea is fairly intuitive but here are a few quick pointers for navigating platform and optimizing your search.
Collection Filters: You can filter to explore by a variety of categories such as price, recently sold, most viewed, etc. (see below)
Properties: You can explore the collection by "properties" (i.e. Landmark, Background, Season, etc.). You can click into individual pieces and find the properties in the lower left hand corner.
By clicking into the individual piece and selecting properties you can filter the collection by...
Landmark (ex: The Walker)
Background (ex: Blue Fade)
Season (ex: Winter
Other places to search and projects / spaces / stories that are inspiring us
Other places to find NFTs
NFT Marketplaces
Places // Projects that are inspiring us
- Community spaces / galleries like iamnotArt and bright moments (going global!) blending In Real Life (IRL) experiences with the NFT and web3 world
- Art blocks - a platform curating work from the top generative artists - work that generates on demand, genuinely programmable content.
- The Stapleverse Empire Staple Pigeonz is a fun project I have followed that has gamified the NFT experience building community and celebrating sneaker / art / NYC culture throughout.
- Top Shot is where you can celebrate, relive, and collect moments in NBA history. Artists like Music by
Step 3: How do I buy an NFT?
Purchasing an NFT is a simple three step process:
Step 1: Set up a crypto wallet
Your crypto wallet will interact with blockchain integrated websites (like OpenSea), be your method of payment, and allow you to buy, access, sell, and trade NFTs.
I use a metamask wallet, along with 21 million other folks around the globe. It is available in the App Store, as a plugin on your browser, and is super easy to use.
Follow these step by step instructions to set up a metamask wallet
Step 2: Get some Crypto
You have a wallet, let's get some Crypto! If you are purchasing a 612 Series NFT, you will need to purchase some ETH, the digital currency required for transactions on the Ethereum blockchain.
You can buy ETH...
directly through the metamask wallet once downloaded
through a digital exchange like Coinbase (also a great place to keep an eye on the ever-changing value of ETH against the dollar)
**Consider gas fees - take out a a bit more than price of the desired NFT**
Gas fees are like a transaction fee. Every operation performed on the Ethereum platform costs a certain amount of gas to process. The more traffic on the blockchain and / or the more complex the transaction, the greater the price of gas.
In short, the fee should be nominal... if it is not (and there will be times when it is high), take a break and come back.
Step 3: Buy a 612 Series NFT already!
Hop on 612 Series collection and...
Connect your metamask wallet (revisit the wallet set up or this play-by-play video!)
Find a piece that you love - maybe its the landmark, the colors, a Minneapolis memory
Click the Buy Now button
Follow the prompts in your wallet
Check the NFTs tab in your wallet or "collected" tab in OpenSea and swoon over your new piece... you did it!
A note that ALL initial sales of the 612 Series will be set at a fixed-price on OpenSea. Here is a quick guide to buying a fixed-price NFT
Step 4: Spread the love
You obviously are here to build community, encourage creativity, and #staynfty!
If purchasing a staynftympls NFT wasn't enough...
Find us at one of our upcoming meetups / workshops / celebrations
Tell a friend to tell a friend
If your inspired yourself, keep an eye on the Get NFTy program and help us continue to build a Minneapolis narrative that we ALL can be proud of
Erik
