“While zooming out, NFTs are becoming the primary style of not only lens art collecting, but distribution as well – zooming in, this new format that facilitates IP protection and monetization is finally pushing photographs to the list of highest art sales, set to rival any other form of fine art.” NFTs are blockchain tokens that leverage a proof of authentication and ownership to almost anything imaginable, including digital objects – from profile pictures and artwork to game items. Although belonging to the Web1 era, JPEGs, PNGs andmp3s haven’t really exploded until we started using them in the Web2 context, where they grew and multiplied in exponential numbers. At that point, one particular medium has completely unleashed visual storytelling, reinventing the way we record and communicate literally everything, and that is the photograph. Equipped with new tools (smartphones) and provided with the new infrastructure (social media platforms), Web2 users unboarded en masse, and it is fair to say photographs are among those key elements that made the transition faster, more fun and engaging – not to mention incredibly creative for everyone. Next generation photography Last month, the token of Flow blockchain rallied 45% shortly after Meta announced that The mass adoption of new technologies that underpin everyday use cases is still a convoluted process – despite incredible advancements that helped speed up communication. With reinventing or revolutionising the Web, as with any technological development, the transitional phase which connects the old and the new is bound to be extremely complex and tangled – but rest assured, also the most dynamic, inspiring and creative stage. Entering the new era When it comes to Web3, looking back at one of the most logical and commonly made references – the transition to and the advent of Web2 – allows pinpointing those elements that facilitated the shift, making it less painful and more fun for the common man. The majority of the technological developments and applications being created in any transitional phase combine the already familiar with the new elements, sitting perfectly in between the old and yet-to-come tools and infrastructure. New file-sharing formats from the 90s are undoubtedly some of the smallest, yet most powerful drivers that helped propel the adoption of Web2. That being said, describing NFTs as the forerunners and heralds of the era to come seems more chronologically on point than labelling them as one of its products. Instagram has integrated support for Flow-based NFTs. In addition, the social media giant is expanding its recently piloted NFT feature into more than 100 total countries. Created by Dapper Labs, Flow is an open platform built from the ground up to support mainstream adoption. Since its launch, the decentralised and developer-friendly Layer-1 blockchain attracted some of the top entertainment brands and development studios to its ecosystem. With this in mind, the consumerfacing network seems like a perfect match for powering nextgeneration photography through NFTs. While zooming out, NFTs are becoming the primary style of not only lens art collecting, but distribution as well – zooming in, this new format that facilitates IP protection and monetisation is finally pushing photographs to the list of highest art sales, set to rival any other form of fine art. In December 2021, OpenSea created a category specifically for photography. However, the competition is heating up metaverse special
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