NFTs: an explanation for those that don’t get it

Most members of this community have seen countless examples of belly-flop NFTs, but we have also seen a few better examples, such as Reddit’s avatars. There has been news in the past about NFTs for pretty much everything: ticket sales, art, various proofs of purchase, virtual real estate, music, etc.

The “right click, save JPEG” meme is fairly accurate from a representational point of view. Just like you could go online and find a high-res image of the Mona Lisa and have it printed, framed, and hung on your wall, you can also copy digital art through the save method, or the little-known (lol) screen-shot method.

The most relatable explanation of an NFT isn’t that it’s preventing people from copying the media, it’s that it serves as a proof of authenticity. Anyone could have something on their wall that looks like a Jackson Pollock painting, but having an authentic version with his signature on it means a lot more to people who are collectors of his work, and art in general.

So, while digital media is undeniably different, this same premise still holds true. The signature isn’t something that is necessarily visible, but it does exist immortalized on a blockchain for easy verification. Even if you don’t consider a Jackson Pollock painting art, you still understand what the signature means.

Edit: as u/samer109 reminded me, NFTs also enable the option of having a percentage of second-hand sale proceeds going back to the artist. In theory, if an artist had enough NFTs or enough that were selling for high-value amounts, they could make a decent income from it. Which, to my knowledge, is a sharp contrast from traditional art sales. Maybe for high end art there are legal agreements and established trusts that will get portions of proceeds as famous art is sold, but I am not sure.