I spent too much time thinking about NFTs this summer.
Since you're reading this, you are probably like me -- also a newfound NFT addict. It's ok. NFTs are just super fun to work with both as a creator and a collector, they're the hip new thing but in an "AOL 3.0" way where the future is still extremely bright and everything is just starting up... what's not to love? Why not be obsessed?
Unfortunately both of the NFT platforms I was using before now were not satisfying my basic needs as a consumer.
Problems with Ethereum and Wax
Ethereum is TOO DAMN EXPENSIVE.
Look, I love the Ethereum blockchain for its incredible ecosystem of Dapps. Ethereum is and has been leading the charge for the blockchain community in general for many years now.
I just can't afford it.
Don't get me wrong -- the communities I have engaged with through Ethereum have been generous and welcoming.
In particular, the community in Lost Relics has become my home base for play2earn stuff. I spend hours and hours in the NFT Gaming discord, largely made up of current and former Relics players, just listening and learning about new projects.
Unfortunately, these games are the ONLY part of Ethereum that is accessible to me. With art, a cheap project starts at $100 plus gas just to buy a low level, common attributes NFT... I just can't afford this stuff!
Wax on the other hand has the opposite problem... I just don't see a real community there. I see lots of projects dropping with marketing and fanfare, and a few things I really enjoy. Hell, the first NFT I ever bought was a deadmau5 pin on Wax! I want to like Wax, unfortunately it is looking really bad in terms of actual user enthusiasm and community.
Hive's NFT Showroom is the Answer
What I want is to buy and sell artworks in a low-fee ecosystem that makes sense for someone of my financial means. I'd like to start out my next endeavors as an artist and art collector within my own economic reality -- that means buying and selling things within the $10-$50 range, not tens of thousands of dollars.
I'd like an organized blockchain that filters out total garbage, but is generally open to anybody who makes a good faith effort at contributing to the community.
Well, that's @NFTShowroom.
If you haven't been to NFTShowroom, get your ass over there. You are ASLEEP. There is tons of amazing art from Hive-native artists at absolutely affordable prices.
My Collection So Far
As a newbie to the showroom, I deposited about $25 (~50 HIVE) into my account from my Hive wallet. It was HBD I had sitting around anyway... not sure where it came from, maybe posting rewards?
The result of that? Three awesome pieces!
On the right I have "gin in a bottle," a fantastic hand-drawn artwork by @pollyfoxxy. Simple enough, it's a particularly deathly looking skull inside of a bottle. The description says this is what the artist imagines a genie looks like when it's resting in the lamp. SO COOL. Idk, it's a simple one but I really like it.
In the middle is a bit of pop culture art from Hive's very own @stickupboys -- I do love my brain, this one resonated with me on a basic level as a meme and I bought it. Stickup boys have a good aesthetic going on, my only concern is if they mint way too many things in this style it could devalue somewhat. Hoping they keep it fresh and find new twists on the formula.
Lastly, and my personal favorite, REEDUCACION by @vincenteblanco. I don't know exactly what the artist had in mind with this piece, it is GNARLY though and feels like it could be the artwork for a Meshuggah album cover. Nasty but not gross, I decided to buy both remaining mints of this so I can gift or resell the other one later on.
In fact I went ahead and did the thing, I made REEDUCACION my profile picture on twitter for now :-)
My second copy of this art is available for sale on NFT Showroom if anybody really wants it. I listed it at 50 HIVE I think... an absolute, ridiculous steal. Might take it down and just hold onto it for a while, idk. Thinking about gifting it to one of my friends who likes this kind of stuff. If anybody wants it, you should probably buy it sooner than later before I change my mind :-P
This post is already too long and I barely talked about anything! Holy crap. I think NFTs on Hive will be a new passion of mine, not just one post, but probably something I want to get more involved with and talk a lot more about over time.
For now, I just urge you -- if you havent been to NFT Showroom yet, go there now. You are SLEEPIN HARD on one of the best Dapps on Hive.
https://nftshowroom.com/?r=quixoticflux
Hey thanks very much, glad you like it! Eat !PIZZA and be happy!
@quixoticflux! I sent you a slice of $PIZZA on behalf of @stickupboys.
Did you know you can earn $VFT through the PIZZA farm? (3/20)
I am very glad that you liked my sketch :)
It might interest you to know that hiveme.me recently introduced VIRAL which allows users to mint, sell, and buy meme NFTs on the Hive platform. Based on MEME token's current price it is also cheaper to create meme NFTs using VIRAL than NFT Showroom.