21/12/2021 Social media app Parler plans to expand into NFTs

Woman holding smartphone with Parler logo in front of displayed same logo in this illustration taken May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Social media platform Parler said on Monday it will expand its business into non-fungible tokens (NFT), in a move that underpins the rapid growth of the digital asset in recent months.

AnNFT, which is a digital asset usually bought with cryptocurrencies or in dollars, encompasses everything from images, videos to text. The ownership record is tracked on the blockchain, which serves as a public ledger allowing anyone to verify the NFT's authenticity.

Traded since around 2017, NFTs initially gained popularity in early 2021 and then around August.

Last week, former U.S. first lady Melania Trump launched an NFT and blockchain technology venture, which was spearheaded by Parler.

"Parler will continue building its digital offering with an NFT pipeline that builds communities and fosters creativity while furthering its commitment to free speech and security," the company said in a statement on Monday.

The app was launched in 2018 as a social-media site, styling itself as a free-speech space for those seeking an alternative to major platforms such as Facebook Inc(FB.O)and Twitter(TWTR.N). It quickly gained traction from supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Parler, however, went dark for about a month after being cut off by major technology platforms Apple Inc(AAPL.O), Google parent Alphabet Inc(GOOGL.O)and Amazon.com Inc that accused the app of failing to police violent content related to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

Arts

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/social-media-app-parler-plans-expand-into-nfts-2021-12-20/

Interesting NFTs
CryptoPunk #6275
The CryptoPunks are 10,000 uniquely generated characters. No two are exactly alike, and each one of them can be officially owned by a single person on the Ethereum blockchain. Originally, they could be claimed for free by anybody with an Ethereum wallet, but all 10,000 were quickly claimed. Now they must be purchased from someone via the marketplace that's also embedded in the blockchain.
CryptoKitties
Hi-ya! I'm Kitty #371353. I'm a Private Dancer by day, and I like swiping left by night. When my owner isn't watching, I steal their silk scarves and use them for litter paper. I'm not sorry. I think you'll love me beclaws I have cattitude.
X*Y=K
・゜゚・:.。..。.:*・'(゚▽゚)'・*:.。. .。.:*・゜゚・* for more info see https://tinyurl.com/56unnr39
Fuku-Shiva
The term “Fuku” refers to fortune or good luck. “Shiva” refers to the Hindu deity who represents strongly polar qualities, both severe and delicate. On a beach inspired by adventures on Phi Phi island in Thailand, three youths cavort. Two are representational figures and the third is psychologically rendered. A dynamic relationship ensues between the triad; a reciprocity of active and passive states. The boy on the right engages in maneuvers of evasion, defense, and is dressed in a speedo which reiterates the colors and symbolism of the caution tape on the left and upper right frame of the composition. In concurrent reaction the psychedelic figure shoots out a rocket powered paper airplane. The nude boy seated in the froth and sand approaches in passive repose, and is met with active attention but equal physical reserve by the psychedelic being. Perhaps the most naked figure is also the least representational. Looming large, dynamic, and active, it engages its companions playfully. Various symbols interject into the otherwise naturalistic scene, most notably a beach ball and two contaminated barrels nested in the sand. The upright barrel reads “FukuShima” in Kanji. The barrel laying down reads “Dharma”. To the left the scene is bounded by caution tape, reiterating the danger of the nuclear waste while also hosting alien archetypes, whose presence, as is the nature of these entities, runs up and just behind the consciousness of the psychedelic figure’s eggshell-like skull.
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