26/01/2022 YouTube will explore NFT features for creators

YouTube app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Jan 25 (Reuters) - YouTube is exploring features for its video creators to capitalize on non-fungible tokens, its chief executive officer said on Tuesday, becoming the latest tech company to tap into a digital collectibles craze that has exploded in the past year.

"We're always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalize on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube," wrote YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki in a letter on the company's2022 priorities.

NFTs are a type of digital asset which exist on therecord-keeping technology blockchain. They have seen a surge in popularity over the last year, with people buying artwork and video highlights from sports games as NFTs.

Sales of NFTs reached some$25 billion in 2021, according to data from market tracker DappRadar, although there were signs of growth slowing toward the end of the year.

A spokesperson for Alphabet Inc's(GOOGL.O)YouTube declined to share more details about the potential NFT features, which were first reported by Bloomberg News.

Last week, Twitter Inc(TWTR.N)announced the launch of a tool through which users can showcase NFTs ashexagonal profile pictures. The Financial Times reported this month that Meta Platforms Inc(FB.O)were working on ways to let users create and sell NFTs on Facebook and Instagram. In December, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the company was exploring NFTs.

The popular short video app TikTok in September ventured into the craze, announcing an NFT collection designed by some of its top creators.

Reddit Inc has also been exploring the space: recent job listings from the company on LinkedIn advertised for several engineer roles for a "rapidly growing team that aims to build the largest creator economy on the internet, powered by independent creators, digital goods, and NFTs."

Arts

https://www.reuters.com/technology/youtube-will-explore-nft-features-creators-2022-01-25/

Interesting NFTs
Nyan Cat
Nyan Cat is the name of an animation uploaded on April 2 2011, and became a viral internet sensation. The design of Nyan Cat was inspired by my cat Marty, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge but lives on in spirit. I am the original artist behind the iconic GIF and have remastered the image for its 10 year anniversary. Owning this piece grants the following stats: Charisma +10 Luck +10 Happiness +15 ________________ 1400x1400 - 12 Frames
Enhanced Interrogation
Continuing the exploration of well known algorithms, this work delves into pixel sorting. The works of several cubists were first averaged with custom averaging software and then sorted with a bespoke pixel sorting algorithm. All tools were written in javascript, for masochistic reasons.
CryptoKitties
Hi-ya! I'm Kitty #145991. I enjoy eating lasagna, picking on mice, and chasing red dots. My great-great-great-great-great-great grandkitty lived with Confucius. I hope we can be wondrous friends.
Poem by Sangi Hitoshi, from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets, Explained by the Nurse
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) Poem by Sangi Hitoshi, from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets, Explained by the Nurse late 1830s - Japan
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.