- A tweet mocking NFTs has been turned into an NFT
- The tweet promoted the “right click -> save as” mentality over buying the NFT of an image
- Until NFTs have more use cases this argument is hard to dispel
A tweet mocking NFTs has, brilliantly, been turned into an NFT with a current valuation of $5,000. The tweet disparaging the technology was posted in October by Twitter user @actnormalorelse, with the tokenized version featuring an amusing reply. The viewpoint of the author of the tweet, and the discussions that followed its posting, are symbolic of the chasm of understanding that NFTs must cross if they are to be accepted by those outside of the crypto space.
i have stolen over 4 terabytes of NFTs via the little known hacker technique known as “right click -> save as”. my collection has a net estimated value of over 8 trillion dollars
— lauren (reformed arc) (@ActNormalOrElse) October 2, 2021
Right click -> save as
The tweet itself is the same joke that has been made time and time again since NFTs became headline news, namely that there is no advantage to buying NFTs since anyone can “right click -> save as” and can then use the image that is up for sale for their own ends. Technically speaking this is of course true but, as was pointed out to the author, it is the same as taking a photo or screenshot of the Mona Lisa – you can enjoy looking at it but that’s where your usage rights end.
NFTs Need More Use Cases
The problem with NFTs as they are now is that they have limited functionality, which leaves their use cases limited in the main to buying, selling, and looking at them with some exceptions. This lack of applications mirrors the arguments made against cryptocurrencies in general, that their only use is appreciation in price. This argument is hard to deny and it is up to platforms to develop ways to integrate NFTs to give them more of a use case and make owning the NFT rather than a JPEG of the image worthwhile.
It was suggested recently that Twitter was addressing this and was planning a method of verifying NFTs for profile pictures so that only the true owner can display it. This is a step in the right direction, but there will need to be much more work done until the skeptics are convinced that owning the NFT is worth the outlay rather than just a right click-save.
