An endless list of how to use a JPEG - PART I

Representing ownership of digital assets: Digital assets such as art, music, photography, video, etc., can be created in a digital environment and be sold to collectors. In the “real” world, there are also plenty of beautiful art pieces; however, fraud is widespread, and collectors may be suspicious if they buy original work or a replica. On the contrary, blockchain technology enables digital assets such as NFTs to be created with a unique hash that guarantees each piece to be differentiated. The work's authenticity can be reinforced with the digital signatures of creators in the digital tokens. Moreover, tokenization through NFT allows the artists or creators to gain from secondary sales. In the real world, artists can earn money only from the primary sale of their work. But the initial owner may sell the asset later and make a lot more money than the creator; however, there is no physical track record of giving a profit share to the creator for transactions. So, NFTs enable the creator economy.

Digital fashion: Fashion is self-expression; people may use clothes to manifest themselves. If the virtual look is becoming as powerful as the physical look, people may prefer to invest in digital garments instead of tangible ones. NFT opens the door. Digital fashion garments and NFTs can be created to show extraordinary styles, and unrealistic design approaches that haze over reality and imagination. The physical limitation on the silhouette of clothing can be challenged by designers who object to dress codes & conventional looks. NFTs give designers the ability to think outside the box. These products may exist in marketplaces for trade, can be wearable by avatars in metaverses such as Decentraland, can be virtually dressed by users thanks to AR/VR applications. Therefore, users can purchase intangible products to use for their social media content. Digitalax, Dressx, The Dematerialised, The Fabricant, and Auroboros are the pioneers of digital fashion NFTs whereas the brands that we all already know, such as Nike, Adidas, Dolce & Gabbana Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, etc., expand their physical existence to the digital world. For example, Adidas reveals collaboration with Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), which enables owners to enjoy both physical and digital experiences. Recently, Mango didn’t stay unconcerned with the NFT & metaverse transformation and created an NFT collection inspired by Spanish artists Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies, and Miquel Barceló. To attract young consumers and create a bridge between virtual and physical, the collection is celebrated by the opening of its flagship store in NYC, and it is also represented in the Decentraland Metaverse.

Ticket sales: Old-school paper tickets are nostalgic and meaningful to memory collectors; however, it is not convenient in practice. It may be lost or destroyed; in case of such a misfortune, ticket owners cannot show their verified access to that event. Also, from the organizers’ point of view, paper tickets are not preferable because they can easily be faked, so they are unreliable. NFT tickets solve this problem; the limited number of tickets can be minted in the ticketing system by event organizers. When it is sold as NFT, it will be securely stored by a blockchain. Thanks to this technology, there is no need to show a physical copy of the ticket to verify its authenticity. On the other hand, blockchain technology also benefits memory collectors; owners can collect memories as NFTs in their digital wallets. As a fantastic example, Coachella recently announced an NFT collection that allows owning lifetime festival passes, unlocking unique experiences, and collecting digital & physical products. Football communities also followed the NFT hype; the National Football League (NFL), with the partnership with Ticketmaster, has created digital remembrance tickets as customized NFT with fans’ unique section, row, and seat to retrospect gameday to celebrate Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles on February 13, 2022. These tickets are not substitutions of actual tickets; however, it is a good starting point. And so, NFTs are beyond jpegs, aren’t they?

Health data & vaccination: In the health industry, systemic issues such as a massive lack of data transparency sometimes lead to corruption, fraud, and administration errors. Blockchain can also be a lifesaver, creating a platform where patients, researchers, analysts, and medical professionals can communicate. Patients have their medical reports as NFT and only allow access to people or teams of their choice. It provides data security to patients. Tokenized blood is a great example that creates a track record of blood transfer during the whole journey. The EY OpsChain established a system in which data on blood donation to transfusion is saved. The Blockchain securely records the data related to the donor's identification, the donation's temperature in transit, and GPS location points from the laboratory to the hospital until the final last step as the patient receives the transferred blood. Tokenization provides real-time updates about the transfer journey, which can only be visible by allowed parties. Another innovative idea is about recording vaccination data with Blockchain utilizing NFT. One of the smallest countries in the world: San Marino effectively uses Blockchain technology to record Covid-19 vaccinations.