Where is the utility?
Humble Beginnings...
I have been on #Hive for a long time. Way back when it was a small community known as #Steemit. Back then, writing and sharing was instrumental in allowing me to make significant changes in my life. Through writing, I was able to develop a "side income" that let me get my life on track for the first time, really ever. I left the community and came back to it several years later when I had more time, and that is when I discovered that Steemit had become Hive. Unfortunately, I fell victim to a phishing attack and lost my account that was almost six years old at the time. Not being one to give up, I created a new account and dove head first into the newly burgeoning #Crypto community...
NFTs? Whaaaaaaa?
Shortly after I came back to Hive, the NFT craze started to take off, and being one that is always trying to get in on new trends, I again dove right in. All of the new games and #P2E ecosystems had me hooked. I tried to buy land in every game I could, and get in on the ground floor whenever possible. #Splinterlands, #CryptoBrewMaster, #HashKings, #OceanPlanet, and not to mention the hundred of projects on the #WAX bloackchain had me investing all profits I made into NFTs, and sad to say, a lot of cash too...
Games Games Games...
I have never claimed to be a crypto genius, nor to understand the economies behind it. The basics, yeah I get it, what a cryptocurrency is, at least, but when it comes to understanding how an NFT can be used to create tokens in a game that is then somehow valuable? Yeah, not so much. Trying to figure out why a JPEG of an Ape is somehow worth millions of dollars? Yeah you lose me right there.
What is "utility?"
At one point I had an idea to embed the DNA profile of endangered animals into NFTs. I though it was an innovative way of ensuring that it existed somewhere and also to maybe bring some recognition to the dire straights our planet is in. I was reading about a lot of cool projects that were innovating with NFTs and thought that utility was really where the future is. Yeah art is cool and all, but function is where real value lies, in my opinion. Unfortunately, I began to see a pattern when it came to NFTs, and that seemed to be imaginary game worlds that offered only unlimited time investment with diminishing returns.
Constant Upgrades, Ridiculous Rules, and Disappearing Websites...
One thing that really bothered me was the way some games were constantly changing the requirements to obtain levels in a game. It would seem that just as I was able to reach a point where I could accomplish a goal in a game, the goalpost would change. Hours of time for pennies or less started to seem more and more as a waste of time. The idea of owning land and somehow developing that land into something profitable began to seem almost as much of an unobtainable dream as doing it in real life. One of the final straws for me was when two games I actually enjoyed, Rising Star and Ocean Planet, did what I considered to be very wrong moves. First, my wife had a Rising Star account and I was logging in to help her play the game, I had transferred a few cards to her to help her game, and the game admins banned me for it. That left a really bad taste in my mouth. Then, Ocean Planet just, well, disappeared. Another game those developers was involved with, Fishmaster, went to the NEAR blockchain making the cards I already owned worthless to me without yet another investment. I began to truly tire of P2E gaming...
Sell Sell Sell!
This is right about when I decided to start liquidating my NFT stockpile. I began to list on #MFTMart and #AtomicHub, and of course my return was nowhere near my expense. That, and life in general began to make me reevaluate my strategy for crypto. I began to ask myself if the time I was spending playing games could be better spent creating content on Hive, and all of us know the answer to that, now don't we? This is when I decided that from this day forward, I am going to focus my energy on creating as much quality content as I can here and get back to basics...
New Goals...
About four years ago, right after I was married, I had made a post about buying a house with my wife, and I will never forget @papapepper making a comment asking why I had chose to buy a house in the city. Looking back on it, he was more than right. Now, I spend almost every day wishing that I lived in the country and was doing everything I can to be self sufficient. I have a good job, and my bills are paid, barely, but overall I spend most of my money just trying to keep up. Debts and bills and work, oh my! Yeah screw that, my wife and I have kept chickens and honeybees on our very small city lot for the last three years, and we have both decided that we would rather live in a camper on our own land than continue to attempt to "keep up with the Joneses..."
So What Now?
Well, first off all, if you want to buy any NFTs, look me up on NFTMart, or go to AtomicHub and look up hojr2.wam, there are a bunch for sale! Second, and more importantly, look for renewed posting from me. I know that Hive changed my life once before, and I am hoping it can do so again being instrumental in helping us to achieve our dream of owning property in the country and getting out of our city lifestyle.
Advice?
From an old head guy, any advice I would give would be this, be careful where you focus your attention in the crypto world, stick with what works, and put in the work in a very directed way. That is what I will be doing from this point forward. I know there are some that will read this and be upset and declare the goodness of NFTs. I am not saying they are a bad thing, just that P2E gaming has not fulfilled it's promise in my life, and my time is better spent writing and creating, but as always...
Do What Is Right For You!
I suppose that a lot of people have a similar story as you regarding NFTs... It was a huge FOMO around it and I remember well that I didn't understand "the point" of those apes, punks, cats, dogs, etc... I did understand NFTs that had value inside some games, but these "virtual art" (not sure if they were art at all) was unknown for me... I dived deeper into the matter, understood the concept, and stayed away from most of them... Like you, I did go into some of the games (maybe 5-6), but not that heavily that I would have regrets...
Your advice is on spot... Research everything many times before investing and keep your FOCUS!
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Thank you! I'll be posting a lot more from now on!
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