NFTs give Web3 a bad name. Here's what they can both really do

The opinions expressed by entrepreneurs contributors are their own.

Monkeys, dogs, cats, punks... pixel art with copyrights from suspicious owners, all chained into the stratosphere by a seemingly endless stream of crypto enthusiasts in a more silly "investment" premise. And now it crashed.

The good news is that none of these are "Web3".

Yet the dice were cast, and now many people believe that NFTs are simply a mechanism to tokenize and sell their digital intellectual, without regard to actual value or usefulness. Many people have been completely derailed by the "get-rich-quick" philosophy of the v1.0 version of NFTs and thereby miss the heart of the opportunity and value that Web3 brings.

Define Web3

Before we know how to leverage it to boost connectivity, increase revenue, or reduce fraud, we need to understand what technology we are talking about.

The "Web" is simply shorthand for the interconnected society and economy:

Web1 was information availability. Web2 was the advent of social networks, blogging platforms, video tools and other forms of writing, creation and engagement. Web3 leverages blockchain technology to enable direct portability, accessibility and provenance of all things electronic.

Related: If you have no idea what Web3 is, you're not alone. Here is an analysis of the future of the Internet.

Understanding NFTs

One of the biggest by-products of Web3 technology is the ability to tokenize digital assets, often referred to as "non-fungible tokens" or NFTs. Fungible and will completely transform the world. Businesses, content creators, and individuals will do amazing things with them. But it's still early days and many issues need to be resolved before it can take off.

While there were some modest financial successes, pioneers in music, sports, influencers, corporate brands, and more risked their intellectual property and damaged their brands by jumping in too quickly into things out of greed v1.0 without thinking of the consequences of poor selection of infrastructure providers and a lack of engaging content or useful utility.

NFTs are much more than creating digital art (or a trading card, or a piece of music, or whatever) and selling it to a minimal audience. NFTs are intended for engagement and direct relationships with the public. NFTs are intended for the portability of ownership and provenance of the thing(s) the NFT represents. ...and more.

Related: NFTs will soon be inevitable. That's a good thing.

What Web3 can do

While at the start of the game (I would say only the very first pitch was thrown in the first inning), and although a lot of critical infrastructure has yet to be deployed to enable wide-scale adoption, we're seeing some interesting use cases starting to emerge that point us to what the technology can do. These include:

Sports – Autograph got their hands on the valuable accessory with Tom Brady's NFTs. It's not just trading cards or short video clips. No, these are "Season Passes" which provide ongoing updates, offers, event invites, and special access to The Huddle tokenized website.

Automotive – Delorean is gearing up to manufacture cars again and is now accepting down payments. People receive NFTs representing their rights to a car, specifically where they are in the delivery queue (the # of the NFT being their place on...