Why NFTs? The whole thing is just beginning!

12 Apr

iMBdigital.Gallery_ is a startup founded by the interim management and consulting boutique iManagementBrazil Ltda. based in São Paulo, Brazil, which has now been in business for more than 17 years. Why should we create our own startup?

First, there is a technological interest in topics related to digitalization. And today, if you want to sail at the leading edge of the digital-graphic world, which includes photography, you can't avoid token-based blockchain technology, and therefore NFTs.

And here's the second reason: we also want to use iMBdigital.Gallery_ as a lab for learning in this exciting world of blockchain technology. And we want to do it in a practical application. We want to know how it works, where the problems are, and how this fascinating technology can be applied to B2B business models. This process is fluid and will never stop.

It also allows us to apply the working and thinking methods of startups ourselves, to develop them further and to apply them sustainably to our clients in other customer projects. It is important to test the so-called Lean Startup approach and Design Thinking in its facets.

And here's the third reason. We will periodically keep bringing NFT projects into the digital minting process. We are currently doing that based on Ethererum blockchain technology. The results will be brought to auctions on open trading platforms for crypto assets, such as OpenSea.io or Foundation. Furthermore, iMBdigital.Gallery_ is already working on projects with various organizations in Brazil to set up and commercialize NFT projects. These include NGO projects for the contemporary documentation of daily life in Brazil in different social classes.

And what are NFTs? A purely technical look.

A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a cryptographically unique, indivisible, irreplaceable and verifiable token that represents a specific item, whether digital or physical, on a blockchain. While blockchain NFTs use the same technology as cryptocurrencies, unlike cryptocurrencies, they are unique and non-divisible (non-fungible, non-exchangeable). An NFT can only be purchased as a whole and exists only once - unlike the possibility of purchasing, for example, 0.05 Bitcoin, where it does not matter for the value in which of them you purchase a share.

Technical mapping in Ethereum.

NFTs are supported by a number of blockchain projects. The blockchain most commonly used for NFTs is Ethereum. NFTs are created in Ethereum by scripts that are executed under certain conditions.

In 2018, the Ethereum community first defined how references can be represented and traded as tokens in the Ethereum blockchain. In this process, only a URI, i.e., a reference to a digital resource, is stored in the blockchain. Anyone can query this resource from the referenced server, which then describes what the NFT is supposed to represent. In addition to an image or a virtual trading card, this also names physical objects or negative values (liabilities) as examples of the possible range of applications. It is also envisaged there that the metadata will change over time.

How do we arrive in this world?

iMBdigital.Gallery_ was founded out of a love for photography. We want to celebrate contemporary photography with the work and energy of this startup and retrospectively construct a timeline: connecting the dots.

Those who know iManagementBrazil Ltda. from projects know that we basically follow the idea of turning data into information. And to do this, we use more and more graphical representations. And also very massively photos and video.

The clients of iManagementBrazil Ltda. always noticed very positively that we almost exclusively use our own photos and video footages. Be it objects from our own library, built up over many years, or visual images and photos created directly by the client in the project. Stock photos are rarely used.

Over the past few years, more and more clients have asked us to provide them with photos. Of course, photos from the clients' environments and premises also belong to the clients. However, clients also keep asking if they could have emblematic photos, such as those of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Vancouver, as well as various European locations. In quite a few cases, our photos even decorate the company premises of our former clients today.

Long exposure of a light show in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

First experiences in digital commercialization

In recent years, we have been able to sell and/or license several photo portfolios via various open platforms for photography and videography. Among them are such prestigious names as Getty Images.

Then came the year 2018/19. For the first time we noticed the three letters N-F-T in the digital world. But without making any real references to our own activities, the topic was simply filed away as a mental search term in Blockchain.

Abstraction of an NFT minting process in the blockchain

Waking up in Utopia?

The year 2021. As the pandemic unfolded, questions arose about what might happen to digital photos if there were only one copy? Or only a limited number? Would such digital assets have a monetary value? Could these valuable items be resold? What linkages with social media would be created? In the case of limited assets, can royalty procedures be mapped digitally? Do digital asset projects create communities? Can benefits be attached to such assets, which provide the owner with further information, access or monetary benefits to associated services?

A deep dive into the world of NFTs and blockchain technology suddenly opened up a whole new world. With a few clicks of the mouse, one could suddenly walk into virtual multi-dimensional galleries of real NFT collectors. The collectors are physical, as well as legal entities, renowned companies. From lifestyle to multinational companies.

And all of a sudden you glide through the streets in a completely different way!

After visiting the virtual galleries, full of token-based unique NFTs, one also looks at the real world around us with an expanded view. Whether you're walking down Avenida Paulista in São Paulo, visiting an abandoned coking plant in Europe, or heading to a Brazilian favela for a social photo project. One thing is the same in all these worlds: at the same time, physically in one place, we are nevertheless traveling in two worlds. Just the physical world and with the view of the mobile device in our hands also in the virtual world.

At the same time in the same place in two worlds. This can be described without exaggeration as one of the greatest changes in humanity. We are in a transformation - we want to document this shift with iMBdigital.Gallery_.

Avenida Paulista - verlassene Kokerei - Rio de Janeiro Slum

And now?

Things around us are changing, whether we like it or not. No matter if we like it or not - it just happens. You can criticize it or jump into it, have experiences, possibly be a fractal particle of these shifts. Just in it and working on it. Where this leads to? No idea. That's how the dynamics of transformation works.

I am completely sure: the whole thing is just beginning.

What is the claim of iMBdigital.Gallery_?

With our startup project we want to constantly develop new photographic portfolios. They should represent the contemporary situation and connect the historical points in the time line. For this purpose, NFT projects will be taken out of the portfolios at regular intervals and transferred to the digital minting process.

With the blog posts, we would like to report on our experiences on this journey and also present and discuss technological developments. Thus, we also ensure that a state-of-the-art knowledge is available to our customers at iManagementBrazil Ltda. in their projects, if necessary, as a practical and sound experience.

Frank P. Neuhaus

Frank P. Neuhaus is one of the founding partners of iManagementBrazil Ltda., São Paulo, Brazil. In 2022, he co-founded the startup iMBdigital.Gallery_. He worked for European companies in Europe (Germany, Spain), Southeast Asia, China and Latin America, including Brazil. He studied mechanical engineer with majors in hydrodynamics and industrial plant engineering. Furthermore, he studied international business management. He also holds an International Executive MBA with a focus on Brand and Service Management. As a result of the steady increase in project content related to automation and digitization, Mr. Neuhaus has completed advanced training as a Digital Engineer. In 2021 and 2022, he held the position of Head of Mission Brazil of the UN think tank DiplomaticCouncil.