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分享我合夥人 Jessica 關於 NFT 的精闢解讀：「與其探討 NFT 是否為另一個泡沫，我倒覺得，探討 NFT 實質上創造哪些價值、解鎖哪些成就，將更有意義... 它在大眾都能觸及的情況下，清楚記載這個內容的原始創造者和之後的分潤機制。甚至未來每一次的轉手或再創作，原始創作者也都能持續受惠。當你我有辦法掌握所有權時，創作者與平台間的力量，才有機會平衡，而資產的價值，才能真有機會賦能更多創作者。
當人們擁有可靠的民主自治機制，財產所有權不需要靠單一政府保障，這才是人權真正的進步。」
⨁ Blockchain / NFT 創業者，歡迎加入 appworks.tw/accelerator
#NFTsummer
#NFTsummer Hi 大家好，我是本月值班編輯 Alyssa。很快來到了 6 月的最後一天，今天的受訪者，是 AppWorks #20 校友、NFT 拍賣場 Lootex 的兩位共同創辦人 Justine & David，一口氣為大家呈現兩種觀點。文章以第一人稱分享，歡迎花個 5 分鐘閱讀：
1. 創業初期的挫折：該如何在自我堅持和市場反應之間取捨？
2. 台灣市場給 NFT 新創的優勢：文化、人才
3. 讓 NFT 共好：傳達項目的故事、延伸收藏後的應用
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#創業初期的挫折：該如何在自我堅持和市場反應之間取捨？
Justine: 我們大約在 2018 年認真投入 NFT 拍賣場這個題目，一開始還沒有工程師加入，於是我就邊看國外的資料邊寫文章。同年台灣首次舉辦了盛大的區塊鏈活動 Asia Blockchain Summit，我們也有參加，但那時候幾乎沒有人懂我們在講什麼，大多數人光理解區塊鏈就有點困難了，更何況是 NFT。
當初和朋友提到我的創業，總是先被問：打算什麼時候開始賺錢？當時的確還無法回答，所以一開始是蠻挫折的。不過整體來說，我還是挺樂觀，因為我真心認為，既然比特幣已經被證明、可以被接受，就代表大家希望數位資產能夠從集權中被釋放。我認為 NFT 也是一樣的道理，未來的趨勢就是會往這個方向走。
David: 對我來說，最挫折的經驗在於產品的取捨，尤其做區塊鏈，一開始你所相信的事情，和市場的回應不一定相同，因為大多數民眾還不太能理解。這與我過去創業經驗很不一樣，以前會想精準地找出問題去解決，但早期在做 NFT，反而像在創造新的體驗，所以每次我們談合作，投影片第一頁一定是：NFT 是什麼？
很多企業想要發 NFT，但不理解它的美妙之處在於稀缺性，以及如何用區塊鏈打造出新的價值，我會覺得很可惜。所以早期的時候，常常最後做出來的產品，會過度迎合市場的理解，而失去了原本想呈現的價值。那時候常反問自己：如果這個產品，把所有區塊鏈技術拿掉，而參與方也沒有任何感覺，那麼也許不必把這些複雜的技術放在裡面。
現在慢慢摸索出來，在教育客戶、以及幫助客戶達成他想做的事情之間，我們還是會去拿捏一個平衡，由我們介紹 NFT 這個概念，幫助客戶想像可以得到什麼，讓客戶理解到：這是一種選擇，而不一定非得要取代既有商業模式、或是現存的資產。
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#台灣市場給NFT新創的優勢：文化、人才
Justine: 在我們看來，台灣在亞洲的地位屬特別的存在，相對比較民主開放，和區塊鏈要表達的精神是很符合的，加上台灣有很多好的 IP 和軟體人才，如果有人想要踏入華語圈，可以選擇跟台灣合作，台灣會是一個很好試水溫的地方。
David: 台灣的文化很獨特，我們同時有中華文化，有像美國對自由文化的追求，台日關係也非常友好。而台灣要打入東南亞市場，也相對有優勢。我觀察到，東南亞用戶很習慣使用跨國平台，例如 Instagram, Facebook 等，再加上台灣技術實力是很強的，所以我認為台灣要打造出受歡迎的產品，是很有機會的。像現在 Lootex 上面，就很多印尼、越南、印度的用戶在買賣 NFT。
台灣軟實力還不錯，在人才方面，台灣數位人才的學習曲線都很快，相關的程式教學也很多，資源蠻豐富，可以找到適合自己的學習方式。只是區塊鏈又是另外一個世界，有點不太一樣，現在懂區塊鏈的人還很少，有在研究區塊鏈技術的，代表是真正有興趣，這些人都是很好的人才。
我自己是資工系畢業的，但目前台灣整個資工體系，學習區塊鏈的比例不高。希望未來隨著區塊鏈公司越來越多、國家也更重視區塊鏈的發展，就可以去引導一個潮流，促使更多人去學習區塊鏈相關的資訊。
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#讓NFT共好：傳達項目的故事、延伸收藏後的應用
Justine: 現在 NFT 的應用，還處在比較單純的階段，我希望有好的行銷企劃夥伴加入戰局。
現在有很多藝術家把自己的作品變成 NFT，但是買家少，可能是因為主流大眾還不理解為什麼要做這些事情，NFT 很容易流於一個行銷字眼，有人甚至覺得是騙局。
所謂企劃，包含的範圍很廣，可以先思考怎麼把每一個發行項目做好，但長遠來看，每一個 NFT 創業者，都需要好好思考整個項目的商業邏輯。例如我買了一幅 NFT 畫作，除了珍藏藝術創作之外，還有什麼其它價值、或是其它故事可以提供給消費者？
David: 除了希望有企劃人才，把 NFT 說明的更容易理解、帶往更大眾化的方向以外，我也希望看到應用端能出現教育市場的 Killer Apps，例如當初的 Facebook 與開心農場。
現在的 NFT 項目，除了討論度很高的 NBA Top Shot 之外，目前還沒有看到更新的玩法出現。我認為 NFT 不只限於收藏這點，但下一步會是什麼？ 以我們自己規劃的發展途徑來看， 第一步 NFT 可以作為收藏、甚至不需要存放在固定的平台。第二步可以送人，再來可以交易，接下來甚至可以去使用 NFT 的虛擬權益，這個脈絡很重要。
現在大家已經開始嘗試跨界合作，可以運用 NFT 去兌換相對的服務、或是把虛擬寶物帶到 Metaverse，這都是在整個 NFT 發展過程中很重要的角色。
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[與談嘉賓]
Justine Lu, Co-founder & CEO of Lootex
David Tseng, Co-founder & COO of Lootex
Lootex 致力於提供區塊鏈技術來保護數位創作，並提供交易平台來將這些虛擬資產變為真實。Lootex 將數位創作的價值完全體現，並轉化成真實世界的資產。
網址：https://lootex.io
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[同場提醒]
AppWorks Accelerator #23 正開放申請中，歡迎所有 AI、Blockchain、NFT、佈局東南亞的創業者們加入這個社群，一起切磋成長：https://bit.ly/362JWG9
#NFTsummer A few weeks ago, we interviewed Xixi Huang (AW#17) in Mandarin and as the AppWorks Fellow who helps us out on the blockchain side, Xixi has a lot of ideas that are worth sharing to a bigger audience. Here's his interview in English:
西西 (Xixi) 黃士晉 is an AppWorks #17 alumni and co-founder of Rydeit. His mission is to bring the applications of blockchain to everyday life because he believes that blockchain can make the world a more fair and better place. As an AppWorks Fellow, he is responsible for guiding founders to think about blockchain and providing insights on blockchain-related investment deals. Before AppWorks, he led his previous team to build more than 10 dapps, including famous games in Taiwan such as 柚子打魚 and Shrimp.Finance. Within a month of launching these games, they had amassed over NT$ 100M (~US$ 3.5M) in transactions. His favorite pastime is traveling with his grandma, and his ultimate goal is to persuade her to buy Bitcoin!
Check out what Xixi has to say about blockchain and NFTs.
#NFTevolution
I started to learn how to write smart contracts in 2016, and learned the entire logic of ERC-20 for tokens and ERC-721 for NFTs. While I was learning about NFTs, I realized that the combination of NFTs with video games was very fitting. In video games, the treasure and equipment you collect becomes virtual assets as NFTs. And the process of using smart contracts to exchange items was very efficient on the blockchain.
At the end of 2018, I designed and created a zombie video game, integrating the concept of playing and drawing cards and packs. Within a pack were 3 NFTs with zombies on them. As a player, the more cards with zombies you collect, the higher your score, and the more tokens you can ultimately earn. From this game, I got connected to other game manufacturers and publishers who were also interested in creating virtual game assets through NFTs. We all had the same idea -- NFTs can bring more meaning and value to the players.
However at the time, many people in the market still believed that tokens and games were riddled with fraud. Since the lifecycle of video games can be short, many traditional gaming companies in the end didn’t find it worthwhile to learn how to integrate NFTs or blockchain into their games.
While the nature of NFTs hasn’t changed, the market has evolved. People’s curiosities are growing, more applications are being developed, and more creators are cropping up. I think now is the right time to start talking to companies about how to integrate NFTs or blockchain into their businesses or games.
#NFTplayground
I think there are many opportunities to start a business these days, and people who want to start one should think about coming to blockchain. Not only is there a huge opportunity but the possibilities are endless. And within blockchain, NFTs currently offer the biggest opportunity. However, it can also pose a new challenge to the team’s endurance, because while easy to obtain traction and users with NFTs, the challenge lies in retaining them.
Similar to other blockchain applications in the past few years, when a new concept is invented, it’ll be flushed with many early users. However, because the surrounding infrastructure wasn’t in place, it was difficult for founders to make valuable extensions or applications. And many of these users don’t actually care about these blockchain products and they are only trying to leverage the ecosystem to make a quick buck. Once they earn all that they can, they will move on to another project.
Right now working on NFTs, you can collect a lot of data in a short amount of time and also make some income to keep you afloat. Founders should seize this opportunity to understand these users, then modify and optimize both their products and mentality to retain them.
Since there’s no geographical restriction on blockchain, I would encourage founders to look beyond your country and region in expanding your NFT products. Also, since blockchain is closely related to finance, if you don’t have a good pricing strategy (or token economics) for your NFT products, the prices might fluctuate greatly. You need to be prepared and remind your users of the risks, otherwise you’ll ultimately get scolded!!
#NFTera
This year, I finally consider myself an official NFT collector. I pay special attention to NFTs with contemporary significance, such as Hashmasks. It signals to the public that NFTs are not just for collecting but that game mechanics can also be applied to interact with users. If we look back ten years from now I’m confident to say that the project that really brought the NFT wave in 2021 would be Hashmasks.
In addition to veteran projects like Hashmasks, other collections I care a lot about are related to Metaverse, such as The Sandbox. I believe that the world will become more and more decentralized and virtual. It is very likely that the next generation will be immersed in a virtual world like Ready Player One, so I am also very optimistic about NFTs in digital worlds like The Sandbox.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to NFTs. Right now, few NFTs are connected with our daily lives. For example, I bought a Hashmask. If I want to show it in my apartment, I might still need to print it out. In the future, how will we connect NFTs to the physical world? I believe they can be applied in many ways, including frames, wallets, cars, house deeds, leases, etc. These products in daily life can be combined with NFTs. We just haven’t opened our imagination yet. It’s hard to imagine that only 20 years ago we were having a hard time believing in the power of the internet.
The development of science and technology not only relies on infrastructure, but also the user's learning curve. The world needs to talk about blockchain more, so that everyone will gradually become familiar with it and it’ll continue to evolve.
If you're a founder working in blockchain or NFTs, welcome to apply to AppWorks >> https://bit.ly/3w0WyIl
