The Future of Commerce - Issue #205
Metaverse
The parallels between sneaker culture and Web3 — uxdesign.cc How does sneaker design relate to Web3? The emergence of cryptocurrencies and NFTs is comparable to the popularity of modern sneaker design. Historical patterns and human behavior can help identify…
The Sandbox metaverse hits 2M users and launches Alpha Season 2 — venturebeat.com The Sandbox now has more than two million registered users and is launching Alpha Season 2 for its metaverse.
NFT
[Podcast] NFTs and Social with Michael Litman, Lead Creative Strategist at Media.Monks — open.spotify.com
NFTs have broken through to the mainstream in a big way. Currently, brands such as Lamborghini, Prada, and Nike are figuring out that NFTs can be seamlessly woven into their marketing strategies and used for brand loyalty. In this episode, Media.Monks Lead Creative Strategist, Michael Litman discusses why NFTs are in the spotlight, how they're used today, and how they translate into social.
Adobe is taking another step into NFTs — www.theverge.com Adobe has added support for the Polygon blockchain platform to its Behance social network, letting artists make theoretically more environmentally friendly NFTs.
Japan's E-Commerce Giant Rakuten Launches NFT Marketplace — blockworks.co Rakuten said its NFT marketplace would allow for the purchase, sale and trade of virtual assets based on Japanese manga and TV shows.
Business/Marketing/Adv
How Luxury Brands Are Manufacturing Scarcity in the Digital Economy — hbr.org Lessons from Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci.
Nike Converted The Kid’s Space Of A Physical Store Into A Virtual Playground — designtaxi.com Nike’s virtual world can be accessed from home.
Interestingness
Hugo Boss Hires Virtual Influencers to Promote Their Rebrand — www.virtualhumans.org
As part of their rebrand strategy, Hugo Boss is betting on virtual influencers and young celebrities to help it enter a new, younger market and become a top global brand in the next digital era.
The Rise and Stall of the U.S. Smart Speaker Market — voicebot.ai Smart speakers powered by Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri represented a white-hot consumer device market in the 2016-2019 period. Surging..
Platform News
Instagram says it’ll stop supporting the IGTV app — www.theverge.com Instagram has announced that it’s shutting down the IGTV app, which was introduced in 2018 as a competitor to YouTube. Since then, it’s struggled to entice users, especially after Reels came along.
Non-crypto natives launch social tokens to engage with community and fans — cointelegraph.com
"Social tokens can be used to gain access to specific communities, like on Discord. By being less financially focused, social tokens are more accessible to the mainstream, which is why we are seeing increased interest,”