Last week, I had the privilege of having lunch with Chanel and Chin, both practitioners in the NFT space. Chanel had recently quit her job to run her own Tasty Toasties NFT collection, and Chin had just joined the NFT marketplace “X” to drive growth and global expansion. 

The conversation at lunch was delightful— we spoke about how Ghozali became a millionaire from selling his selfies, how Singaporean influencer Irene Zhao started her own DAO, and how there’s even a hybrid project of the two which raised 20.2 ETH. 

I was deeply humbled. Halfway through the conversation, I suddenly recalled that Kenneth, the founder of another NFT marketplace FormosArt, had gifted me a CryptoKitty NFT back in August 2019, which makes me an NFT Original Gangster (“OG”).

Never selling my CryptoKitty though.

What are NFTs?

NFTs only started gaining wider attention after digital artist Beeple auctioned off his artwork at Christie’s in March 2021. The piece sold for a massive US$69 million to a crypto whale in Singapore.

With the total sale of Bored Apes Yacht Club NFT collection (BAYC) recently surpassing US$1 billion, “non-fungible tokens” (NFTs) were hailed as one of the most hyped topics of 2021, with the trend likely to continue into 2022. 

Also Read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi

Very recently, we also read news about the nine Singaporean companies that are exploring NFTs for their brands and businesses. Because of the vast media attention given to this phenomenon, some have labelled NFTs as “a speculative bubble” and some others have called for increased regulation.  

There are many types of NFTs, ranging from collectables, profile pictures (PFP) artwork, event tickets, gaming, virtual items, memes, and even Web 3.0 domain names.

In short, a secure network records the sale of the above items on a digital ledger (“the blockchain”), giving buyers proof of ownership and authenticity. 

Yet, with all these incredulous statistics, NFTs are not just temporary hype. Here’s why.

Reason #1: With NFTs, you are buying social clout, not the copyright

Some people think that NFTs infringe on creators’ copyrights and tend to disregard them. Frankly speaking, this sort of argument is misleading and is not consistent.

This is because it assumes that the fundamental element that gives market value to the NFT is the copyright of the artwork.

Instead, let me posit to you that the central element that gives the NFT value is social clout and not copyright. In other words, ownership of an NFT makes it verifiable that you are taking part in an innovative digital movement. It has nothing to do with stealing the rights of a creator. 

Now, the determination of the market value of NFTs, therefore, lies in the immutability and the verifiability of ownership.

Because there are now particular NFTs that are highly coveted, you become an important person in the community with verifiable social standing. People both inside and outside of the community will look up to you.

Think about it logically for PFP NFTs— the difference between simply right-clicking the BAYC .jpeg file, setting it as a profile picture, and actually owning it is simply being able to show it as a measurable fact, thus confirming that you are verifiably part of a movement. 

Also Read: The art of blockchain: What is the NFT craze all about?

Therefore, the NFT is not just a part of a .jpeg file. Human beings are meaning-fuelled creatures, which signifies that we intrinsically want to be part of something larger than ourselves. 

Are there parallels to this concept and the human desire to be part of something larger than ourselves? Of course!

Humans have always sought an existential approach to exploration, often pursuing meaning through religion, civil movements, celebrity worship, and contributing to different types of communities. NFTs just raised the bar.

Before NFTs came about, you simply couldn’t visibly and verifiably prove that you have X amount of social capital and power in a certain community. NFTs make this possible. 

Reason #2: NFT is a radical disruption to traditional business models for creators

Rendering games and creating artwork used to be skill sets that weren’t very financially rewarding for most. NFT changed this, by revolutionising the business models of these two industries.

I’d like to share an article here by Brian Fyre, titled “After Copyright: Pwning NFTs in a Clout Economy.”

In this article, Brian Fyre posits:

“But the NFT market suggests upfront investment could be a viable business model in areas other than the art market. If investors believe work is or will be important, and is underpriced relative to its expected future value, they’ll be delighted to invest in it, so long as there’s a resale market. And there it is.

When people invest in the NFT market, they are literally investing in the expected future value of the works they own. Or to look at it in another way, they’re investing in the careers of the authors who created those works.

They’re essentially buying a fractional interest in that author’s career, represented by an NFT of one of that author’s works.

This is great for authors because it means they get paid upfront, whether or not the works they create turn out to be successful. Copyright only ever rewards successful authors.

NFTs at least promise to reward any author people think might be successful. Moreover, they reduce the need for intermediaries.

Realising the value of work in the copyright market typically requires a distributor, who claims a substantial share of the revenue. The NFT market enables authors to connect directly with their investors.” 

After reading this paper, I was dumbfounded. Can you imagine investing in the future careers of young and driven young people through NFTs and upfront payment?

This is an incredibly empowering notion because it encourages people to experiment in any way they want or desire, without the fear of failure, since the project money would be handled upfront.

Also Read: NFTs provide new ways to handle IP management, empower content creators: Inmagine CEO Warren Leow

This is the beauty of decentralised projects because once your vision and mission are clearly articulated, fundraising tools can be easily and effectively utilized.

I’d like to share an insight from my Multiverse Labs colleague Jake, a young Korean chap in his mid-20s. He points out that the market value of any piece of artwork including music, movies, dramatisations, etc. not only comes from the activity of creation but from trading as well.

This links back to the idea of social clout and why art gallery owners earn more than single artists.  Since we can now vividly imagine the possibilities of this new business model working by looking at the solid data of successful NFT projects, what makes you think NFTs are simply going away? 

Reason #3: People dismiss intense discussions and things they don’t understand as “Hype”

As with all new technological innovations, there are bound to be intense and incredibly polarising discussions. There will inevitably be early adopters in any industry who will try to make a quick buck through unconventional processes.

Because of this, some observers label NFTs as scams/hype, and others associate NFT trading with money laundering. Sounds familiar? Because it is. People said the same thing about Bitcoin since its inception in 2009. 

Admittedly, a group of obscure VCs have recently been caught throwing liberal amounts of money at projects with the words “GameFi” and “NFT,” creating a false impression that the whole space is “all hype.”

It truly isn’t that difficult for founders of blockchain projects to get funding in the current business climate. And to that, let me just say that the public should do their own due diligence and research before investing any pocket change. 

The key takeaway here is this; just because something isn’t widely understood, it doesn’t mean that it won’t last. In the fast-moving blockchain world, we really don’t know what we don’t know! So perhaps it might be wise to rethink that assumption. 

If NFTs are here to stay, where do we go from here?

Practitioners like Chanel and Chin in the NFT space are impressive because of their strong personal convictions and grit.

Currently, I work as the Head of Ecosystem at Multiverse Labs, an open metaverse with a mission to empower promising individuals and groups to become leaders in new digital spaces.

I count my blessings daily because I get to interact frequently with passionate people like them, who are literally building the new era, one NFT at a time.

Also Read: Are digital art NFTs horrible for Mother Earth? BoT gearing up for digital currency test

Yet, because I work as Head of Ecosystem, people naturally assume that I’m also an “expert” in the NFT space. The truth is that I am new to learning like everyone else because the space is always rapidly evolving.

What I do have, however, is the conviction that NFTs are the key building blocks to the open metaverse. And since the “metaverse” is not hype (Meta is investing at least US$10 billion/year), by logical extension, NFTs are not hyped either. 

I encourage you to start participating with me in this space by minting NFTs in any projects that tickle your fancy. You’ll learn faster by having a growth mindset and taking action.

For example, as a pure experiment, we have created and minted some IKItties as NFTs on the Polygon blockchain network, and they look like this:

I’ll most likely be minting my first NFT on the ethereum blockchain from Zoofrenz soon, which looks like this:

I also warmly invite you to join us at Multiverse Labs in building the open metaverse together. Feel free to get connected and show us your NFT collections anytime! 🙂 

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Indonesian e-commerce enabler SIRCLO Group today announced that it has acquired new retail platform Warung Pintar for an undisclosed sum.

Following the acquisition, Warung Pintar will continue to operate as an integrated yet independent entity, as a new retail service under the SIRCLO Group umbrella.

It will offer a comprehensive omnichannel solution for principals or brands, distributors, business players, to end-consumers through its network of warungs (mom-and-pop stores).

At the management level, Brian Marshal will lead as CEO of SIRCLO Group, while Agung Bezharie as the Co-Founder and CEO of Warung Pintar will lead SIRCLO’s new business pillar under ‘New Retail’ services.

In addition to that, Danang Cahyono will take on a new position to lead SIRCLO’s ‘Enterprise Solutions’ pillar and Ferry Tenka will lead SIRCLO’s ‘Entrepreneur Solutions’ pillar.

Also Read: How Warung Pintar builds tech solutions to help warung owners embrace the future

“With more than eight years of experience in the B2B industry for enterprise brands and entrepreneurs, we realise that micro-retail (warung) and mom-and-pop stores also play a crucial role in the retail ecosystem, since they serve as the fulfilment hubs for the society’s daily needs. We need to improve key factors in their operations, such as product availability, the efficiency of the distribution channels, brands’ accessibility to reach partners and end-consumers, as well as its capability in contributing to the national economy. This is what prompted SIRCLO to also focus on the B2B2C business model by collaborating with Warung Pintar in our ecosystem,” said Marshal in a press statement.

SIRCLO Group said that it aimed to focus on three layers of solution pillars: solutions for Enterprises, solutions for Entrepreneurs and SMEs, and the New Retail business model (such as warung).

Through this latest acquisition, the company said that it now has

– A total of more than 150,000 brands served by the company (combined)
– More than 500,000 warung and mom-and-pop stores owners
– A reach of more than 25 million end-consumers
– More than 80 distribution points spread throughout Indonesia

Also Read: The 27 Indonesian startups that have taken the ecosystem to next level this year

Commenting on the acquisition, Bezharie said that the synergy between SIRCLO and Warung Pintar can help brands increase their visibility by penetrating into the warung ecosystem —as the largest distribution channel in Indonesia— so that principals or brands are able to reach more consumers.

He also believes that this move marks a great opportunity for the two entities to bring a wider impact on the retail ecosystem and the Indonesian economy, especially to prepare for constant dynamic changes in the sector.

In February last year, Warung Pintar acquired Bizzy Digital for US$45 million.

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Image Credit: SIRCLO Group

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US firm acquires Singapore’s email marketing platform Saleswhale

Singapore-based AI-driven email marketing platform Saleswhale has been acquired by US-based revenue-tech unicorn 6sense for an undisclosed amount.

By joining forces, 6sense will expand its engagement capabilities, allowing its customers to deliver personalised, relevant, and timely emails that convert qualified leads into opportunities.

The acquisition comes alongside 6sense’s US$200 million Series E round from investors, including MSD Partners, Blue Owl, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Tiger Global, and Insight Partners.

Saleswhale will continue to operate as an independent entity.

Also Read: How Singaporean startup Xctuality helps creators, brands accelerate into metaverse

Under 6sense, Saleswhale will look to double its team and hire engineers, product designers, and product managers in Singapore and India. Saleswhale also plans to expand its business through product development and last-mile execution of its sales and marketing product.

Saleswhale is a company backed by Monk’s Hill Ventures and is also the first Y Combinator-backed company in Singapore to be acquired.

Thai omnichannel commerce startup Hatch acquired by PriceSpider

Bangkok-based omnichannel commerce solutions startup Hatch has been acquired by US-based brand commerce enabler PriceSpider.

Together, Hatch and PriceSpider, with a presence on all continents, will provide commerce enablement solutions and digital shelf analytics, helping brands better understand consumer buying patterns to optimise touchpoints globally.

Hatch connects brands directly with retailers, empowering a one-click shop from the brands’ website to direct buyers to a wide selection of over 2,000 retailers worldwide. As an omnichannel commerce solution, Hatch enables consumers to purchase a brand’s product from any point: social media, the website, phone, tablet, or computer.

Currently, the firm operates in over 80 countries worldwide.

PriceSpider’s Brand Commerce Platform — including Shoppable where-to-buy solutions, Digital Shelf Analytics and Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) technologies — protects brand integrity online by delivering deeper insights into how consumers shop and choose brands.

With this acquisition, PriceSpider and Hatch will serve more than 2,000 of the world’s most renowned brands across the globe.

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When the horse chariots were going out of vogue with the advent of the automobile, the farmers that had shunned farming to move to cities earlier as chariot drivers had two options in front of them– either reskill to become chauffeurs or give up their dream of city life and go back to their villages and farming (in a hope that at least that will not change).

Lessons to take away:

• Cliche but true – the only thing constant in this world is change
• Big dreams and progress demand new learning – constantly
• Soft skills, self-awareness, and critical or ab initio (first principle) thinking are a must, and
• The need to be adaptable and resilient

The common thread in the lessons is learning. And not everything can be learnt by oneself, for instance, thermite welding. Societies should provide upskilling and cross-skilling options to the willing, and at a competitive or affordable cost; and build institutions well equipped to train the workforce for the future.

Well-equipped here means the facility is technically adequate and the trainers have the right training skills, are passionate about their subject, and sport an uncompromising attitude.

We need to get this right; here we are talking about the learning needs of a normal person on the street and not necessarily a genius or an inventor. Most often the latter are the ones whose hyper innovations disrupt the current way of living and necessitate reskilling.

Also Read: Monk’s Hill Ventures head of talent’s guide to startup jobs search in Singapore

This era of hyper innovation where technology innovations and startups are encouraged like never before, paving the way to singularity (first coined by John von Neumann) faster than expected. This means that the disruptions to the way we live are going to be more frequent and profound.

And the consequent rapidly evolving situation leaves us with the only option of reskilling more often than ever before if only to stay relevant.

As it is difficult to predict future technologies, no disrespect to technology futurists like Ray Kurzweil (whom I religiously follow), the average person on the street will require to be a lot more adaptable and need a reliable place to turn to for reskilling.

This presents a great opportunity for the skills-development agencies in countries with vibrant economies and industries. The skills-development agencies, irrespective of whether they are public or privately run, require agility to add contemporary facilities and skill up their own instructors.

The instructors themselves have to learn from either the inventors or early adopters who develop the training content and run the T3P (Train the Trainer) Program for the accurate flow of knowledge downstream.

A typical skills acquisition chain would be as follows: Inventors/early adopters develop instruction manuals or train the trainer programs > Skill and knowledge upgrade of trainers > Students and practising engineers get trained by the trainers

Also Read: Why there is no better time to upskill than this COVID-19 crisis

Governments all over are encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation by creating mechanisms aligned to their specific economic environments that can contribute through the primary revenue sectors to the GDP.

For innovation to thrive it needs a functional learning ecosystem, and the governments are racing to create a robust framework involving multiple stakeholders, from government skilling agencies to private organisations, schools of lower and higher education, and partnering with technology giants.

Within the technology space where the innovations pace faster, the trainers and the training institutions need to continuously match the rate of upskilling their own teaching staff. In cases where the need for physical infrastructure is minimal, say a laptop and a good internet connection, the skilling entities should equip themselves to provide online courses and exams.

This could save a considerable amount of commute time, as well as reduce inconvenience and costs, and make those learning more productive. Online training is one of the positive fallouts of the ongoing pandemic. Early trends show a nine-fold increase for learners accessing online learning through government programs in certain countries.

The pandemic has also laid bare the lack of mechanisms to support workers through mid-career transitions and to ensure worker well-being and livelihoods amidst disruptions. Possibly a fundamental reform, in the way education and training systems operate today, and in how they interact with labour market policies and business approaches to reskilling, is needed.

It is interesting to note how certain countries are quickly and effectively responding to the unfolding situation. For instance, the Danish Ministry of Employment has introduced several measures aimed at providing additional opportunities for upskilling and job-focused education to workers laid off due to the pandemic.

Also Read: Workers are switching jobs now more than ever. Why upskilling matters most post-pandemic

Under this scheme, both skilled and unskilled workers who pursue a vocational education are being provided with 110 per cent of their usual unemployment benefits. France responded by creating individual skills account with an integrated mobile application dedicated to vocational training and lifelong learning.

Under this scheme, 28 million eligible full- and part-time workers, based on the skill levels, will receive between EUR500 to EUR8,000 annually to spend on upskilling and continuous learning. And Singapore responded by enhancing their Training Support Package – ETSP.

Contrary to the belief that the ongoing digitalisation and automation will take away jobs, most of the surveys show that there will be a net increase to the tune of 10 to 12 per cent job opportunities.

Remember when the horse carts went out of vogue, there wasn’t a decline, but rather more high paying jobs got created in the transportation space. We will witness a similar huge upsurge in need for newer skills with higher compensation, thus improving the wealth generation opportunities for the initiated.

While automation is going to increase and machines will prove more efficient in repetitive kind of job, they are at least a few years away from catching up, if at all they do, with the following:

• Critical / analytical thinking and innovation
• Reasoning and complex problem-solving
• Resilience and adaptability
• Creativity, curiosity, and initiative for innovation
• Emotional intelligence, leadership and social influence
• Technology innovation, programming, etc.

This clearly means humans will continue playing a key role while the machines take away the drudgery of repetitive, low value add tasks. It is imperative for people to also skill themselves up in some of the above areas, apart from learning and adapting to the new world order of man-machine interaction. Harnessing and adopting innovations through continuous learning remains the only constant.

Stay tuned for part two to learn which job fields are on the rise and jobs likely on a downtrend in terms of demand.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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The surge in internet-related crimes has become a cause for concern for businesses and individuals, and rightfully so. But with the right tools in place, everyone can play a part in fighting cybercrime.

Phishing and ransomware attacks rose in Singapore in the last two years as more people shifted online during the pandemic. Last year, the Cyber Security Agency said that it detected more than 40,000 unique phishing URLs and 85 cases of ransomware attacks in 2020.

What is phishing?

Phishing refers to a tactic commonly used by cybercriminals to gather personal information through deceiving emails and messages. The goal is usually for the target to click a link and give up their details, thereby giving attackers access to assets like bank accounts, or downloading a document planting malware into a computer system.

Also read: Putting the Tech in Textile: D-Plus Trading reinvents the textile scene

What is ransomware?

Ransomware refers to a type of malicious software designed to block access to data, documents, and systems until the victim pays up. Attackers usually use encryption to block access, leading to network breakdowns that may result in financial losses or expose sensitive documents that can cause reputational damage.

It takes a village to nurture a healthy online environment, as cliche as that may sound. Good data hygiene starts with nobody but you. With the right tools, integrating data protection habits into our daily lives can be smooth sailing.

Here’s how:

• Encryption

Encryption is a method of securing digital data by encoding its original representation into a cryptic format that only authorised parties or key-holders can decipher. Imagine converting all your sensitive files into cryptic texts. How would a hacker gather any information about yourself despite intruding on your computer or phone?

Encryption software like the U-Hide provides safe encryption of frequently accessed files that can only be accessed by you, the key-holder. The key is secured by a physical cryptosecurity device and authenticator known as the Hugware^TM.

• Backup

Backing up your files or duplicating them for storage in a separate network helps you quickly recover your files in the event of loss or device damage. But what some don’t realise is that backing up your folder can also protect you from losses caused by ransomware attacks.

Imagine being locked out of your system by a cyberattacker demanding ransom. With your backup, you can simply disregard the attack and reset your system and go on with your life like it never happened.

Also read: The most successful AI-Voice B2B SAAS from Japan is now expanding to build a unicorn in Southeast Asia

It is best to fortify your data with encryption wherever you store your backup. The U-Archive application will allow encryption of data backed up on the cloud (e.g. Dropbox and Google Drive) and accessible only by the Hugware authentication device holder.

• What else can you do?

If you are still concerned about the risk of falling victim to cyberattacks, you may want to consider something called Self-Sovereign Identity, or SSI. It can be regarded as an advanced personal digital security framework involving decentralised identifiers, or DIDs, that can potentially be used in two-factor authentication processes instead of SMSes.

With all of these tools and modes of protection, you can sleep soundly knowing that your important data aren’t being accessed by malicious elements.

About UKISS Technology

Founded and incorporated in Singapore in 2021, UKISS Technology is dedicated to building an ecosystem of decentralised identity and cybersecurity solutions. Learn more about our hardware and software solutions and other exciting plans on our website, ukiss.io.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by UKISS Technology

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