The Appearance of The NFT Phenomenon on Social Media

Öz

NFT is defined as “blockchain-traded rights to any digital asset; including images, videos, music, even the parts of virtual worlds” (Dowling, 2021, p. 1). Blockchain-based technologies and therefore NFTs, an application of this technology, trigger an industrial-scale change in many areas. This technology has started to gain acceptance for different solutions for commercial transactions, ledger of works, proof of ownership or authenticity control. It is possible to deal with this subject, which attracts a lot of attention, with its technical or financial dimensions. In addition, the application of blockchain technology in art has brought a unique innovation to the art world. The first reason for this is the crypto art style brought by artists who quickly perceive the formal aspect of technology. This type of content (web memes, gifs, videos, etc.) is intertwined with crypto assets and social media streaming, resulting in a practice of artistic production that is difficult to describe. The second dimension of uniqueness is the operational side of technology. The decentralized recording and transfer of knowledge about the authenticity, legitimacy and value of art creation is an innovation that has never occurred before. At the same time, it is a development that threatens the customary ownership practices or the existing intermediation structure in the art world. In this study, the blockchain-based NFT phenomenon has been examined through its technological and financial dimensions as well as its potential to transform the art world. Tweets publicly published in Turkish language were collected through the Twitter API service using NVivo NCapture browser plug-in and subjected to qualitative analysis. How NFT technology is interpreted on the platform in terms of artistic production, consumption or other features has been evaluated thematically.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Blockchain
• NFT (Non-Fungible Token)
• Art
• Cultural Production
• Social Media

NFT Olgusunun Sosyal Medyadaki Görünümü

Öz

NFT, dijital varlıkların blok zincir teknolojisi ile tescili ve haklarına ilişkin ticari işlemleri düzenleyen algoritma temelli nesneleri tanımlar. Blockzincir tabanlı teknolojiler ve dolayısıyla bu teknolojinin bir uygulaması olan NFT’ler pek çok alanda endüstriyel ölçekte bir değişimi tetiklemektedir. Bu teknoloji ticari işlemler, eser tescili, sahipliğin ispatı ya da özgünlük kontrolü için farklı çözümler için kabul görmeye başlamıştır. Oldukça ilgi gören bu konuyu teknik ya da finansal boyutlarıyla ele almak mümkündür. Buna ek olarak blokzincir teknolojisinin sanatta uygulanması sanat dünyasına da benzersiz bir yenilik kazandırmıştır. Bunun ilk nedeni teknolojinin biçimsel yönünü hızla alımlayan sanatçıların getirdiği kripto sanat türüdür. Bu tür içerikler (internetteki meme’ler, gif’ler, videolar vb.), kripto varlıklar ve sosyal medya akışı ile iç içe geçtiği için tanımlanması güç bir sanatsal üretim pratiği ortaya çıkarır. Benzersizliğin ikinci boyutu ise teknolojinin operasyonel boyutudur. Sanat yaratımının özgünlüğü, meşruluğu ve değeri konusundaki bilginin merkezsiz şekilde korunması ve aktarılabilmesi daha önce gerçekleşmeyen bir yeniliktir. Aynı zamanda sanat dünyasındaki alışılmış sahiplik pratikleri ya da mevcut aracılık yapısını tehdit eden bir gelişmedir. Bu çalışmada blokzincir temelli NFT olgusu teknolojik ve finansal boyutları yanında sanat dünyasını dönüştürme potansiyeli üzerinden incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. NVivo'nun NCapture tarayıcı eklentisi kullanılarak Türkçe dilinde ve herkese açık olarak yayınlanan Tweetler Twitter API hizmeti aracılığıyla toplanmış ve nitel analize tabi tutulmuştur. NFT teknolojisinin sanatsal üretim, tüketim ya da diğer özellikleri açısından söz konusu platformda nasıl yorumlandığı tematik olarak değerlendirilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Blokzincir
• NFT
• sanat
• kültürel üretim
• sosyal medya

Kaynakça

1. Abbate, T., Vecco, M., Vermiglio, C., Zarone, V., & Perano, M. (2022). Blockchain and art market: Resistance or adoption? Consumption Markets & Culture, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253866.2021.2019026
2. Ante, L. (2021). Non-fungible token (NFT) markets on the Ethereum blockchain: Temporal development, cointegration and interrelations. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3904683
3. Becker, H. S. (2013). Sanat dünyaları. Ayrıntı Yayınları.
4. Bourdieu, P. (2002). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste (11. print). Harvard Univ. Press.
5. Caves, R. E. (2000). Creative industries: Contracts between art and commerce. Harvard University Press.
6. Chodos, A. T. (2019). What does music mean to Spotify? An essay on musical significance in the era of digital curation. INSAM Journal of Contemporary Music, Art and Technology, 1(2), 36-64.
7. Dowling, M. (2021). Fertile LAND: Pricing non-fungible tokens. Finance Research Letters, 102096. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2021.102096
8. Gloerich, I., Lovink, G., & de Vries, P. (Ed.). (2018). Moneylab reader 2: Overcoming the hype. Institute of Network Cultures. https://networkcultures.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/MONEYLABREADER2OVERCOMINGTHEHYPE.pdf

9. Kim, S. (2020). Fractional ownership, democratization, and bubble formation—The impact of blockchain enabled asset tokenization. 26th Americas Conference on Information Systems, AMCIS 2020, 0-5. https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2020/adv_info_systems_research/adv_info_systems_research/19/
10. Kiyan, Z., & Kocager, U. (2020). Türkiye’de Twitter’ın Kamusal Tartışmalardaki Rolü Üzerine Bir Araştırma. Akdeniz Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Dergisi, 34, Art. 34. https://doi.org/10.31123/akil.781854
11. Kong, D.-R., & Lin, T.-C. (2021). Alternative investments in the Fintech era: The risk and return of Non-Fungible Token (NFT). SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3914085
12. Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content Analysis (2nd Edition). Sage.
13. Leonidas, B. & Exmundo J. (2022, Ekim 25). 12 Historical NFTs That Shaped the Foundation of Web3 | NFT Now. https://nftnow.com/guides/top-10-historical-nfts-everyone-should-know/#:~:text=Quantum%20(May%202014)&text=Minted%20during%20the%20early%20stages,the%20first%20NFT%20ever%20created.
14. Liu, Y., & Tsyvinski, A. (2021). Risks and Returns of Cryptocurrency. The Review of Financial Studies, 34(6), 2689-2727. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhaa113
15. Lotti, L. (2016). Contemporary art, capitalization and the blockchain: On the autonomy and automation of art’s value. Finance and Society, 2(2), 96-110. https://doi.org/10.2218/finsoc.v2i2.1724
16. Macnamara, J. (2005). Media content analysis: Its uses, benefits and best practice methodology. Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 6(1), 1-34.
17. Mazur, M. (2021). Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT). The Analysis of Risk and Return. İçinde SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3953535
18. Roeder, O. (2018, Mart 7 ). The Blockchain Is Just Another Way to Make Art All About Money | FiveThirtyEight. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/blockchain-is-just-another-way-make-art-all-about-money/
19. Smith, C. W. (2007). Markets as Definitional Practices. The Canadian Journal of Sociology / Cahiers canadiens de sociologie, 32(1), 1-39. https://doi.org/10.2307/20460614
20. Velthuis, O., & Coslor, E. (2012). The financialization of art. İçinde C. Knorr & A. Preda (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Finance (ss. 471-490). Oxford University Press.
21. Whitaker, A. (2019). Art and Blockchain: A Primer, History, and Taxonomy of Blockchain Use Cases in the Arts. Artivate: A Journal of Enterprise in the Arts, 8(2), 21-47. https://doi.org/10.34053/artivate.8.2.2
22. Whitaker, A., Bracegirdle, A., de Menil, S., Gitlitz, M. A., & Saltos, L. (2021). Art, antiquities, and blockchain: New approaches to the restitution of cultural heritage. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 27(3), 312-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2020.1765163
23. Whitaker, A., & Grannemann, H. (2019). Artists’ royalties and performers’ equity: A ground-up approach to social impact investment in creative fields. Cultural Management, 3(2), 33-51.
24. Whitaker, A., & Kräussl, R. (2020). Fractional equity, blockchain, and the future of creative work. Management Science, 66(10), 4591-4611. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2020.3633