Twitter Blue launches NFT avatar function, some people are happy and some are worried
This article comes fromThe Blocksecondary title
Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang
Summary:
Summary:
- Twitter started rolling out NFT avatars via its Blue subscription service this week.
- However, the incident has sparked debate about Twitter's ultimate goal for NFTs and what its user base considers the most critical needs.
On Thursday, Twitter’s paid subscription service, Twitter Blue, rolled out a new feature that allows users to upload NFTs as avatars.
In a race to become the defining social media hub of Web3, the company became one of the first major traditional Web2 companies to integrate NFT functionality. But following the announcement, some in the NFT community on Twitter and the wider user base expressed outrage over what this means for the platform and the future of NFT art owners.
However, when the Web3 architecture interacts with a platform such as Twitter that has amassed a large number of users, this situation certainly provides some ideas about what users really want.
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more realistic avatar
On Jan. 20, Twitter Blue decided to add another feature for its users: connecting crypto wallets and uploading NFTs as profile photos for mobile iOS users, according to a Twitter post.postpost
, which added this functionality to meet the needs of advanced users.
Twitter users have had mixed reactions to these new NFT avatar features. Some see the development as a positive step forward for the NFT community, such as Spencer Noon, founder of cryptocurrency-focused venture fund Variant.
"Given the distribution and audience of Twitter, this is really a mainstream moment for the profile picture NFT, which is becoming an increasingly important original element of identity in Web3." Noon said in an interview with The Block. This work is a major turning point, showing that NFT has gradually taken root in wider culture and society.”
Others pointed to problems with the deployment and questioned Twitter's ultimate purpose. NFT community member Mec.eth said in a Twitter Spaces discussion this week that the company appears to be primarily focused on selling Blue membership services.
"They're looking at what we're doing, but we're not seen as influencing those decisions," Mec.eth said. It all revolved around their interest - which was selling their product Blue."
Twitter Blue users using the Twitter mobile app for iOS will have the option to set a new avatar using an NFT they already own. Users must connect their crypto wallets and can choose to use Coinbase, Rainbow, MetaMask, Trust, Argent or Ledger Live wallets. After selecting an NFT in the wallet, an image associated with that NFT will appear in a Twitter Blue user's profile as a hexagon.
Other NFT users think this is the right direction, but more work could be done to better verify who has access to the hexagonal avatar — Twitter is using hexagonal avatars to identify NFT users from regular avatars.
"I really hope this feature gives people the ability to, in a quick glance, when they follow a timeline to look at tweets, once they see a person with a hexagonal profile picture, they know This person owns that NFT,” said Adam Hollander, owner of Bored Ape #3987 and creator of Hungry Wolves NFTs, in an interview with The Block.
Hollander pointed out that Twitter's existing verification system already has blue ticks for certain users. If the same verification method works for NFTs, he said, fake avatars could be more recognizable.
“It’s a big problem. There are thousands of accounts out there that are using fake Bored Apes, fake Punks, fake Doodles, etc.,” he said, “because these NFTs cost a lot of money and in some cases It can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. And there are a lot of people who want to be able to link their digital identities to owning an asset, because there is often a lot of prestige behind owning this asset.”
Justin Taylor, the company's head of consumer product marketing, wrote on Twitter: "We don't want to limit this feature to just validating NFTs, which would be wrong, nor support the broader NFT movement. Anyone should be able to mint anything , and make it its own NFT. However, we do show in the detail page whether an NFT is verified."
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What's next?
Based on feedback on the platform, Twitter may have to focus on verifying connected NFTs.
Some have suggested that Twitter could partner with an NFT marketplace such as OpenSea, which is currently the largest NFT marketplace by volume. While OpenSea itself has had fraudulent uploads, the market-validated NFT adds a legitimacy that didn't exist for Twitter Blue users at the time of publication.
A representative of the company confirmed that the move is an attempt for Twitter to incorporate user feedback to further build and improve the feature.
