Meta is expanding NFT viewing options on Instagram and Facebook as it looks to build for the next stage

With Eminem and Snoop Dogg performing at the recent MTV VMA Awards via their Bored Ape avatars, and within the Yuga Labs ‘Otherside’ metaverse project, will it spark a resurgence in NFT interest?

That would take a big hit, given the drastic decline in the NFT market. Maybe this could be it?

Anyway, Meta it is preparing for the next phase of NFT engagementwith an extension of the NFT sharing tools to Facebook, in addition to Instagram.

Meta first launched its NFT display options on Instagram back in May, and then extended the test to some users on Facebook in June as well. But now Meta will allow all users, on Facebook and Instagram, to post their NFTs in each app. Which is a little behind the times, given the downward trend of the broader NFT hype cycle.

But perhaps we are on the cusp of an NFT boom.

Definitely, general interest in NFTs has been on the decline, with NFT sales down 92% compared to the peak in 2021. Amidst ongoing scams and blanket pulling, which has seen NFT ‘investors’ lose millions, and the wider crypto market crashes, interest in the cartoonish profile pictures has continued to wane, as users struggle to either resell their artwork or find any real use for it beyond profile pictures.

The wider promise of NFTs is as shown in the Eminem/Snoop example, with Yuga Labs, the founders of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, developing their own metaverse space, called the ‘Otherside’, where your characters actually become 3D representations that you can use to interact in the experience.

If people want it.

Do people really want to be represented as Bored Ape avatars in a virtual realm?

There is a lot of misunderstanding about exactly what the metaverse will be in this regard, and how people will choose to represent themselves – but the concept is that more expensive, more exclusive NFT characters will carry with them a level of prestige and presence within these new interactive spaces .

And if the other side can become an actual metaverse space – i.e. a multi-functional virtual world, where people can use their virtual characters to participate in various ways, and where users can create their own experiences in the world – then maybe there is real value in your Bored Apes characters, and potentially other NFT projects that tie into the project.

But there is nothing yet.

Actually, the broader vision for the metaverse is an internet-like experience, but in VR and 3D, where all users, from all different companies, backgrounds and perspectives, can create their own sections of the metaverse, with each experience interconnected and discoverable.

In theory, it could see you using your Bored Ape avatar to represent yourself in, for example, work meetings, in games, in virtual hangout rooms. Your digital character would essentially become another version of you, for use across all these new experiences.

But interconnection at this level will be very difficult to realize.

As an example, Microsoft spent years enabling cross-platform play on Minecraft, making deals with Sony, Nintendo and all other gaming platforms to enable users from all apps to play within the same game worlds.

Fortnite is now facilitating the same, although it also faces challenges in making this possible, and it is examples like these that highlight how different systems, and varying business interests, will make true metaverse connectivity a challenge, even for the the largest companies.

Which will be a big challenge for a project like Yuga’s ‘Otherside’, which likely won’t get universal buy-in for its metaverse space. This is also why Meta is best placed to make an actual metaverse experience a reality, because it has the keys, via its advanced VR platform and tools, that others will need to connect to such if they want to maximize their reach and commitment.

If Meta’s VR push continues to gain traction, others will jump in, which will put Meta in a prime position to own the metaverse space.

It’s also why NFTs on the Meta make sense, even if people lose interest in what the alternative is right now.

Eventually, Meta will look to integrate all different kinds of digital elements for experiences like “Horizon Worlds,” where anyone can create their own VR world.

Digital objects accessible in this space can use the same ownership infrastructure of NFTs, facilitating new types of construction and engagement processes within its metaverse experience.

So more than just having a cartoonish avatar, Meta wants to build a real, practical market for NFT items – beyond simple portraits that allow tech bros to show off how ahead of the game they think they are.

Because they really aren’t. The vast majority of current NFT projects will disappear, and while larger projects like Bored Apes may eventually find a place in the next phase, the first wave of NFTs increasingly looks like a misguided play to catch the next big thing’, largely pushed by middle-aged, upper-class men.

Like, for example, Eminem and Snoop – who, it’s also worth noting, can directly benefit from increased interest in NFT projects.