Refinery around NFTs – Magazine National Geographic is an international press institution with more than thirty different editions worldwide. Recognizable to all by its iconic yellow frame and renowned for the quality of its photos, the magazine recently decided to switch to web3 offering a collection of NFTs around famous photographers. But the reception of the general public has clearly not lived up to its expectations. Story of the failed launch of a well-prepared operation.
National Geographic enters the Web3…
the National Geographic is probably one of the best known photography magazines in the world. Launched in the 19ᵉ century, it has more than 40 million of readers around the world. Its editorial line revolves around nature and its conservation, discovery or history. Always with beautiful Images at the service of information.
On social networks, its audience is also very important 256 million Instagram followers, 49 million on Facebook and more 28.6 million on Twitter. Always at the forefront of modernity, the magazine has decided to launch a collection of NFTs around 16 famous photographers. All this to celebrate 135ᵉ birthday. Justin Aversano and his unclassifiable portraits. Reuben Wu and his electric landscapes. Cath Simard and his beloved mountains. The biggest names are part of the cast of the magazine. All these artists also have the distinction of having each experienced the technology of in their own way NFTs in their work.
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…and unleashes a storm of public outcry
The platform chosen to launch the collection is snowcrash specialized in important artistic collaborations. We find so Sony music or the group Universal music which is about to launch the NFTs of Bob Dylan and Miles Davis. On paper, everything seems to fit together for a successful collaboration. This is how the first message is launched on social networks on January 16th. With an NFT star in the background: a monkey from Bored Bee Yacht Club ! All to explain what NFTs and prepare the Community at the launch of the collection.
But the public reception was catastrophic! Critics have flocked to social media, and the main complaint has been theuse of NFT technology. Here is one anthology comments posted under the message:
“NFTs are a speculative bubble that has already burst”; “money laundering tools”; “real scams”; “is being used for phishing”; “it’s an already extinct species”.
Even the big names in photography fought report the operation. The late photographer’s account manager…Ansel Easton Adamsfamous for his black-and-white photos of the Great American West, he responded tersely ” No “ below the message with the bored monkey. And also the use of this symbol “Cheesy and tasteless” of pop culture-NFT has been criticized by Chuck Andersonyet himself an NFT artist.
But does the general public really understand what NFTs are?
Of course, the answer is in the question! Furthermore, this is not the first time that an NFT collection project has been poorly received by the general public. The reviews around energy consumption continue to to pollute comments despite 100 00 likes collected from the message. The teams of National Geographic represented almost 3,000 Instagram comments and 200 on Facebook, the vast majority of which are negatives.
Fortunately, some artists have come to support the project. Between them, Ryan Hawthorne who joked about ” people who hate what they don’t understand “. Or the anonymous co-founder of the Ethereum NFT project Deadfellaz who complained that “ most internet users criticize without asking ».
If to all this we add a few Technical Problems coming from the platform snowcrashwe have all the ingredients for a launch lost ! But despite the adversity, National Geographic continues to roll out his calendar and 15% the photos are already sold. The 16 photographers each deliver 1 photo in 118 copiesthis is 1888 NFT on sale. 1888 as a nod to the magazine’s creation date. As for the haters who shout under the messages, needless to say that there is also a game around those famous monkeys they hate so much.
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