I jumped on the creative possibilities of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) early.

They spoke to everything the web hadn’t let me do in games, in the art world, in new economies, in community development, in playing with unique, naturally scarce objects in digital forms.

These blockchain-based objects are not just unique, they are a wrapper for stories that sit on top of a stack of programmable capabilities that simply were not within reach for marketers and developers.

Endless discussions and projects have occurred over the past few years on how top down, to utilize these new consumer reflexes. How game designers and collectible fanatics, now brands, will put them to use in existent genres.

It will come I believe but today it is certainly not here.

Not for lack of trying and innovation, not for lack of consumer friendly crypto wallets, and certainly not for lack of exchanges to buy and sell these objects on.

I think we need to start from the market first, not layering perceived user reflex to tech, but building on new constructs as the market grows and the funnel opens from the bottom up.

With NFTs specifically whether you use them in a game or something else, this is pertinent. They are not currencies, they are assets whose value is subjective, based on the market’s want, on what the consumer sees and feels.

My bias is to start with environmental philanthropy as a market emotion and build on it.

Let me explain.

What we learned from our Honu the Cryptokitty charity auction experiment was that the mass market truly gives a shit about their connection to doing something for the environment. That tens of millions of people in our news cycle simply wanted to belong to a common cause that makes them feel good.

And that communities are atomic in nature, meaning that each individual is part of many adjacent groups so when you capture someone’s attention you can create a community network effect of sorts.

Enter this programmable tool—an NFT—a gift to builders from the blockchain.

So now, someone can, for example, create a unique digital icon for an endangered species that needs protection, partner with the global environmental community, philanthropic agencies, all within a game. Each time that object changes hands, in game or on an exchange, funds are automatically sent back to support the wildlife reserve or the educational institution.

Or you start from the other side, with a unique, real-world case, like a family of chimps that is under the protection of one of Jane Goodall’s foundations. Create a series of collectibles not just around the chimps, but around Jane as an RBG-type role model for new generations (which she should be). You can iconize the locations, the people that do the work on the ground, the classrooms that visit them. You can create an episodic narrative with digital dynamic objects.

You can stack these icons (NFTs btw) using protocols like ERC 998 where objects can be grouped in a hierarchy to create collective value, where one object can be a superset of the rest. You can imbed a transactional ‘commons fee’ to support causes as a variant of Harberger Tax possibly.

My argument is that environmental philanthropy reimagined as a series of branded causes is a global market of good will that could drive games, collectibles, educational directions, events, projects, and more.

We need to stop making excuses.

Stop worrying about on-boarding as the problem. Stop obsessing that the NFT exchanges are too hard to use. They sure aren’t perfect, but any net native can configure a wallet and trade an asset if there was a reason to.

Start with the market.

Always start with a strong, nascent belief. Start with this rare opportunity to encapsulate stories in a new form of secure, unique, exchangeable, programmable objects.

That the why of NFTs.

My area of expertise where environmental philanthropy mashes up with gaming, brand development and community creation is one way in.

If you start with true behavior and market belief, lay on creativity to harness a collective global want, these unique blockchain tools could just help bring it to fruition.

There are many other ways and markets of course.

This is the one I wake up thinking about often.