Instagram will start testing NFTs with select users this week

[Shawn Knight]

Bottom line: Starting this week, a small group of Instagram users will be able to display non-fungible tokens (NFTs) directly on the sharing platform. They're starting small in order to learn from the community, an important strategy considering Instagram is a centralized platform and NFTs fall into the decentralized category.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri said select users will soon be able to share NFTs that they've made or bought in Feed, Stories or in messaging.

There will be no fee associated with posting or sharing an NFT on Instagram, we're told.

NFTs on Instagram 🎉

This week we're beginning to test digital collectibles with a handful of US creators and collectors who will be able to share NFTs on Instagram. There will be no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on IG.

See you next week! ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/VuJbMVSBDr

— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) May 9, 2022

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg added that plans are in place to bring similar functionality to Facebook soon. Assuming success, Meta could expand NFT support to other apps or services in its family. Aside from Facebook and Instagram, Meta owns WhatsApp, Oculus and Giphy.

Zuckerberg further said they're working on augmented reality NFTs, which he also called 3D NFTs, for Instagram Stories using Spark AR.

Related reading: Daily NFT sales are tanking

Zuckerberg's full interview with Tom Bilyeu of Impact Theory is available over on YouTube.

Additional details on the Instagram tie-in including supported blockchains and third-party wallet support were reportedly shared by Meta employee Alexandru Voica on Twitter, but have seemingly been removed. 9to5Mac, who cited the post, said Ethereum and Polygon blockchains will be supported, as will wallets Rainbow, Trust and MetaMask.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/94519-instagram-start-testing-nfts-select-users-week.html

 

[Dimitriid]

Soon people be able to self identify as fast and easy mark for fraud and scams on *all* major social networks! As Dan Olson said (Paraphrasing): Revolutionary new vectors for fraud.

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

People never learn. Wish Musk would buy the Internet and just shut it down for a while.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Why would there be a fee to display them??? That would defeat network effects - the entire business model of social networks.

 

[brucek]

Still don't get it. When I'm viewing one of these pages, what is the difference between what the NFT will look like vs. what any of the regular images that have been there forever look like? And if I saw a NFT image I liked, what would stop me from snipping my own copy of it and then putting it on my page too?

 

[passingposeidon]

Still don't get it. When I'm viewing one of these pages, what is the difference between what the NFT will look like vs. what any of the regular images that have been there forever look like? And if I saw a NFT image I liked, what would stop me from snipping my own copy of it and then putting it on my page too?

You don't get it because there's nothing to get. All you need to 'get' is that people will spend their money on anything.

 

[Alibrubru]

You read my mind!

Still don't get it. When I'm viewing one of these pages, what is the difference between what the NFT will look like vs. what any of the regular images that have been there forever look like? And if I saw a NFT image I liked, what would stop me from snipping my own copy of it and then putting it on my page too?

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Still don't get it. When I'm viewing one of these pages, what is the difference between what the NFT will look like vs. what any of the regular images that have been there forever look like? And if I saw a NFT image I liked, what would stop me from snipping my own copy of it and then putting it on my page too?

The only thing to "get" is that people are paying rediculous sums to have a reciept on a server somewhere that claims they bought that spot on the chain. Not the image itself, or anything it represents, just that spot on the chain. A number in a string of numbers, thatswhat they're buying.

It a total waste of cash for fools who think being "digital" makes cash more valuable, and buy into the moonboi hype of something with 0 real world value.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Why would there be a fee to display them??? That would defeat network effects - the entire business model of social networks.

Because these are NFT bois, with more money then sense. It'll give them a sense of pride and accomplishment ot pay to display their NFT image of an ugly ape. It costs instagram nothing to implement and could theoretically print money from bozos.