It’s no surprise that social media giants are onboarding the crypto train, as the latest addition to the fleet may turn out to be video content hegemon, YouTube.
Indeed, YouTube’s CEO Susan Wojcicki sent an open letter to content creators worldwide, which underlines a possible embracing of Web 3.0 technologies, NFTs included. However, there are no hard plans or deadlines around any of YouTube’s potential NFT plans, but as cryptobrowser.io already reported, Google is launching a blockchain division, which may tackle such kind of ideas.
The letter immediately sparked speculations, as some users suggested that digital artists may be able to feature their NFT artwork through tools on the platform. Others mentioned that NFTs could be integrated into YouTube user profiles to a certain extent.
“The past year in the world of crypto, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and even decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) has highlighted a previously unimaginable opportunity to grow the connection between creators and their fans. We’re always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalize on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube.” Wojcicki noted in her letter.
Meanwhile, Wojcicki’s approach to Web3 applications was described as a “source of inspiration to continue innovating on YouTube”, which falls in line with the last spree of social media and content-adjacent platforms, such as Twitter, Meta, and Reddit, who have all already taken some sort of a step (or intent to do so) into NFTs.
For instance, Meta (ex-Facebook) expressed its idea of launching a non-fungible tokens marketplace where users can create and trade collectible tokens. The social media giant, alongside its Instagram daughter company, has been interested in NFTs for a while now. In 2021, Instagram’s CEO Adam Mosseri noted that the company was “actively exploring NFTs and how we can make them more accessible to a wider audience.”
YouTube, on the other hand, saw its fair share of platform development over the course of Wojcicki as its CEO. However, the video hegemon doesn’t plan to stop technological advancements, like YouTube Shorts (a TikTok competitor), which many perceive as an avenue for audience growth and further development. Furthermore, YouTube’s CEO shared her thoughts on broad topics including gaming, monetization, regulatory hurdles, and more.