avatarDr Mehmet Yildiz

Summary

Merriam-Webster has officially added "NFT" to its dictionary and auctioned the term, with the proceeds going to Teach For All, and the NFT was purchased by AOI for $15.

Abstract

Merriam-Webster, the renowned dictionary publisher, has not only defined "NFT" (Non-Fungible Token) in its dictionary but also engaged in the NFT space by auctioning the term. The auction's proceeds were dedicated to Teach For All, a global network focused on educational equity. The NFT of the word "NFT" was ultimately acquired by AOI (Art on Internet) for a sum of $15. This event marks a significant moment in the mainstream recognition of NFTs, highlighting their integration into both language and philanthropy. The author, a seasoned technologist, emphasizes the rapid growth of the NFT market, which is expected to become as commonly discussed as Bitcoin. The author also indicates an intent to explore and share more perspectives on NFTs from various viewpoints, including those of artists and online gamers.

Opinions

  • The author views the inclusion of "NFT" in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a notable milestone in the recognition of NFTs.
  • The auction of the term "NFT" by Merriam-Webster and its purchase by AOI for charity is seen as an innovative blend of technology, language, and philanthropy.
  • The author suggests that the NFT market is expanding rapidly and will soon be as prevalent in discussions as Bitcoin.
  • Artists are portrayed as intrigued yet challenged by the concept of NFTs, as indicated by the title of one of the linked articles.
  • Online gamers are also acknowledged for their interest in NFTs, particularly in relation to a project leveraging "patented Vault technology."
  • The author expresses a commitment to providing further insights into NFTs, covering diverse aspects and stakeholders in the ecosystem.

Technology

“NFT” Defined And Auctioned by Merriam-Webster

It is officially in the dictionary.

Photo by ArtHouse Studio from Pexels

A few weeks ago, I read several articles about Merriam-Webster not only defining the word NFT in its dictionary but also auctioning it.

One of the articles in Business Insider was noting that the money earned from auction would go to the nonprofit organization Teach For Alla network of organizations in 60 countries working to ensure all children have the education, support, and opportunity to fulfill their potential”.

Today, when I checked the website of Webster, I noticed that the acronym NFT as “NON-FUNGIBLE TOKEN” is defined in the dictionary.

Interestingly, I did not come across the details of the auction in the press but this word is now owned by AOI (Art on Internet) as linked to the word entry in the online dictionary. I assume AOI won the auction.

It looks like the word was sold for $15.

Here is the screen capture of the definition.

Image screen capture by author

So you can even own and sell a word as an NFT.

From my experience, NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a unit of data stored in a blockchain, most commonly on Ethereum blockchain. This ledger certifies the uniqueness of the item. When a unique item is created as an NFT, blockchain establishes a string record with a cryptographic hash. It verifies identifiable data blocks as unique.

I posted a couple of articles related to NFTs.

The first article reflects perspectives of artists.

The second one is from perspectives of online gamers for an NFT project.

The NFT market is growing rapidly. It is already $250 million market. You will hear this word as frequent as Bitcoin soon. I will post more articles about NFTs from different angles.

The good news, at least we have the word as defined formally in the dictionary.

Thank you for reading my perspectives.

About The Author

I am a technologist, published author, editor, blogger, digital marketing strategist, and content developer with four decades of industry experience. I write articles for Medium, News Break and Vocal Media. On Medium, I established ILLUMINATION, ILLUMINATION-Curated, ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR, ILLUMINATION Book Chapter, Technology Hits, and SYNERGY publications supporting 10,000+ writers and serving 137,000+ readers on Medium. You can Join my publications requesting access here.

Nft
Technology
Art
Business
Cryptocurrency
Recommended from ReadMedium