Expressing Ourselves through Proof-of-Experiences

We express ourselves through both our experiences and belongings. Can we combine both to create something new? Can we get some kind of proof of our experiences beyond our memories?

We can through a digital object that proves an experience–a non-fungible token (NFT). It’s a digital object that gives benefits. It’s a BeNFT.

Using sociology, we could explain why someone would want such a BeNFT.

Sociologists have made the dichotomy between use value and exchange value for goods we buy. While use value offers an inherent value from enjoying a good in isolation by herself, a consumer gains exchange value from displaying that good to other people. Or as a German sociologist posited in the 1880s, exchange value is a “socially assigned system of value determining an object’s worth in relation to other goods.” For example, drinking a coconut gives us the use value of refreshment. Yet taking a photo of that coconut and its beach scenery–and posting it to Instagram–gives the exchange value of being fun enough to enjoy that tropical moment. Showcasing that image on social media can make others envious. It can enhance someone’s sex appeal. It can stoke envy from one’s rivals. It can put the consumer in others’ imaginations. Its exchange value goes far beyond the $2 coconut cost.

Identity Through Travel Choices

Heading into 2023, packed airplanes and hotels speak to the power of revenge travel of pandemic-repressed travelers. Travel’s…