It’s not every day that I’m exploring the 105-year-old Web3 and hearing about experimenting with NFTs. But for Forbes, the American business news giant, doing so is just another day in the office.
At this week’s Venture Beat Transform 2022 event, Forbes CTO Vadim Supitskiy provided in-depth insights from media companies’ digital transformation efforts, including the early stages of metaverse-style engagement.
Acquire and engage with a digital audience
As a large legacy publisher, Forbes doesn’t have to worry about gaining readers. It reports an average of over 150 million readers per month across the platform. Instead, the company is looking at ways to keep core business and mission elements involved.
“We’re trying to attract viewers in all of these domains, including traditional domains on websites, video, audio, storytelling,” says Supitskiy. “Currently, Web3 is trying to do the same with the Metaverse. The world is changing and we want to be a place for our audience to present information in the most convenient and enjoyable way.”
Undoubtedly, the way news is consumed is not as different as the Internet in the 20th century and the gateway to the creation of social media in the early 2000s. Forbes were both early adopters. The website went online in 1996, followed by publications, which joined the ranks on social media when it grew rapidly around 2005.
The company has also adopted streaming without shy away from new technologies, and in 2019 launched a unique service called Forbes 8 called “Netflix for Entrepreneurs”.Quick effort Evolved Becoming a regular Forbes news content section as a dedicated section aimed at “inspiring entrepreneurs.”
Given the company’s view of technological progress, it’s not surprising that it has already taken steps to interact with its readers in a way that is tailored to the next iteration of new web technologies such as NFTs, Metaverse, and Web3.
Last year, for the first time in the publishing industry, Forbes auctioned one of the magazine covers as an NFT. It sold for $ 333,333. The proceeds were donated to the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Women’s Media Foundation.
This year we went one step further and expanded these efforts to attract viewers by selling a collection of fictitious billionaire NFTs. Each is interactively associated with a fictitious stock market portfolio. Every day, based on the actual market performance of the New York Stock Exchange, Forbes NFT characters move up and down in the rankings, like the evolving list of Forbes.
“There are so many enthusiastic audiences around Web3, blockchain and crypto … It’s important to engage your audience with something famous like the Forbes list,” Supitskiy said. “In general, we want to continue building in that space. We want to bring more utility. We involve users in Web3, Web2, and the Metaverse and actually bring the environment to life. I want to create it. We’re definitely early in the journey, but we’re going to do more and more there. “
Accessibility fulfills its responsibilities
One of the criticisms of Metaverse, Web3, and NFTs is the lack of accessibility. Experts say these technologies will ultimately work towards democratization of the digital world and information, but for now, everyday people are starting to embark on these new spaces and technologies. It can be expensive. Despite the recent cool-down in the NFT market, it costs about $ 2,000 on average, according to a Bloomberg study.
Not long ago, in 2019, nearly 40% of adults in the United States reported they couldn’t afford the astonishing $ 400 emergency. As a result, the NFT market as a gateway to the Metaverse is not available to everyone, even at the lowest prices.
While many Forbes readers tend to be in a good financial position (many of whom are C Suite executives and business leaders), access to these new technologies is still being considered by the company as it evolves. That is.
“I want to make sure that the industry itself makes it easy and frictionless. So far, obviously, it’s not easy for everyone to access it,” he said. .. “You need to get a wallet and buy cryptocurrencies. You need to join the marketplace to buy NFTs or join one of the many Metaverses. Wait for it to be frictionless. While we are, we will help do that and work in that space as well [while we] It attracts viewers there. “
A Transform audience asked Supitskiy what Forbes is doing in terms of social responsibility to educate marginalized communities about these new technologies and level the competition.
He focused on reporting on the company, especially about Web3, cryptography, NFTs, blockchain, and how these innovations are and will continue to impact different communities. Said there is a team of.
“Our goal is to educate people about technology as a whole, but also how it affects society,” says Supitskiy.
