[spectre] MONEYLAB NFT ESSAY PRIZE

[Geert Lovink]

Popular search query: "Making Millions with NFTs!"

Empowerment or Trap? Jackpot or pocket money? You be the judge. Time to auction off our criticality. In a single year, NFTs have gone from obscurity to superstardom. Are NFTs, DeFi and gamified decentralized apps the new way for the disenfranchised to (finally) get paid? Or are they the gateway drug to a life of precarious hussle amidst capitalism's death spiral? The web3 debate has defined the young millenials/GenZ 'Covid' generations. What will the NFT lottery bring in this merciless economy?

We have heard from the experts, we have heard from the grifters, we have heard from boomer cynics and we've heard from the evangelists. Now we want to hear from young people struggling in this economy. What is the future you see on the other side of the NFT craze. Is it, finally, a way for creative people to survive and thrive? Is it a scam or just an immature futurist prototype? Is it destined for cooptation by the corporate and financial powers that be? Or is it a platform for new forms of solidarity? 

The Moneylab <http://networkcultures.org/moneylab/> network was initiated by the Amsterdam-based Institute for Network Cultures in 2013 to bring together thinkers, artists, technologists and activists to explore the future of money and value in a digital age. Since then, it has organized 12 conferences all over the world, published three readers and several pamphlets, hosted an active mailing list and maintained a well-read blog. The project has been taking a breather since June 2021, after hosting five fabulous pandemic-era conferences in cyberspace. But we're back, with a whole different ball game!

We invite creative responses from people under the age of 30 to the question "are NFTs the key to a generation's empowerment, or a capitalist trap?" Responses may be sent in the form of a conventional or experimental essay, including notes, aphorisms and dialogues of max. 2500 words, if possible packed with links, comments, memes and sound. Or a video/audio/interactive media composition of up to 15-minutes. We look for advanced speculative writing, critical theory and first-hand experiences with monetary experiments.

The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2022.

Please send your submission to info at networkcultures.org <mailto:info at networkcultures.org>. The MoneyLab board will assemble a diverse squad to read/watch the submissions and choose the most interesting, original and illuminating from among them. The first, second and third winners will each recieve 250 euro/usd. The successful works, as well as honourable mentions, will be published  on the MoneyLab blog and related media outlets. Authors will be invited to display, read and comment on their work at a special online meeting of the MoneyLab community.

Those who would like to discuss their ideas and get feedback ahead of the deadline are warmly invited to join the Moneylab Discord server, where a special channel (https://discord.gg/AXGJtqqX3V <https://discord.gg/AXGJtqqX3V>) has been established. There will also be a facilitated brainstorming and feedback session on Zoom on February 9 and 8pm CET (5pm Eastern). In both the Discord channel and the Zoom session experts and members of the selection committee will be on-hand to offer supportive and constructive feedback.

For the MoneyLab board: Max Haiven, Ela Kagel and Geert Lovink

https://www.networkcultures.org/moneylab <https://www.networkcultures.org/moneylab>


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