Things are Looking Rozy in Korea's Uncanny Valley
1. How Does a Virtual Influencer Take a Selfie?
Meet Rozy. On the surface, young, hip and boasting almost 150,000 followers on Instagram. But upon further inspection, you’ll notice that she is not quite what she seems and that the phone in her hand is not what generated the image above.
Rozy is a CGI generated human and was created by the South Korean company, Sidus-X. She comes complete with a backstory, AI generated responses to her fans’ comments, and over $1.5M in profits from her brand deals (this year alone).
The "virtual human" industry is booming, and with it a whole new economy in which the influencers of the future are never-aging, scandal-free and digitally flawless -- sparking alarm among some in a country already obsessed with unobtainable beauty standards.
For a brand, influencers are powerful tools to generate awareness, but more importantly trust in their products. A review from a trusted influencer can go a long way. But influencers can be a double edged sword if they say or do something controversial. Not a problem with Rozy.
Rozy’s success story is just one of many and an indicator of more to come. There’s already a ‘Top Virtual Influencers’ list who’s accounts command millions of followers.
2. Digital Fashion, But IRL
Following his collaboration with Adidas, Gmoney is launching his own luxury brand with a heavy focus ‘crypto culture’. The clothing comes with digital twin NFTs and a complex, gamified system for acquisition.
9dcc describes itself as the first-ever crypto-native luxury house and lifestyle platform. Their first product is an NFC-connected black T-shirt.
In traditional luxury, the price tag is the prohibiting factor. That may be the case with 9dcc, but there is an added layer to acquisition. You must purchase a series of NFTs to claim the garment which will feature AR connected NFC chips for IRL flexing.
3. Solana Leaves the Metaverse?
With the recently announced ‘Web3 phone’ to be released in 2023, this store will function like an Apple store. It will be a place for product, but also an experience. There will be informational sessions and web3 onboarding.
The hope is that it will expose a new segment to the metaverse / web3. And of course, everything can be purchased with SOL.
4. PUMA Enters the NFT Game
While, PUMA has worked with our friends at Catblox to drop a capsule collection, this is their first solo foray into the NFT space.
4,000 ‘Nitro Tokens’ were claimed at their Black Station website on Sunday. Those NFTs will be used for the Nitro Pass mint which will provide access to an upcoming metaverse experience and split into ‘2 designs’.
The Nitro Tokens are available on the secondary market and holding a value of around .13 ETH ($200).
PUMA has been tight lipped about the experience, but we’re pretty sure it’s going to be cool 😇.
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