For a long time, the art of reading was an art accessible only to a select few educated souls. Media such as books, parchments, and scrolls were carefully handwritten and extremely rare and highly prized by those who could decipher them. In ancient times, when writing first appeared, very few people were literate.
This was a state of affairs that did not really change until the invention of the first printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. As printed books became more common, literacy rates around the world began to rise. Progress was slow at first, but with the Industrial Revolution, which led to the ability to manufacture paper on a larger scale, it quickly gained momentum. With industrialization came access to education, which led to newspapers and novels. The first bestsellers were published and literature quickly became popular, libraries and bookstores began to appear in almost every city. The written word became something that everyone could enjoy.
It was technology that gave birth to the age of literacy, but as innovation accelerated, it quickly changed the way people find written content. Paper newspapers, magazines, and books have been around for hundreds of years, but their circulation has declined over the past couple of decades. Instead, people read news on computers and mobile devices through websites, and novels are often read on devices such as e-readers, smartphones, and tablets.
The modern world is indistinguishable from the one in which Gutenberg lived. These days, we have access to all the information we need at the touch of a button or smartphone screen. The days of running to the library to flip through volumes of encyclopedias looking for the information you need are long gone. There are probably many who have never even set foot in a bookstore, or at least have a hard time remembering the last time they did.
The ability for anyone to have access to the written word and all the information they could ever need has become ubiquitous throughout the world. This trend is still gaining momentum as the World Wide Web becomes more accessible thanks to the availability of cheap mobile devices.
While some may be nostalgic for the days when paperbacks and newspapers were a regular fixture on any good coffee table, increased access to the written word is commendable. This has helped spur innovation as location is no longer a barrier to collaboration. Technology and the spread of the written word allow us to instantly share our knowledge with anyone, no matter where they are on the planet.
In the past, writing a novel was a solitary activity, as authors sat alone in their research, shutting themselves off from the world so as not to be distracted, putting their ideas into words and on paper. But in the digital age, storytelling shouldn’t be a solitary task, as the same technologies that have made literacy flourish allow creative minds to connect and develop their prose in a more collaborative way.
This is the goal Search for evolution a project that was pioneered by music producer and record label co-founder Andrew Knocker, motivated by a desire to create a platform that allows creative people to collaborate and get fair rewards for their work. This is an initiative that uses some of the most advanced technologies of our time – blockchain and NFT – to create a decentralized collaborative structure where writers can come together to tell their stories and be rewarded for doing so.
V #web3 space, collaboration between artists is the key to ushering in a new era of creative expression and unlocking the full potential of #blockchain technologies.
What @TheQuestOfEvo suggestions for artists, writers and musicians 👇#collab3 #NFTCommunity pic.twitter.com/iUwPqGij3e
— In Search of Evolution (@TheQuestOfEvo) February 9, 2023
In Quest of Evolution, storytellers collaborate on books called “crypto novels” that are presented as NFTs. Consisting of visual art, a soundtrack, and an opening paragraph, the owner of the NFT gains the right to add new words to the unfinished story within, allowing them to create the next chapter of the novel. Once they’re done, they can sell the NFT to the next writer who gets the right to add to the story before handing it over again. The result is a kind of “live NFT” that is constantly evolving and bringing royalties to all previous authors. Each previous contributor (NFT owner) is entitled to a share in the global royalty pool, which collects 10% of each sale as the NFT is transferred, creating a passive income for all previous contributors that must accumulate as the story progresses.
NFTs provide a new way to distribute content and reward content creators. While in the case of paperback books, the original author would only earn revenue from its initial bookstore sale, the technology allows them to continue to receive royalties on each subsequent sale. This is a unique revenue model that is also being developed dark earth comic series creator macroverse. Darkland is a dark and ominous illustrated series set in the depths of hell, but its dark world is bright for its creators as it allows them to reap the benefits of its NFT platform. The NFT acts as the source file for each episode of the comic and can be made available to fans through a subscription fee. With royalties, both the owner of an NFT and its creator can earn passive income every time someone pays to read their content or buys an NFT outright.
Innovation and change inevitably come with a touch of sadness, especially when it comes to something emotional, like books. Word processors and computers are practically destroyed written word, as very few authors rely more on pen and paper. Far fewer people now read real books, which means that they will never be able to enjoy the pleasure of holding a hardcover copy in their hands, flipping through its pages and smelling the unique smell of freshly printed paper.
But despite all this nostalgia, we must appreciate how technology has introduced millions of people around the world to the joy of reading and the knowledge it brings. Now technology is advancing, enabling a new generation of co-written novels that promise a new kind of pleasure.
Credit : www.newsbtc.com
