Introducing ňow media: The Future of Tokenized Media

Much has changed since we founded nft now in January 2021.

Our mission has not.

From day one, we have been devoted to empowering the creators of culture and bringing the web3 movement from niche to mainstream. It’s time to double down on the latter.

We are proud to announce our evolution to now media. It’s an important step forward in our journey from being a media company covering web3 to a media conglomerate powered by web3. What does this mean for us? 

We are ushering in the age of tokenized media

We have been vocal about why web2 media is broken and how tokenized media will help digital publishers expand in a new age of content creation and consumption, revenue sources, and community retention.

now media is our answer to an archaic industry plagued by misaligned incentives, broken business models, and declining trust from the readers and brands that once made it a shining beacon.

We are building a future where tokenized media becomes the standard for digital publishers. Recognizing this shift and integrating this technology is crucial for media companies to remain relevant, factual, and impactful.

The truth must be verified in the age of AI misinformation, fake news, and content manipulation. The past year has seen a troubling rise in misinformation, from fake articles and deepfakes targeting celebrities to AI-generated images spreading on social media and moving markets. As AI develops, it will be increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction, and proving content’s origin and authenticity will only become more critical — especially entering an election year.

By leveraging the blockchain’s immutable ledger, tokenized media ensures proof of provenance. Each piece of content can carry a clear and unchangeable record of its creation, edits, and distribution. Verified authenticity will become an indisputable industry standard, empowering publishers to certify that their content is genuine and enabling readers to confirm it easily.

Starting today (Oct. 10, 2023), we will tokenize at least one piece of media daily using our proprietary web3 CMS Sovereignty™ – beginning with this article.

We are expanding into new categories

As we usher this movement into the mainstream, we recognize the need to expand beyond limiting terminologies to embrace the wide range of coverage topics at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and culture.

ňft now

Don’t worry – nft now is not going anywhere.

nft now is the award-winning digital media platform building the future of tokenized media. As a flagship brand in now media’s portfolio, nft now will continue to serve and expand its offerings for the web3 community with industry-leading news, features, analysis, podcasts, videos, and more. 

Over the past quarter, we published more than 360 articles, launched an exclusive docuseries on CryptoPunks in partnership with Yuga Labs, and wrapped the nft now podcast’s second season with marquee guests like Beeple, Sam Spratt, and Krista Kim — with the latter marking our first tokenized episode.

ňow Runway

Launched during Paris Fashion Week in March 2023, Now Runway is our vertical covering the frontlines of the digital fashion and luxury movement. We hosted the brand’s debut event during the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris and its first panel programming at Gateway Korea. 

We believe digital fashion and luxury will continue to play a significant role in driving mainstream adoption and plan to continue developing the property to include a dedicated newsletter, podcast, social channels, and more.

ňow AI

Recognizing the AI revolution’s disruptive power and transformative potential, we launched our Now AI channel in July 2023. Now AI covers the latest developments in the fast-paced field of AI and its intersection with the creative economy across editorial and social.

Now AI will continue to grow with a newsletter offering alongside tutorials and features. We will continue implementing AI-powered elements into our daily workflow to empower our team to work smarter and more efficiently.

We are growing existing properties

As part of our evolution to now media, we are doubling down on the properties that we’ve become known for. From content and community to experiential and beyond, we are committed to strengthening the pillars of our growing ecosystem.

Gateway

Launched in 2021, Gateway is the premier digital art experience bringing web3 culture to the mainstream market. Fresh off Gateway Korea’s successful debut, which featured more than 100 leading artists and speakers and drew over 4,500 attendees, we are bringing Gateway Miami to South Beach’s Faena Forum from Dec. 6-8 during Art Basel Miami.

This will be our third edition of Gateway Miami, following last year’s five-day festival during Miami Basel that welcomed 12,000 visitors and featured leading brand partners such as Christie’s, Instagram (Meta), Porsche, FaZe Clan, RTFKT, Art Blocks, Alo Yoga,  WME, MetaMask, 9dcc by gmoney and more.

Gateway Korea is just the beginning of the property’s global expansion. We look forward to bringing Gateway to new markets and continuing to put digital art front and center where it belongs. 

ňow 100

In April 2023, we unveiled the second annual NFT100 list, recognizing 100 influential creators and 100 community leaders for achievements over the past year in web3. For the second straight year, we hosted the NFT100 Gala in New York City at Rockefeller Center’s iconic Rainbow Room to celebrate honorees. 

Selected by our editorial department alongside nominations from Now Pass holders, the franchise is an unranked showcase informed by a holistic blend of data points and editorial judgment to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the space’s diverse talents with a focus on achievements over the past year.

As we embrace our evolution to now media, we are rebranding the franchise as the Now 100 with an eye toward its expansion into new categories and disciplines. Stay tuned for exciting announcements around its 2024 edition.

ňow Pass

The Now Pass is the membership pass to the Now Network, the foundation for our initiatives to build the future of tokenized media and pioneer a community-centric media model. The Now Pass unlocks exclusive content, rewards, access, and more.

Over the past two quarters, we’ve brought Now Pass holders together in seven markets across three continents, given exclusive access to our flagship events like Gateway and NFT100, and exhibited community artwork in our global showcases. Last month at Gateway Korea, we airdropped holders our first tokenized podcast episode with Krista Kim, which will unlock rewards with the launch of the Now Network Member Portal.  

This is just the beginning. By participating and contributing to the Now Network’s next chapter, holders will earn XP points that unlock rewards in partnership with leading artists and brands, exclusive opportunities across our network, and much more.

ňext up

Next Up is our regular franchise dedicated to rising creators. From our weekly feature series to curated showcases at our global events, we spotlight ascendant talents making waves in web3. We launched the property in January 2022 with 22 artists to watch, nearly all of whom have gone on to take the space by storm. 

Since then, we have featured over 120 rising artists, curated Next Up artists at Gateway Miami and Gateway Korea, and brought Next Up panels to conferences like Consensus, Outer Edge, and beyond. 

The future of media is now

Our evolution to now media is a significant step forward in building a better media model based on verifiable authenticity and digital sovereignty.

We are embracing the era of tokenized media, a paradigm shift that guarantees transparency and authenticity in an age where the truth must be verified.

We are doubling down on our storytelling properties to further our mission to empower the creators of culture and bring the web3 movement from niche to mainstream.

We are expanding into new domains to underscore our commitment to covering diverse subjects intersecting with storytelling, technology, and culture.

We are dedicated to serving our community’s varied interests while propelling these transformative technologies into the mainstream.

The future of media is now. 

Sincerely, 

Matt Medved & Alejandro Navia
Co-Founders of now media