The craze for NFT has been growing for the last several months as crypto investors are spending tens of millions of dollars on digital art that only exists in the ether. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' handwritten job application from 1973 is up for sale, with an option to buy either an NFT version or the original document. It has been termed as the world's first physical vs NFT auction.
The one-page application was prepared after Jobs dropped out of Reed College, and three years before he co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976, CNBC reported.
Although it does not tell about any position or the company he was applying for, it says he was interested in electronics tech or design engineer positions.
He had listed his skills as computer and calculator experience. Jobs went on to co-found Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976.
Which Do We Value More, The Physical or The Digital?
Official website of the Steve Jobs' Job Application says, "As we approach the 50th anniversary of Steve Jobs putting pen to paper to apply for potentially his first job, less than a decade before he went on to lay some of the key foundations of our current digital world, we're now at a crossroad that he's undoubtedly influenced. Which do we value more, The Physical or The Digital?"
Steve Jobs vs Steve Jobs
The auction website says that it aims to explore the value of real copy and the digital world. It says, "This is a notepad vs a laptop (a scroll vs an iPhone even). It's the past vs. the future. This is not Beeple vs Picasso, that is a question of taste - and is ultimately subjective. This is Steve Jobs vs Steve Jobs."
The website conveys that both the editions (physical and digital) will be identical yet entirely unique. "Same creator, same job application, same aesthetic, same opening price, same piece of history. The only difference - their medium", it says. This allows both markets to go head-to-head and battle the fundamental question, which one?
London-based Entrepreneur Starts This Competition between Physical and Digital Worlds
The auction is being organised by Olly Joshi and will close at 5 pm ET on July 28. Joshi is a London-based entrepreneur. He expressed his views in a column in which he said, "Unless you have been living under a rock, you will have probably heard about the colossal rise of NFTs over the past 6 months." Joshi informed that they have partnered with the leading NFT marketplace Rarible to host the NFT auction and auction software provider Snoofa to host the physical auction.
Use of NFTs Has Become Mainstream
NFT stand for Non-fungible token. NFT is a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art, music, in-game items and videos. They are bought and sold online, frequently with cryptocurrency, and they are generally encoded with the same underlying software as many cryptos.
While describing the significance of NFTs, Bloomberg says that the world is witnessing the beginning of a whole new genre of art and a new generation of art patrons.
From humble beginnings as a fringe hobby, the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has become mainstream — as seen in the acquisition of an image collage by digital artist Beeple for $69.3m, reported Al Jazeera. The original 2007 video "Charlie Bit My Finger," became an internet sensation and was also in the news due to its NFT connection.
