Interest In The Metaverse And NFTs Has Decreased Overall, Inspiring Memes About The Purported Failing Of The Industries
It was reported by Forbes yesterday that Google search trends are showing a decrease in interest regarding the Metaverse and NFTs over the past few months. This has led many creators online who dislike both industries to stomp on them in the form of memes, assuming this insight translates to the industry crumbling.
— Eris (@Eris1294) March 9, 2022
Although Twitter users like @RealYouTubeKids alerted about it last week, it wasn't until Forbes posted a tweet yesterday that the discussion really took off. NFT dislikes subsequently quote retweeted and replied to the discovery en masse.
wow who couldve seen this coming https://t.co/2cwm8GcAv9
— Nathaniel Bandy (@NathanielBandy1) March 15, 2022
i want to make another digital magazine pic.twitter.com/ewcYHGmi2b
— pღris (@solarishilton) March 15, 2022
"Rehash of something with little innovation to set it apart from its predecessors isn't popular" pic.twitter.com/lvY2aLuTDL
— Psalmbody once told me (@JustAnything65) March 14, 2022
— Psalmbody once told me (@JustAnything65) March 14, 2022
— Shadowking58 #BringRaymanBack (@mariofan48) March 14, 2022
Of course, the Hexagonal PFPs and Bored Apes on Twitter retaliated with their own mounting evidence, but they were often met with resistance more than their opponents. Insults flew regarding getting ratioed, as both teams fought about what was relevant and what was obsolete.
That's not fair in the least. Beanie Babies are a thing that actually exists, and Pet Rocks can serve a valuable purpose, like being thrown through the windows of Facebook executives.
— Gibbons, the lot of you (@ShishOnTheRocks) March 14, 2022
(thanks @TeenageStepdad) pic.twitter.com/5ihwALZu96
— Friday Night Music Party is people, it's people! (@BereftOfTheDial) March 14, 2022
I think I speak for all Americans when I say NFTs are still the future!
— 🇷🇺NFT quinu (ethereum counter: 213)🇷🇺 (@quinuownsfrauds) March 15, 2022
— Queen_Laura (@QueenLa45658596) March 14, 2022
Get ratio'd by Barry Buff Benson. pic.twitter.com/2yVIvb8PiA
— Samicable (@verysamicable) March 15, 2022
While Forbes' headline certainly sounds like good news for the non-cryptopilled among us, their supporting data isn't quite air-tight.
"Despite an initial surge in usage of the buzzwords, interest in both concepts appears to be sharply declining, at least according to Google search trends, which have been seeing deep downward turns for both terms," writes Gassi.
Gassi, a video game journalist, also notes that the consistent criticism publishers have received for dabbling with NFTs has scared other publishers away from the controversial practice.
There are myriad ways to interpret a Google Trends graph. The peak of "Metaverse" came shortly after Facebook seemed to go all-in on the concept with their rebrand to Meta, though they haven't provided much in the way of a concrete plan on implementing the Metaverse into society's day-to-day life. It's unclear why searches for NFTs dropped after January, but it is possible society at large has caught up to understanding the concept of NFTs and has ceased Googling just what the heck they are.
Forbes may be farming engagement by tweeting a catchy headline, even if their supporting evidence is relatively light. In June of 2021, Protos reported the NFT bubble had burst and received a similar response as Forbes' article has. The data supporting their claim was also suspect: Protos compared a wild outlier of a day when $102 million worth of NFTs were sold, 500% higher than the second-highest day at the time, to the usual sale data, and concluded that interest had dropped 90%. Obviously, NFTs didn't go anywhere over the next nine months.
From this most recent discussion, it seems that NFTs in meme circles are still frowned upon by many. The celebration regarding the update is proof of this, highlighted by trends like Screenshotting NFTs and Flipped NFTs, among others attempting to clown on the new art form.
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