While most of the tech industry is buzzing about the metaverse, many people are still left scratching their heads as to why we should be living digital lives. And that's okay, according to Blokhaus CMO Mark Soares.

"You should be skeptical of new things," Soares said. "Nothing wrong with that." 

Blokhaus is the marketing agency helping people understand energy-efficient blockchain Tezos. It also means proving the metaverse, NFTs, and all its lingo actually make sense in our day-to-day lives. 

"My personal take on it is that it's the evolution of technology," Soares explained. 

At the Block/Space by Tezos exhibit at 2022 South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, visitors got to see futuristic and practical applications of NFTs and augmented reality to help them further understand the digital world. 

In the Blue Vishnu room, for example, people could take 3D photos of themselves using a 97-photo scanner. That image would then be minted on the Tezos blockchain and turned into a 1-of-1 NFT. While the pictures taken at the festival were for fun, Blue Vishnu's portable device can also be used to capture authenticated images for a variety of places, ranging from movie sets to medical offices. For instance, instead of going to a doctor's office, someone could step inside, take a photo, and their medical professional can rest assured these images came from the correct individual. 

Digital wearable company Flex gave away NFT sneakers to attendees, and let them try on other futuristic, snake-inspired shoes using augmented reality (AR). The company hopes to expand to other items of clothing. Using their AR technology — called Vyking — a person wearing the AR glasses would be able to see you wearing all of your NFTs while you may be wearing a normal outfit to the naked eye. For now, Vyking is being used by virtual try-on-at-home services by companies like Adidas and Crocs. 

"When we have AR glasses, then the whole body will just become the canvas for self-expression and augmentation," Flex co-founder Matt Klimpke said. 

Other exhibitors like Interpop comics allow anyone to read their publication, but NFT owners have a say in the story. They vote on future storylines, deciding whether characters live or die. 

"An NFT is basically proof of ownership, and proof of ownership is proof of fandom," Blokhaus' Soares said. "And proof of fandom is really, really powerful because it can bring communities together." 

With that in mind, the metaverse isn't meant to be a scary thing. It's intended to enhance what we already love about the real world. 
"It's not meant to replace real human interaction," he pointed out. "It's meant to facilitate it, and make it more intuitive to communicate in the digital realm."

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