#More NFTs on the way. Apple, Facebook and CVS want to help you get your COVID-19 vaccination

NFTs … They are still hot.

You have likely heard about how NFTs, or “non-fungible tokens,” have become the hot trend in pop culture and business. These digital certificates of ownership, recorded on distributed ledgers or blockchains have been issued to, most famously, certify a piece of digital art, which sold for nearly $70 million at auction. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s first tweet, also was purchased for more than $2.9 million.

Sports has got into NFTs with NBA Top Shots, short highlight videos, some selling for thousands including a LeBron James dunk that fetched $208,000. The company behind them has announced an influx of $305 million in funding, with Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant among the investors.

Video games are getting into NFTs, too, with a recent auction of special items devoted to Atari classic games such as Pong and Centipede.

Musicians are not standing by idly. Last month, Kings of Leon issued NFT versions of their most recent album “When You See Yourself,” and music from as diverse a lineup as Snoop Dogg, Lindsay Lohan and The Weeknd have NFTs working.

This weekend, the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, scheduled for September 2-5 in Manchester, Tennessee, begins auctioning off NFTs for a special animated version of the festival lineup and five animated copies of festival mascot “Rufus.”

Barbadian singer Shontelle has an interesting story behind her embrace of NFTs. As one of, if not the first, Black woman musician to issue NFTs for special music and other items, she hopes to be an example as she breaks new ground. “Just follow me (and) you won’t be relying so much on ‘the man’,” she said in an interview recently.

Are NFTs for collectors or investors—or both? Shontelle hopes to find out when her items go up for auction April 8-11.

What else happened in tech

—It’s getting easier to track down where you can get a COVID-19 vaccination thanks to digital tools from government agencies and companies such as CVS and Walmart, and online sources such as Apple Maps and Facebook.

—And once you get your vaccination, Facebook has a new “I got my COVID-19 vaccine” profile frames to decorate your profile photo.

—Google Maps is going indoors. A new augmented reality feature will help you find your way should you get lost inside a mall or airport.

(c)2021 U.S. Today
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.