Helping You Connect the Dots to Succeed Faster
WGAN-TV: Now Playing
Next on WGAN-TV Live at 5
Free WGAN Map
Locations of Matterport Pro3 Camera Service Providers and see the number of Matterport Pro3s and/or BLK360s for each Matterport Pro.
View WGAN Map
Contact Info
Locations of Matterport Pro3 Camera Service Providers and see name, company, website, email and mobile phone for each Matterport Pro.
Join WGAN Sponsor
Get on the Map | A Service of We Get Around Network (not affiliated with Matterport)
One Order  |  One Quote  |  One Contact
Book Multiple GLOBAL Commercial Locations
  • ✔  As-Builts
  • ✔  Construction Progress
  • ✔  Facilities Management
Last 24 Hours: 713 Unique Visitors
9,032 WGAN Members in 148 Countries
Last 30 Days: 38,564 Page Views | 18,538 Unique Visitors | 38 New Members
We Get Around Network Forum
Quick Start | WGAN Forum
AuctionsDigital Twin CreatorNFTNonFungible TokensPricingStrategyTipsVirtual Reality

Auctioning a Matterport NFT (for $187,000 or more)15263

Worldof3D private msg quote post Address this user


NFT Offered for this Matterport digital twin

Dan encouraged me to share with the group an experiment I have been running with a small team here in Silicon Valley with targeting properties to scan for NFTs or non-fungible tokens.

We worked with a very special restaurant in Woodside, CA called Buck's to document its extensive and colorful history and place in the Valley. I have attached the NFT brochure which tells of the incredible stories of the place - where Tesla, Hotmail, Netscape, Paypal, and so many other companies were formed or funded over morning breakfasts there with VCs. Without recounting the whole of the brochure here, needless to say, the history runs very deep in this 30 table restaurant.

Our business thesis was that targeted and marketed the right way, 3D models, which help retain and retell these powerful stories, would trade more as a valuable collectible than for its utility as Matterport traditionally is.

I scanned the establishment with a Pro2. It was painful to build 117 Mattertags including photos, videos, weblinks, etc. but this was key. A lot of historical research went into the project. The result is, some say, a fairly magical museum-like walk-thru. We learned a ton, found some Matterport bugs along the way, but were overall pleased. There are a number of things that I wish I did differently in the model, but in the end, I must remind myself that this was a prototype project and that learning was precisely the point. We worked with Alchemy.io to wrap and issue the actual NFT and then OpenSea.io for the auction.

The NFT dropped this afternoon [Monday, 19 July 2021] and has already picked up a bid of about 103 ETH or $187,000 at the time of bid. So the original thesis is holding out as the model is trading as an art form now and not for its utility. We are running the auction for 31 more days.
Post 1 IP   flag post
yrashk private msg quote post Address this user
Great stuff! Just wondering how does the ownership of the digital twin work in relation to the fact that Matterport scans are hosted by Matterport and are effectively inseparable from their cloud product?
Post 2 IP   flag post
CAPTUR3D
Team
Melbourne, Australia
AlexHitchcock private msg quote post Address this user
Hi @Worldof3D this is awesome, thank you for sharing! I understand this is an early days experiment to get a feel for how Matterport models can exist within the NFT realm, but is this on any Blockchain at all? Would there be any issues with the fact that Matterport technically still has ultimate ownership? Thanks again, and it's great to see movements now being made like this within this space.
Post 3 IP   flag post
Worldof3D private msg quote post Address this user
Thank you. I struggle with the separability issue at times myself and fretted over how it could affect sales. But I thought about it this way. Matterport owns the canvas and we own the paint, but the fact is, the paint and canvas are inseparable. I mean to say, we simply would not have the responsiveness, the fluidity and "Fischer-Price Simplicity" without the unified model that Matteport has. Costs more, and feels claustrophobic but it does seem to work better than the rest.

Now we have a risk section at the end of the brochure which covers the fact that the model is fused to Matterport with the exception of Showcase. This seemed to be enough.
Post 4 IP   flag post
Worldof3D private msg quote post Address this user
@AlexHitchcock Thank you. Yes, this is on the Ethereum Blockchain. The address details are on the auction site below. I am not sure what you mean by Matterport having ultimate ownership? True that if they cease to exist in theory, there would be no more model. But this "decimation" scenario is hard to imagine at this point as the company is now gaining critical mass.

But over my artwork, Matterport does not hold worrisome ownership rights IMHO. Copyright is squarely with me.

clickable text
Post 5 IP   flag post
GarySnyder private msg quote post Address this user
@Worldof3D I do not understand why you decided to go with MP when you could have done this and more with several other solutions on the market and your bidder would have own the code and could host the tour on the platform of their choice.

I would seriously considering migrating this brilliant virtual tour over to a platform you solely own. If you wish to discuss this PM me.

Congratulation on a brilliant piece of living art.
Post 6 IP   flag post
CharlesHH private msg quote post Address this user
This is awesome and I love the idea.

I would worry about the whole thing being under the control of Matterport. If their servers go down, or if they are sold, or major changes in 5 years to the platform hosting.
Or what happens if something happens to you. God forbid but these things happen. I had a client and his previous MSP closed without warning due to bankruptcy so they stopped paying the subscription and their tours disappeared. MP would not release any details allowing us to contact the MSP and there was no way they would hand anything over to us or to the client who had paid for the tour.
Post 7 IP   flag post
Worldof3D private msg quote post Address this user
@GarySnyder Thank you for your kind words.
Your points are definitely well understood and something considered. For the first experimental NFT, we were betting that the simplicity of the unified platform that Matterport provides would provide benefits that outweigh the potential downsides of platform lock-in.

Truth be known however, for the next project which has up to 25 sites in it, we are considering alternative platforms for many reasons - platform flexibility being one. I would love to share some notes with you on this topic.
Post 8 IP   flag post
Worldof3D private msg quote post Address this user
@CharlesHH Thank you for the words of encouragement.
We took a calculated bet that the value of Matterport is actually based upon the accessibility of their 5+M scans in their database. As such, we figured that under all potential future scenarios we could imagine as plausible, the scans would never be simply shut down. But this is technology and a lot can happen in 5-10 years no matter what tech we went with. This is why we put heavy disclaimers on the NFT.

My existence should not affect the future of the NFT. The new owner will have total control in their own account once the auction is finalized.
Post 9 IP   flag post
JPmover private msg quote post Address this user
Impressive work Jonathan, congratulations certainly mind blowing. I couldn’t agree more with you that this is the kind of innovation that the industry is going towards. Definitely NFT is opening a new world of opportunities and thta will create creative business models for several industries and not only RE.

Looking forward to how this first test develops and hope you keep on amazing us with your work.

I also agree that choosing Matterport is a good bet as any other platform with the difference that 5+ MM models hosted is a pretty strong argument.
Post 10 IP   flag post
Worldof3D private msg quote post Address this user
This past week the auction closed for the Buck's of Woodside Immersive 3D NFT. The final bid was 105 ETH or about $340,000 in USD equivalent at the time of closing.

We learned a lot about creating and marketing high-value NFTs throughout the whole process. To the best of our collective knowledge and research, this was the first Matterport NFT sold.

I already have a team named and plans underway to attempt to build, market and auction a collection of up to 25 locations in another follow-on experiment with the medium. The test marketing of the concept has proved positive thus far.

Folks in this thread have brought up relevant and valuable points of consideration about using Matterport for NFTs which we are indeed carefully considering before embarking on the next project. Thank you all for this input.

Come back with any questions.

Finally, for some good laughs about NFTs and all the hype around them, SNL does a great job of poking fun. clickable text
Post 11 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Queensland, Australia
Wingman private msg quote post Address this user
Are you saying you have sold your tour for 105 ETHs?
Post 12 IP   flag post
Worldof3D private msg quote post Address this user
@Wingman Yes, that is correct.

Here is the link to the auction site. clickable text
Post 13 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Queensland, Australia
Wingman private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Worldof3D
@Wingman Yes, that is correct.

OMG, some people are just nuts and we should all try to catch a few of them while we can :-)

I have been going to do it but not exactly with 3D Matterport tours more like with 360 degree art.
Post 14 IP   flag post
Worldof3D private msg quote post Address this user
@Wingman The key in this instance was to work closely with the site's owner to create a fully interactive product (lots of Mattertags with media) of a very famous/valuable place and then introducing scarcity. Matterport wasn't even mentioned in the marketing material except in the footnotes of caveats at the end. So we were selling the historical experience in a modern medium that hit a chord.

Since there was just one bidder, we can't show a pattern in pricing. I think after the next experiment, we will be able to establish a market price.

Admittedly this was the most Silicon Valley NFT ever. The next experiment is outside the Valley so who knows?
Post 15 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Queensland, Australia
Wingman private msg quote post Address this user
I bet some of the key figures from previous visitors of this place has bought it from you as a sentimental value. It is just hard to guess on what they are planning to return their investment if it is something else. Plus in this particular case it cannot be considered as a unique tour of the place as they can scan it themselves to create a similar one.

The ownership and uniqueness that are two factors that are steering me towards a 360 digital art. At least it can be made unique and can be presented as a single digital file.
Post 16 IP   flag post
inmerso3D private msg quote post Address this user
@Worldof3D

Amazing, congratulations.

Not only for the sale value (which is very good), but for the idea and the execution of the idea.

What direction this takes, we don't know.

It is a good debate of the forum regarding matterport, surely a solution will come out to this, but the idea is still great.

Successes!
Post 17 IP   flag post
Worldof3D private msg quote post Address this user
@Wingman This piece was positioned and definitely sold as an art/sentimental piece vs. for its economic utility (a scan).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wingman
it cannot be considered as a unique tour of the place as they can scan it themselves to create a similar one.
.
This is not true for two reasons making this offering a one-of-a-kind. Aside from the fact that contractually no one else may get physical access to scan the place in the future, Buck's just had a change of ownership and will never again have the walls adorned as they are (half of which makes Buck's historical).

More importantly, much of the copyrighted IP is actually in the Mattertags. The 117 tags have photos and stories and backgrounds which make this model an experience. These are proprietary and made available only through the partnership with the owner of the restaurant with whom I created the project.

Make sense?
Post 18 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Queensland, Australia
Wingman private msg quote post Address this user
Do not you think if somebody comes there and offer the owner $10K just to have a place to themselves for a day to scan it he will not accept it? I would if it was me unless I'd be getting something from your sale.

Your tags are unique..no doubts with these.. but they are inside another media that technically can be replicated. The question is more like "has your tour been purchased because of a tour of a real place to remind somebody about time spent there or it has been sold because of combination of a tour and all extra information displayed in tags?". I guess we will never know that part.

Also these tours can be shared unless they are made private and now anyone who have seen your post here and on MOUG can simply copy a tour link. So unless the new owner makes it private or protect it with a password they have no control who is looking at it and when/where.
Post 19 IP   flag post
Worldof3D private msg quote post Address this user
@Wingman The restaurant owner was very much tied to this project. For the reasons you stated, this was essential.

I am not sure about your assertion that someone may screen grab the copyrighted media, replicate and sell it.

It is hard to overestimate the historical significance that this little establishment has seen and had on Silicon Valley and, in fact, the world really if you consider all the products that started on its tables like this web browser for instance. This NFT is a unique asset for sure and someone wanted to make sure it was preserved and liked the very modern way that it was. Maybe they are anticipating one day adding it to the metaverse in some way? Who knows. But what we do know is that Matterport can be leveraged to create things that are perceived as and traded like a form of modern art. That is a pretty cool finding and opens up my thinking for the next project.
Post 20 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Queensland, Australia
Wingman private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Worldof3D
I am not sure about your assertion that someone may screen grab the copyrighted media, replicate and sell it.


Not sell, distribute(share) it online without any way for the owner to block such thing unless it is password protected or private.
Post 21 IP   flag post
CharlesHH private msg quote post Address this user
@Wingman one of the weird things about NFTs is that you can make a video and post it on YouTube where it is seen by 10 million viewers. Then you can sell the original mp4 file as an NFT and keep the video on YouTube.
Similarly you can sell a photograph as a nft. But you still retain the copyright and the buyer does not have the rights to make and sell prints from the image. But he owns it.
Post 22 IP   flag post
101428 22 22
This topic is archived. Start new topic?