A Year of New Challenges & Possibilities — 2021 In Review

As 2021 comes to a close, it’s time to look back at what happened in the creative economy and with us in 2021. Here’s a quick recap which we are happy to share with you.

NFTs

With sales crossing over $23 billion, NFTs has become the new buzzword in the tech and creative community. JPG files sold for millions of dollars, celebrities launched their collection, and NFT has been named “Word of the Year” by Collins Dictionary. However, many believe the current implantation is holding NFTs from moving from a fad to an impactful technology.

TikTok

While reach is rapidly dropping on Facebook’s platforms, TikTok took over the top spot as the most visited website from Google and the most downloaded app from Instagram. Over the past year, TikTok promoted itself as a platform for free expression, yet the lack of transparency in content moderation leaves many questions unanswered.

Metaverse

Until recently, one could conclude that 2021 hype is synonymous with NFTs, but after Facebook changed its name, attention was turned to this “new” concept. Metaverse refers to a 3D simulation of the internet where virtual avatars can interact and meet each other. Although the idea is still years (or perhaps decades) away from reality, an online land rush has already begun among tech-savvy investors to buy virtual property in the metaverse.

Creators

Today, over 50 million people consider themselves content creators. The current digital lifestyle offers creators new opportunities to reach a global audience and monetize their content. 2021 was the year when “Subscribe to Me” became a common way of work, Gen Z joined the consumer content market, and the creator economy went mainstream.

What we’ve accomplished this year

At Kelp, we’re wrapping up the year of big transitions, challenges, and above all, ambitious goals. In 2021 we’ve doubled the size of our team, got selected among the most promising deep-tech startups in the media sector, and have been working hard developing solid tech to make Kelp functionality possible. This year, we’ve launched the test Network for Anagolay, released Kelp private Alpha, and implemented re-hosting on IPFS to make sure the proofs of your copyright & ownership can always be verified, anytime, from anywhere — on Earth or Mars!

We’re looking forward to starting 2022 with plenty of exciting news that we can’t wait to share.

Until then, happy holidays to everyone who followed along. Enjoy these days with your loved ones. 🎄🌟