Q&A: Pierina Merino on Social Utility in a Web3 World

FlickPlay is a play-to-earn metaverse social app that overlays the real word

article-image

FlickPlay founder Pierina Merino | Source: FlickPlay

share

key takeaways

  • FlickPlay has partnered with the Downtown Santa Monica District and signer Katy Perry, and others
  • “At the end of the day, it’s all about what you own,” says FlickPlay founder

Think TikTok and Pokemon Go, but add in NFTs. That’s FlickPlay — a mobile application that combines the user experience of a short-form video social media platform with an element of augmented reality (AR). 

Behind the app is founder Pierina Merino, who believes that the digital collectibles we own are storytelling and identity-building tools. 

FlickPlay users across three dozen US cities can use the AR camera to create videos and capture NFTs or Flickys — part of the “FlickyGang” avatar collection developed in partnership with The Sandbox. The more NFTs collected, the more rewards earned that unlock redeemable physical items at retailers and locations throughout the city district.

FlickPlay was recently chosen to be one of the six companies to join the current cohort of the 2022 Disney Accelerator Program, a business development program.

Merino spoke with Blockworks about FlickPlay’s long-term vision and its recent decision to onboard NFT brands including Pudgy Penguins NFT project, Snoop Dogg’s The Doggies from The Sandbox, and Spanish artist Edgar Plans’ Lil’ Heroes.


Blockworks: Why did you choose to work with these particular NFT brands? How do you evaluate creators?

Merino: FlickPlay wants to engage with communities and creators that are truly proponents of Web3 and who are genuinely interested in evolving the use case for NFTs and metaverse driven endeavors. We want to work with creators who have cultivated a robust community of Web3 enthusiasts that are heavily involved in solidifying their brands and pushing beyond the JPEG narrative. 

Blockworks: How can FlickPlay help users grow their social status and measure the value and utility of their NFTs?

Merino: So our vision is to become the platform that connects digital [intellectual property] to the real world and that overlays a digital layer where Web3 IP and Web2 IP come together and interact within one seamless ecosystem. At the end of the day, it’s all about what you own, and how you choose to tell your story can amplify your connection to those items, to their potential utility.

By creating videos on FlickPlay, the ranking of your NFTs will inherently increase based on the likes, views and Flickcoins the videos receive. This allows NFT holders to speculate not only on the rarity of the NFT collection but also on the NFT’s social ranking. 

Owners can position their NFT from a collection as number one in the social ranking. This means that communities will essentially define the value of their NFTs. This is the next generation of content creators. This feature will also allow for communities to storytell with their NFTs in the real world, flexing their NFTs in their favorite locations. 

Blockworks: What are some of the challenges with traditional social media platforms that FlickPlay addresses and hopes to improve on? 

Merino: FlickPlay has always been authentically involved in creating a space for Web3 and NFT enthusiasts to congregate and push community interaction beyond popular forums like Twitter, Telegram and Discord. Through FlickPlay NFT projects, communities, and creators can truly bring their NFTs to life, grow the popularity and value of their collection through social engagement and create new levels of utility through token-gated competitions and leaderboards. 

Blockworks: What advancements need to happen to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology for more people to start using it on a daily basis?

Merino: AR needs to have a seamless experience to become fully integrated for everyday use with a purpose. What is encouraging users to engage with AR overlays? We already see the use of filters and special geotags on popular social platforms, so the focus needs to be on evolving the technology and software that goes along with augmented reality to make it more efficient for everyday use.

I’ve been very curious to see how the overall ecosystem is thinking about it — what tools are being introduced? What underlying technology or integrations have been built to power the consumer experience? 

We shouldn’t be thinking about how we’re going to make people sit at their desks and just be in goggles the whole day. That might happen within a few years from now, but that’s not how we’re going to hit mass adoption.


Don’t miss the next big story – join our free daily newsletter.

Tags

Upcoming Events

HYATT REGENCY SALT LAKE CITY

TUES, OCT. 8, 2024

Guided by the expertise of Blockworks Research Analysts team, this one day event will feature senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and developers from across the crypto industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience to explore the latest trends, […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains […]

recent research

hivemapper.jpeg

Research

We believe crypto market participants overlook Hivemapper’s fundamental potential due to a poor understanding of both the niche map data market and Hivemapper’s positioning relative to incumbents. Hivemapper’s token model catalyzes both a cost and product advantage via unmatched map freshness and near real-time accuracy, which is its wedge into a market characterized by stale data and high data collection costs. Its current and potential future product suite may represent one of the strongest possibilities for PMF in crypto today.

article-image

👨‍⚖️ SBF’s courtroom sequel: Plus, Coinbase’s legal loss was DeFi’s gain

article-image

Public mining companies have been acquiring sites, refreshing machine fleets and diversifying business models in preparation for the event

article-image

Exploit shows centralization can sometimes be an asset

article-image

The Fidelity Ethereum Fund, like other proposed ETH ETFs, seeks to stake a portion of its assets, according to the firm’s Wednesday registration statement

article-image

The DAO first voted on enabling SAFE transfers over a year ago