This article is interesting as it is most likely the start of something that will soon affect us all. VC have started their first experiment with what you might call ‘digital papers’, using a blockchain.
What does this mean exactly, for those not already familiar with the concept? Basically, we have the old idea that ‘papers’ and perhaps a box might help to authenticate a watch, which is hilariously outdated as it’s so easy to copy anything these days. So it makes more sense to keep the record of the owner of the watch in a blockchain, as used for Bitcoins and the like, an indelible record distributed in the internet. This ownership can be transferred, but only by the current owner. It will be interesting to see exactly how they’ve implemented it. I would expect variations on this to become a very common for almost all goods in the near future. So while this may seem obscure, it’s the start of something big.
To gaze into the crystal ball a little further, my prediction would be that within a few years, when you buy a Rolex or similar value watch, you’ll also be getting an app to authenticate your ownership, and you’ll create a password that allows you to transfer the ownership, as recorded in the blockchain. I’d also expect that the authenticated ownership will give you a bunch of other benefits too via the app, eg exclusive airport lounges, discounts, members events, tickets for sporting events and concerts, VIP passes etc, as this is what will differentiate owning a genuine watch from a near identical fake. The fake owner won’t be able to jump the queue and get in places for free, which publicly outs the fake wearer. I believe the big brands will have to do this in a world where it will be increasingly impossible to make anything that can’t be perfectly faked, the only exception being the blockchain itself. The watch becomes something like a luxury lifestyle VIP wrist band, most likely with levels of privilege depending on the value of the watch. Clearly these kinds of promotions already exist for credit cards and mobile phones, so it’s almost inevitable that tracking ownership digitally with an app would open up the same marketing opportunities - only in a more exclusive, public and showy way. That’s not a world I particularly look forward to, but I do believe it’s coming.