You may not remember the Hive #NFT quick dive I wrote a handful of months ago... but it's about time I followed up. I have a few uneventful updates, and there are also two other minting options that I discovered. So let's dive in... again!
Some of you might not even be aware that we can mint our own NFTs here in the #Hive ecosystem. There are multiple options, each with its own cost and currency. In my first post, I was considering the possible use cases of the different platforms...
And trying to get whitelisted everywhere, of course!
As a reference-- or if you didn't get a chance to read it at the time-- feel free to check out my original quick dive RIGHT HERE. There are more specific overviews and detailed pricing info which I won't really get into this time around.
The Hive NFT Recap
I found SEVEN different NFT-minting platforms in my original dive... and as I mentioned in the intro, I stumbled upon two more options to add to the pile. So let's quickly run down the list before I get into the underwhelming developments.
Here are the original seven NFT-minting platforms:
MEMEHIVE
PALNET
HIVELIST
CINETV
LENSY
DLUX
NFT SHOWROOM
And here are the two new additions:
WEEDCASH
HIVE IMAGES
The first three outposts-- MEMEHIVE, PALNET and HIVELIST-- are the only ones at which I have been whitelisted to mint NFTs... which was also the case five months ago when I first wrote about it.
In short... nothing has changed.
IMAGE C/O LEVI MEIR CLANCY ON UNSPLASH.
Hive NFT Woes
I applied for whitelisting on both CINETV and LENSY, but I haven't heard back from either of them. It's disappointing because I feel like these are two of the better use cases for NFTs... pop culture and photography!
I never did figure out how to apply for DLUX whitelisting, so I'm setting that aside for now... and I've already put the NFT SHOWROOM into its own formidable, more professional category that requires a better portfolio than I have at the moment.
As I emphasized the first time around though: I highly recommend the NFT SHOWROOM for anyone who is serious about art and #NFTs. It is the premiere marketplace, no question... but you pay a higher price for it, and I believe their whitelisting process would involve a deeper level of scrutiny.
Don't take my word for it though... check it all out for yourself if it's something that interests you! Be sure to let me know in the comments if I've missed something, or if your own experiences somehow contrast or contradict my observations. I'd love to hear about it!
New: WEED and PHOTO
Each platform uses its own currency for the minting and sale of the respective NFTs... so PAL on PALNet-- which is the cheapest option-- and MEME on MemeHive, and so on. The NFT Showroom and Lensy both use SWAP.HIVE...
And the two new additions to our list are WEED and PHOTO.
WeedCash Network
I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me that WEEDCASH would have NFT-minting capability, as it really is a perfect fit. I can definitely see people having fun creating weed-related artwork and memes.
IMAGE C/O CANNABOX ON UNSPLASH.
And there is some pretty good traffic in the #WEED NFT marketplace too, which is good to see (and rare still outside of the NFT Showroom). I haven't yet applied to be whitelisted here... but I will, and I'll probably end up writing a third chapter to this ongoing Hive NFT investigation. So stay tuned! :)
Hive Images
It's pretty self-explanatory: a visual platform, images on Hive. And although it is similar to Lensy in the options we've already talked about, HIVE.PHOTO is a tribe outpost with content while Lensy is a pure marketplace more like the NFT Showroom.
Being an outpost like CineTV, PALNet and the others means Hive Images has its own currency-- the PHOTO token, which you may have noticed in your wallet recently-- so this is of course the NFT marketplace currency as well.
So even if you don't plan on minting any NFTs in the near future, you should still tag your original image posts with #PHOTO to keep the feed awesome and earn a few tokens.
I do think there's a decent use case for NFTs on the HIVE IMAGES platform. It is relatively brand new though, so there is literally no activity to speak of in the marketplace yet. It will be interesting to see if it can achieve better results than its counterparts.
I have been trying to get whitelisted on HIVE.PHOTO, but it seems like you need to meet the 1000 token staked and liquid minimums to even press the button... even though it says these thresholds are for "automatic" whitelisting. It's a bit confusing, but I'll meet the liquid level soon and apply.
But WHY Do We Want Hive NFTs?
This was a big part of the discussion I wanted to spark with my FIRST POST... We know that the games we play here like #RisingStar and #DCity are good examples of common-sense NFT minting, and the rise of tokenized art is another obvious use.
I also mentioned in the original post that the only NFT I've created so far-- pictured below-- was on the MEMEHive platform for 
MY ORIGINAL NFT FOUND ON MEMEHIVE.
Any Great Hivian Ideas?
But what else? Are there any unique ideas out there for how we can put this functionality to good use? I do have one, but I haven't worked it out yet... and it's part of a project I'll be talking more about.
So there... we already have SO MUCH to do here in the Hive ecosystem, and now you have another interesting feature to play with. Have fun! And please do let me know if you notice anything wrong, or even if you just want to share your valuable insights.