Vodafone has turned the first text message into a non-fungible token (NFT), which sold at a Paris auction house this week for €132,680 ($150,000) worth of ether (ETH). The company will donate the proceeds to the United Nations Refugee Agency to support forcibly displaced people.
Just over 29 years ago, Richard Jarvis (then a director of Vodafone) received the first text message from programmer Neil Papworth. Suitably enough, given that it was sent in December, the SMS read “Merry Christmas,” which is my wish to those who celebrate.
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About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.