What are Solana's Actions and Blinks?
Opinions on Solana are like…eyeballs; everyone has one (unless you’re Aemond Targaryen).
Regardless of whether you think the blockchain is going to onboard the next billi to web3 or is a glorified memecoin casino, you gotta give it to Solana for their latest onchain action.
👀 Enter Solana Actions and Blockchain Links (aka Blinks), a new move toward mass adoption from the L1 to help “connect Solana to the entire internet.”
What are Actions?
Solana Actions are APIs (essentially a bridge or translator that allows different computer applications to communicate with each other) that enable onchain actions (i.e., transactions) and are embedded into different online environments — QR codes, buttons, widgets, tweets, the text thread you’ve had on mute for the last year.
How do Actions work?
Blockchain + Links = Blinks.
If Actions are like a Genie, Blinks are the magical oil within its lamp that grants you special powers … or a magic carpet ride.
Technically speaking, Blinks are the actual clients that request the API mentioned above and generate the UI enabling you to interact with that onchain Action.
A Blink can direct a user to a separate page or embed on top of the page where the Blink URL was posted (a Twitter post, DM, blog page) so that you can actually execute your onchain transaction.
It’s just like a traditional hyperlink, but instead of Rick-Rolling you or overheating your computer on a hot summer’s day, Blinks let you buy an NFT on social media in one click.
What do Actions & Blinks mean for web3?
Then web3 entered the chat, introducing shared, dynamic content that was moderately disturbed but still mostly centralized. APIs made it easier for different websites and products to communicate with each other, share data, and deliver content to users.
The issue with most APIs, however, is that they are heavily centralized and often guarded by corporations that don’t want to give up the keys to their content castle.
Web3 changes the game here, allowing brands to leverage custom APIs that connect consumers to onchain environments where they can collect, create, and earn in a secure and often incentivized environment.
Brands gain the benefits of transparent data and a direct route to their users without having to kick funds upstairs to Uncle Elon.
The challenge here has long been connecting the dots between the old world and the new so that web2 platforms can interact with web3 products, and users on both sides can experience the best of both worlds without needing a degree in computer science (or even major web3 knowledge).
With Action & Blinks, Solana is giving developers and their products an easier way to attract online users (and their funds) without relying solely on web3-native social apps like Farcaster, which pioneered in-app onchain transactions via Frames.
What do Actions & Blinks mean for brands?
While web3 native companies might have an easier time bringing their product’s onchain transactions to social via apps like Farcaster, it’s still likely a harder sell for traditional web2 brands and their consumers who might be unfamiliar with the technology.
Similar to the accessibility of user — and brand- friendly blockchains like Base, Solana’s Actions and Blinks are balancing web3 tech and web2 accessibility, vast digital real estate, and very-online meta-communities to breathe new life and opportunity into traditional social feeds.
It could prove to be a powerful solution for brands that want to meet their customers where they’re at across platforms like X or Discord.
As a company devoted to helping brands leverage accessible (and invisible) web3 experiences to engage consumers and sell products through white-label APIs, on-demand wallet solutions, and easy-to-navigate marketplaces, our team at Mojito loves to see it.
Looking for expert guidance on how to navigate the evolving onchain ecosystem? Mojito has you covered. Fill out this form.
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How Mojito is Powering the Toledo Museum of Art’s Second NFT Drop
We caught up again with the museum's CEO to hear how they're leveraging Mojito's tech stack to engage new audiences.
This past spring, we had the honor of collaborating with the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) on the Sankofa Carnival: a digital art experience that showcased a three-part collection of digital works from artists Osinachi and Yusuf Lateef.
This Mojito-powered activation marked TMA’s triumphant first foray into NFTs, where the institution seamlessly adapted to web3 technology, engaging its audience in a narrative about how art can connect people across cultures.
Now, on the heels of the Sankofa Carnival success, we’ve partnered with TMA once again, this time to present House of Yatreda: an immersive, multi-sensory exhibition by Yatreda ያጥሬዳ, the digital artist collective based between Ethiopia, Kenya, and the United States.
House of Yatreda — which will also spotlight Ohio-based painter Jordan Buschur — will be open to the public at TMA through November 10. As another exhibition that features a limited-time open edition minted on-demand exclusively at TMA, House of Yatreda is a testament to the melding of physical and digital art, and traditional art institutions adopting cutting-edge initiatives powered by Mojito's invisible web3 technology.
To check in on how TMA is feeling about the burgeoning new paradigm they've entered into, we spoke with Sophie Ong, the Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Toledo Museum of Art, and Adam Levine, the President of Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey and Director and CEO of Toledo Museum of Art.
How Web3 can Boost Luxury Fashion Sales
Three ways web3 help ease the mid-year woes of some of the world's largest luxury brands — LVMH, Prada, Gucci, and more.
From CNBC to Vogue Business to Reuters, the expert analysts have spoken: luxury sales are down.
Hugo Boss reported a second-quarter sales slump of 1% (a cool billion euros), with brick-and-mortar retail revenue down another 3%.
Kering, Gucci's parent company, reported a 50% drop in net profits, while sales have slumped 11% to €9 billion. Gucci, Kerring's star child, dropped 19% in Q2.
The LVMH side of the jewel-encrusted collar is also feeling the squeeze, with slower sales due to decreased Q2 spending among Chinese consumers.
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Who’s hungry for zero-party cookies?
Welcome to the future of personalized consumer data.
Camilla McFarland isn't just a crypto OG who's been making moves onchain since 2013; she's also an advisor and member of Mojito's founding team, who's long been at the forefront of brand innovation in web3.
What better person to wax onchain poetic on the future of brands in web3 at one of the industry's largest global gatherings: EthCC?
Following her talk last year on Big Brands & Web3: NFTs and the consumer brand revolution, Camilla took the stage this week in Brussels to drop some more alpha on brands making moves onchain in a new talk, Zero-Party Cookies: the future of personalized consumer data.
