Why Web3 Will Be A Big Deal…
(No It’s Not Because There Are Cartoon Monkeys With Bananas Up Their Asses!)
The agricultural revolution created private property rights.
Before that humans were walking around eating berries and sleeping in hammocks.
Governments were created to help protect and enforce private property rights.
In this post- agricultural revolution world, everything became either real property (tangible) or intellectual property (intangible).
Because private property is owned by someone.
Property becomes a “platform”.
A platform is “a surface on which things can stand.”
Thus, a property (tangible or intangible) owner can have things “stand” on top of it.
If you own the property, you are more likely to invest in it.
For example, with real estate (tangible property), one can build a house and a garden, which gives rise to many subsequent industries like:
· Mortgage brokers
· Conveyancers
· Lenders
· Builders
· Gardeners
· Cleaners
· Airbnb
· Ad nausea
Likewise with Copyright (intangible property), one can turn it into a book which gives rise to many subsequent industries like:
· Editors
· Proof-readers
· Publishers
· Books stores
· eBooks
· Ad nausea
Private property ownership becomes a source of economic growth.
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The Internet (Web1) digitised a lot of things (i.e., software is eating the world) so that life increasing becomes more virtual.
Virtual (more on this shortly) being not physical/intangible.
Although, many things were intangible far before Web1 or intellectual property rights.
Stories (which is all a brand is) have existed up to 30,000 years ago, so virtual reality is not a new concept.
Web2 came along in the form of social media.
Social media being the participative social Web.
This mostly manifested in a group of large platforms facilitating users to post their Copyright (intangible property, commonly referred to as content).
When you signup to use a platform, you agree to the platform owning you content not you.
You become a renter, of sorts.
Yes, of course there are other Web1 properties in the Web2 world where you still own your content, but it’s not interoperable — you can’t easily take it with you wherever you go online or offline (more on this shortly).
Yet Web2 is simply a walled garden.
Your content (things built on top of property) becomes data, 1st person data — collecting data directly from users.
The platform owns and uses that 1st person data as a platform (a surface on which things can stand) to have things “stand” on top of it.
Those things are enticing other users’ to give their content/1st person data and advertisers.
That creates network effects — the platform gains additional value as more people use it.
We, however, don’t get any economic value for that exchange — platforms and advertise get the economic growth.
On the flipside, if people didn’t use the platform, it wouldn’t exist.
That network effect is created by turning 1st person data into information into knowledge:
1st person data is the content.
Information is adding context and meaning to the 1st person data/content.
Web2 platforms do this with their ad products for advertisers.
Knowledge is connection information (the context and meaning) from the 1st person data/content to create the network effects.
Web2 platforms do this to entice other users to join the platform.
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The metaverse is a virtual reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.
Virtual reality isn’t necessarily a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment.
Virtual reality can be its strict definition — not physical/intangible.
Virtual reality thus could be defined as an intangible universe in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.
Think Web2.5 — social media viewed on mobile device as a rudimentary virtual reality isn’t headset.
Sounds like social media, but this new iteration of social media — Web3.
Web3 makes everyone a platform of their own.
Remember a platform being a surface (intangible in this case) on which people or things can stand.
Those things are tokens.
Those people are crypto wallets.
Crypto wallets are the keys to those tokens.
Users own and will likely hold (in Web3.5) their tokens and access them via the wallet.
Tokens are data/property.
Users/crypto wallets can issue their own tokens.
Or they can acquire other tokens.
That token, the data, the platform, is the building block that things can happen on.
Because tokens are owned by someone, that owner are more likely to invest in it, but like real and intellectual property pre Web1.
A user/crypto wallet will be able to easily bring their intangible property with them wherever they go online or offline.
Currently crypto wallet QR codes can be scanned in-person to see what tokens/data a person holds in various places.
*I have built this tech already — contact me if you want to use it for free in-person
However, like this example, users will be in control of who has access.
Don’t want to give access, then don’t show your crypto wallet QR code.
Likewise, online, don’t want to give access, then don’t connect your crypto wallet to the Web2 site.
*I have also built this tech already — contact me if you want to use it for free on your Web2 site.
The user/crypto wallet allow others to access their tokens/data on their terms — as long as the terms favour them!
This doesn’t exist in the Web2 world — just think about how much you are giving away with cookies, tracking pixels, click data etc.
That will likely be hyper personalization.
*Again, I have also built this tech already — contact me if you want to use it for free on your Web2 site.
Because a user/crypto wallet can take their tokens/data anywhere and use them anywhere, this interoperability inherently adds value and network effect wherever they go.
The help build other platforms, because they are building on top of them, just like the real property and intellectual property examples pre Web1.
In effect they turn their data into information into knowledge.
And they should be rewarded for that, unlike in Web2!
Now because they own and can give or take access to that data at any moment, they will demand to be compensated for that.
Either through financial or other ways.
Those other ways could be things like access, which is currently referred to in Web3 as utility.
Economic growth will be given back to users not Web2 platforms and hopefully the wealth inequality will start to shrink back to a more balanced place.
And any technology that makes life faster, and easier for humans and give them more control and power will win.
Web3 does all these things and that is why it’s a big deal.
A cartoon monkey with a banana up its ass is a distraction, so stop reading mainstream media headlines.
Brands cannot ignore this!
So how do you take advantage of this?
Realise Web3.0 is early.
According to the Technology Adoption Curve, Web3.0 is still with the Innovators.
here are 4.5B internet users & 71M Ethereum wallets.
4.5B/71M = 1.42% of internet users have an Ethereum wallet.
Still another 1.08% is needed to hit the Early Majority.
That is another 125,000,000 Ethereum wallets before Web3.0 will move to the Early Majority according to the Curve, that is, if each internet user holds 1 ETH wallet (and we all know that is not the case!)
It’s early!
And it’s still will crypto natives, so you have time.
If your brand had a web presence pre-2000, a social media account pre-2010 or a mobile app presence pre-2015, you should be:
· Educating yourself on space, beyond dumb headlines about cartoon animals;
· Decide if your band will issue tokens or reward token holders — this could be adding utility or interoperability;
· Determine how your brand will interact with crypto wallets — this could be adding utility or interoperability; and
· How you will onboard non-crypto natives — this could be educating them then incentivizing them to get a crypto wallet.
