Image by Pixabay on Pexels (modified)
Dear reader,
I thought I’d offer some insight into the current state of affairs in the so-called web3 space, or 3rd generation internet, and what this could mean for you as a content consumer / creator.
The online creator economy has proven case after case to be a realistic and even lucrative source of income for those who are early, skilled, hard working or any such combination of these traits. If the rise of cryptocurrencies has shown us one thing amid the constant waves of speculations, scams and scandals, it’s that the monetisation of hobbies and ideals can foster strong, passionate and devoted communities.
The concept of web3 is broad enough to merit its own book, but when measured against its predecessors webs 1 & 2, it can arguably be categorised as an advancement of previous ideals, where the principles of ownership and democracy come to the forefront. This is achieved in part by the availability of cryptographic protocols that allow permissionless transactions (not necessarily financial) to occur and for communities to intertwine virtually and define between themselves what construes value and how this can value be shared effortlessly through space and time.
In duhspeak terms that relates to free magic internet money for anyone who can be bothered to write down a passphrase consisting of 12 random words and share pictures of dogs and primates online.
Through space and time, Bitcoin pumped, amid dumps, to a local top in the 60k USD range, achieved just a few months ago. When the digital currency initially launched over 10 years ago, you could pick up several BTC for under a penny. For many, this has been a telling lesson of patience. Similar trajectories have unfolded for various other coins and tokens and so do we find ourselves in a mass speculation hysteria spurred on by the successes of a slight few. Can you smell the tulips?
Image by Dina Nasyrova on Pexels.
As with the dotcom bubble during the world wide web’s initial rise to fame, only a select few projects stayed the course and become the behemoths that they are today. Many horses lost their legs along the way. History doesn’t repeat, it rhymes, and we are likely to see a similar sequence of events in the years to come as the market self-cleanses and new necessities arise (which in turn lead to future speculation and the cycle repeats).
One such segment of this hysteria is the web3 social space. There are many names that can be thrown at this concept to see if they stick, but at the end of the day it all comes down to giving the user the tools they need to be remunerated for their time spent. Time = money. Spend enough time in crypto and you’ll get enough crypto for your time. Or another phrase I like the sound of goes something like this: Hang around a barber shop long enough, sooner or later you’re going to get a haircut. Maybe it’s better if I let Denzel explain this one:
The trick is to stay in the same barber shop. That goes for this ever expanding 24/7 hypefest that is online crypto bingo. Choose your barbershop — whether that be DeFi, gaming, music NFTs, payment systems, whatever…
After dabbling around, and realising that I’m neither a developer nor a money manager, I chose web3 social. I believe there’s potential upside here. That’s my opinion, and certainly not financial advice (if you’re looking for financial advice, I’d suggest going to your local bank and asking for some of those juicy 1% saving rates they got going on). The meta game of narrative rotation eventually lands on the topic in question and most protocols in that sector benefit temporarily in a rising tide fashion. Some projects stay afloat when the tides go out, others get shipwrecked. Social-fi will eventually have the light shone on it for a while and I’ll be happy to be there when that happens. Who knows, maybe we are about to witness something of a mini bull run in social-fi amid the Twitter buyout speculation. Stranger things have happened in recent times.
So what does it all mean? Where should we be looking?
Well, following me is a good start. This is a sector I’m actively looking into and starting to participate more and more in. I know there are plenty of web3 platforms out there, some good, some not worth the time it takes to type out the URL. I hope to filter out the good ones and get more and more content out in the coming months.
At this point I’d also like to shoutout 2 fellow Hive cryptobloggers who work tirelessly at navigating through the myriad of web3 social media platforms. If you’re interested in this space, then I’d definitely recommend giving them a follow:
Allen Taylor — Author of Cryptosocial
Allen recently released a book all about the disruptions occurring in social media due to the arrival of cryptocurrencies. At one point he lists out over 80 platforms he’s been keeping tabs on!
Scott Cunningham — Host of Crypto & Things
Scott is a perfect example of “practise what you preach”. He is active on many decentralised social media platforms and even goes so far as to offer regular, transparent earning reviews to let you know how lucrative (or not) certain platforms are. In his latest video, he offers his own unique overview of the web3 social space in the form of a Decentralization Matrix:
Alright that’s it for today’s thought piece. I hope this brief article brings inspiration to those looking to engage in the digital media ecosystem. If it brought you any value or new insights then let me know in the comments.
Signing off for now,
Jase DMF
Original content, copyright JaseDMF 2022. First published on Publish0x.
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I should have copyrighted that phrase :)