Blockchain for Blondes (by a Blond)

Defining Web3:

Web2 is the cassette tape and web3 is CDs. Who knows what we will call streaming.

“I am still trying to define web3.” — client

In a moment of raw honesty I told a prospect that web3 is a stop gap in the education curve we are currently in. No one really knows the definition. I fear most people are like us — we needed an easy way to communicate what we are not. We are not crypto (which is what everyone thinks when you say blockchain) and we are not NFTs.

In about 6 months, I am sure that we will have a better term for what we are but for right now web3 is “confusing and new” enough for people to listen a little longer before the buzzwords, “community, collectible, speculative, or decentralized” anchor them on something limiting.

The good thing about this moment of honesty is that it got me thinking about what I really do and what I really want to do in this blockchain space. While surely this is not a perfect answer, here is my shitty first draft.

Web3, for me, is really about smart contracts and how it unlocks the ability of digital assets to live in a digital world. A piece of technology most don’t realize exists and that generally gets bundled into the NFT, token, community bucket.

Use cases in web3 are just starting to get fun. The community is pushing the limits on how we consume content. They are pushing the limits on how your assets in the digital space talk to each other and how they will allow special privilege depending on the brands you are engaging with.

We are even examining how we can allow different brands and relationships to open and close the gates to each other. How can they share their privileges and brand equity with others using technology.

“Sounds like what you could do in web2.”

That is like saying why use CDs when tapes work. Because CDs are better. And guess what, digital is even better. Development is part of technology’s DNA and change is coming.

For example, in the web2 world when a brand signs an athlete they sign a contract and the athlete makes appearances, wears gear and maybe shoots some commercials. How did this relationship pay off for the brand? How do you know? Which new relationships do they get out of sharing communities?

We can make educated guesses but social media and 3rd party really hold the relationship data.

Now imagine that a brand can use an athlete digital program with their product sales and this bring them directly to the brands platform. Or they can seamlessly co-host events to their communities as a value activations. The brands will now be able to regain relationships with fans again.

We like to tell brands to think about rewinding to when social media was just getting launched and it was “free” for brands. It was a place to build their community. If you could go back in time and regain this community and also be able to build a network of communities that communicated with each other, what would you choose? And if you choose the latter, what would you do? (It’s limitless).

We have brainstormed with teams and brands about how they can use this technology to better understand their relationship with their fans and how they can protect their future with it. If companies do it right you should not even know you are on the blockchain. Because it is not about the technology, it is about the relationship.

So, have I defined web3? Not really. To be honest, I am not even sure what people mean when they say “web3” (or if you are supposed to capitalize the “W”) but I assume that they are attempting to apply utility to their offering and are starting to think of real life business applications.

Cliff notes: You can and should expect tickets, loyalty programs, content, experiences, and more to be on blockchain because it is more secure, it allows the brand (not a third party) to know if you came to the event, it will grow in the future decentralized world. A lot of people are betting on credit cards going away but for me that is a long ways out. For now, it is a better way to manage a fan relationship.

Edited March 1: I want to note that I wrote this article in Feb but as of today the likes of Adam Silver are now defining web3 as the Metaverse. Unfortunately, we are not the metaverse.