Why you want to work in Web3 instead of Web2

gm friends 👋,

People argue whether we are early or not when it comes to cryptocurrency adoption. Granted, as long as your parents aren’t using Metamask, we are not that early. But if FTX books a Superbowl commercial slot and Tai Lopez releases an OHM fork, we are not that late either 😉.

When it comes to work, though, we are definitely early. Most people, young and old, will still tell you working for FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) is a dream come true. But a few crazy believers know there’s a better way 😉.

Our own Filipe Macedo explained all of this in detail in his talk at Generation Crypto. He laid out how web2 and web3 work is fundamentally different (and why web3 is frankly speaking a lot cooler). You can check out that part of his talk in the replay here (timestamped):

If you prefer reading, here are the five key differences between working for web2 companies and working in web3.

Web2: people care about salary

Web3: people care about equity

If you ask someone why they want to work for FAANG companies, they’ll probably tell you one or several of the following reasons:

• Interesting work
• Great work-life balance
• Good salary

Web2 companies became desired employers because they started paying employees a bigger share of what they really are worth and threw in great perks like offices with high-quality catering, fitness studios, and anything else you’d want to never feel the need to leave the office. Add that to interesting work employees do and it’s easy to see why someone would choose Google over Ford.

However, at some point, employees started noticing that they’re being paid well but still less than they’re worth. Plus they did not actually own the work they were doing. Now, we are in a transition period where an increasing number of web2 veterans are aware of the fact that they can take their skills and apply them in web3, where they actually become owners of their work. Web3 folks will rather take computer coins than USD. First, because they think these computer coins will outperform USD and second, because it’s their computer coins.

Web2: competition

Web3: cooperation

In web2 companies you have pretty fierce rivalries, not only between companies themselves, but between their followings as well. That’s most pronounced when it comes to smartphones: once you go iOS, you’ll never go Android and vice versa.

Granted, web3 has its fair share of tribalism too. There is a group of maxis for every blockchain ecosystem: Bitcoin hate Ethereum maxis who hate Solana maxis who hate all of the previously mention who hate…you get it.

But when it matters, web3 actually chooses cooperation over competition (mostly). This is especially true for DeFi, where you see protocols build on top of each other all the time and cooperate, rather than compete. But it’s also true when it comes to mobilizing grassroots support like when you may want to buy the US Constitution for example.

If you work in web3 that means that you are part of the big “crypto family.” Everyone is going to make it, except for the clueless normies that don’t even say gm.

Web2: scarcity

Web3: abundance

Web2 companies compete for “market share” and “revenue” and care about “growth metrics.” They live in constant fear of being displaced, which is why smaller potential competitors are mercilessly bought out and integrated. That way, these companies grow ever bigger and have become the behemoths they are now. Just try thinking back to a time when Instagram was not owned by Facebook and was actually only good for uploading pictures.

Web3 protocols don’t care about copyright or profit maximization or protecting their business model because they know it’s impossible to do so. Blockchains are public, which means code is open-source and anyone can copy it and start their own project. Surprisingly, the pervasiveness of copycats legitimizes successful protocols that started first. Bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrency not because of its superior technology but (partially) because it came first and is lindy. OHM forks are a dime a dozen now, but each new fork only drives home the fact that there is only one “legitimate” rebase token.

For work this means unlimited creativity and pretty much no “we can’t do this.” Anything goes in web3, as long as it’s original. If someone else starts copying you, you know you’re onto a winner.

Web2: siloed structure

Web3: composable protocols

Say you have an iPhone. You are used to iOS, can only charge your phone with the designated apple charging cable, and enjoy certain apps that are Apple-exclusive. Even trying to use an Android phone will be anything but intuitive because Apple is the definition of a siloed company.

But try using a DeFi protocol and you almost cannot escape having to use two or three others. In fact, you would be stupid for not doing so because protocols incentivize you to try them out (via airdrops) and you plain make more money if you do (especially in DeFi).

Web3 is composable, while web2 companies are continuously suspicious of each other. That means you are encouraged to use someone else’s work and reach out to “competitors” to work out if you can cooperate.

Web2: employer-centric

Web3: talent-centric

In web2 it’s about FAANG, with each letter standing for a company. The companies are the star of the show. But in web3, code is law (mostly), and protocols maximize for talent, not for resumes or network. Of course, it’s not all different and where you worked counts for a lot. However, moving the web3 space to a more talent-focused model, where contributors and builders are explicitly valued as much as implicitly is part of what Talent Protocol is building.

Even now, successful web3 protocols and ecosystems are mostly successful not because of their better tech (since that can be copied anyway) but because of the talent in their ecosystem. Just think of the amount of developer talent working in Ethereum compared to Cardano (sorry ADA, it’s just business).

Conclusion

If you are convinced web3 is worth a shot (you should be), you should head to Talent Protocol, scroll down to our Talent and Supporter section and sign up for the waitlist of the role that fits you best 😉.