Web3, Blockchains, Cryptocurrency, and the Foundation of a Digital Future

gm and welcome to our first blog post!

By now, you’ve probably heard about, read about, or even dabbled in the rapidly exploding world of NFTs. The amount of information can be confusing, exciting, even overwhelming as the future of digital content, communities, and commerce becomes the present. But no matter what your level of interest or expertise, marketers, merchants, and makers all must get comfortable with new concepts like blockchain, cryptocurrency, NFTs, Web3 and the metaverse in order to continue delivering value for, and bolstering their relationship with, increasingly savvy consumers.

Each and every online business must think about these changing expectations and behaviors and evaluate how, when, where, and why to jump in. Naturally, questions abound, but we are still VERY early. So let’s get up to speed with some initial questions and answers to get started.

What’s Changing? And What the Heck is Web3?

Going back now three decades since the first days of the internet, the rapid rate of acceleration is staggering. The overwhelming volume of experimentation, innovation, and conversation is exhilarating. There have been three phases of the internet as we know it:

• Web 1.0: Consume. Born in the early ‘90’s, the early web was composed of digital properties that largely pushed information in one direction. Traditional media readers could now find content online and engage in very limited transactions. Information previously only accessible at the library, in the newspaper, or on television was now available at the speed of 14.4, then 28.8 mps!
• Web 2.0: Consume and Create. The emergence of complex databases, social platforms, mobile innovation, and cloud technologies resulted in a multi-directional flow of information. Creators and consumers could now engage in more advanced commercial interactions. Apps and monetization, “personalization at scale,” behavioral retargeting, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, & TikTok. Real-time, UGC, OTT, D2C, streaming video, data breaches, and instant gratification.
• Web3: Consume, Create, and Claim. This new era of digital is about greater individual ownership and decentralized systems. It is self-governing, yet verifiable. It is distributed and built on public data exchanges. Ownership is tokenized, and we can now stake new technology that is more open (built by an open and accessible community of developers and executed in full view of the world), trustless (participants interact publicly or privately without a trusted third party), and permissionless (creators, users, merchants, coders, and suppliers can participate without approval from some overseeing body).

Web3 is a global village, a new digitally-led commune, a bazaar for the entire world. New connections between individuals, corporations and machines have resulted in the rise of new markets and business models. Ownership is spread out and the notion of “control” is changing. Where and who you are matters less than what you can offer and information is exchanged.

New Kids on the Blockchain

You don’t need to have any technical blockchain expertise to get started with NFTs. Curiosity and creativity are the only skills required. But understanding the basics of blockchain technology is helpful. Blockchains are open, peer-to-peer networks that have become the underlying framework behind cryptocurrency, smart contracts, NFTs, metaverse “environments,” and more. Blockchains are redefining how we engage in both digital and in real life.

Decentralized applications run on blockchains and other shared servers. Entities trade information, data, and tokens with others around the world they may not know. It is based on a model where merchants, creators, collectors, consumers, fans and other action-oriented community segments have a greater stake in the outcomes of their actions. The blockchain is not going to replace the current, server-based infrastructure anytime soon, but these two models are becoming increasingly connected and enmeshed.

Cryptocurrency And The Future of Ecommerce

While not necessary, crypto is becoming an increasingly mainstream standard unit of currency (thanks to Shopify Payments). Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, are traded on a variety of blockchains. They have grown not only as speculative investments, but as the underlying fuel for many of the Web3 protocols. Coins of all kinds have become financial incentives for participation in creating, governing, contributing to, or improving both digital and real-world projects and experiences. They are even replacing some of the traditional services previously offered by those aging media and tech platforms from the previous generation.

The proliferation of alternative currencies governs how different applications and platforms function. Ethereum is probably the most widely known blockchain to operate based on utility, and many of these tokens can reward users for their participation. It can be bought, sold, and traded like a commodity or speculative investment, but their value is also enhanced AND amplified by their practicality and multiple uses.

To summarize, web3 is built on a new model and definition of ownership. The key to ownership for creators, collectors, merchants, fans and consumers is the token. And MINT as an engine that can help drive change as we all enter this exciting space together.