Web3 And Its Hidden Value
If you’re not quite sure what Web3 is or even means, you’re far from alone. Within the world of Web3, definitions are fluid, debate is heated. It’s kind of like kids on a playground who spend more time figuring out the rules of the game than actually playing it. But this is actually good. And there’s hidden value within the argument that is Web3.
To get to the hidden value in this construct, we have to get some sense of what Web3 is and the general consensus of the ideology behind it.
Behind all technologies there is some sort of idea, an imagined future outcome that changes the current status quo into something new. From the stone axe to A.I. it has always been this way. We mostly look at technologies in terms of the problem they solve, in a singular way. It is no different with Web3.
As an example, we tend to see cryptocurrency as a new financial system. Crypto is, in essence, an argument against the current financial system. It is a form of social protest far more than it is a technology. Humans have been changing up systems of trade for many thousands of years.
Web3 is an argument as well. It is a construct to protest what many see as an internet becoming controlled by technology oligarchies. They’ve become seen as gatekeepers and impose strict rules on behaviours, economic systems and content. What many call Web 2.0.
A consistent feature of the stories, the narrative, of Web3 is decentralisation. Sometimes called a fediverse. Of technologies that give power back to the people. A sort of revolution, albeit a rather confusing one.
There is debate as well around Web3 and Web 3.0. The of Web3 was originally Time Berners-Lee in what was also called the semantic web. With the idea that people and computers would be able to work in better cooperation. Web3 and opposed to Web 3.0, coined by Ethereum founder Gavin Wood, is about people being able to have greater control over networks. Which are computers, so maybe it’s semantics?
Debates of what Web3 is or isn’t aside, what is interesting is the variety of technologies coming out of those who are passionately working on the ideas and ideals of Web3. Many will undoubtedly come to the fore in the future. How they’ll actually be adopted by culture is yet to be seen.
The Interesting Web3 Technologies
These are the Web3 technologies I’ve been watching from a technology anthropologists viewpoint. Having brought a number of technologies to market over the past 25 years and researching how culture/humans adopt technologies gives one a certain perspective.
Ownership Rights: The technology that enables true, direct ownership of everything from written text and artwork through to lobster traps is the NFT, or Non-Fungible Tokens. NFTs came roaring into the world around 2017, went through a massive hype cycle and have largely fallen out of favour for the general public. But the technology remains and could again prove to be very valuable. In tech sector terms it is now looking for good product-market fit.
Egalitarian Ownership: This is in essence, a form of socialist action. It is an argument against how many corporations are seen as being elitist in share control of a company via the stock market or private share ownership. The technology is shares based on tokens that form a DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organisation.) This is where the humans get to vote on how resources are spent. A current real-world example would be Participatory Budgeting. DAO’s would be a great technology to be applied in this way.
Digital Identity: As I wrote previously, our physical and digital worlds have become so intertwined (a phygital world if you will) that we need some form of digital identity. But beyond just identity itself, the end system used needs to prove “who” you are as well. The Web3 approach is to use Ethereum, or similar as a solution. While it’s helpful, it does not prove for “who” you are. But it may be a part of the solution that does get developed.
These are three of the Web3 technologies that could play a significant role in the evolution of the internet and how it is used in the near future. Core technologies underlying these systems is blockchain and crypto. For now however, crypto is out of favour with the general public, seen as risky and the wild west. Blockchain, despite not being crypto, is often conflated with crypto and so bears the weight of its reputation issues.
To the broader public, the idea of Web3 seems to have fallen into a misty valley where it is hard to see or comprehend what it is.
But the fact that these technologies continue to be developed, that there is a large, passionate, determined and dedicated movement behind them means we may not see a full Web3 type of thing, but we will see benefits. It also proves the internet is still a place of exciting and interesting ideas and creativity.
