Welcome to Web 3.0
The Decentralization of Everything.
№001 / FREE EDITION / 15 NOVEMBER 2021
Welcome to the first edition of What’s Next… A weekly roundup of the latest and greatest in tech, health, business, and culture, with a light sprinkling of commentary and humor.
Whether you call it the Great Reset or The Great Resignation, one thing is certain about the last 18 months: People who were previously unsatisfied with their lives are seeking something more fulfilling than just a 9–5 job. Coronavirus has devastated businesses, and financial recovery has required many to learn new skills and venture into uncharted waters. I created this new publication to curate and track our rapidly changing culture and technology.
I have found this to be one of the most exciting times ever to be looking for a new, recession-proof career and was to earn income. The best part: You don’t need to shell out $100K or a four-year degree to get started. There are so many resources available to creative individuals right now to learn new skills and explore new industries.
Every edition will have a coherent theme, and each week I will share a few articles, ideas, and resources that interest me and can be helpful for anyone on a similar journey.
I’ll continue to write longer posts over at Occasionally Productive along with shorter “tweets”.
Welcome to Web 3.0 — The Decentralization of Everything.
Where Web 1.0 was moving print media (newspapers, magazines, photos, letters, documents) to the digital world and making it searchable, Web 2.0 was about connecting everyone on centralized platforms (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter), Web 3.0 will be all about ownership.
Specifically, ownership of identity, followers, and content created by individuals, with the ability to monetize creative works directly to the public without third-party gatekeepers. Essentially, decentralized and community-run.
Imagine being able to jump from platform to platform and take all your followers with you — no more fear of being de-platformed by angry mobs, or paying high membership fees to manage your fan-base.
Blockchain and crypto technology makes all of this possible right now, and many new platforms are already operational and growing fast.
BitClout — Facebook/Twitter alt.
CloutPub — Medium alt.
Rumble — YouTube alt.
Mastodon — Reddit alt.
The GUI is not great — yet, and there are speed limits right now that make the user experience feel clunky and non-intuitive, but the open-source nature of these new platforms, and the ability to move your identity to a better platform in the future, will make Web 3.0 feel like 2007 all over again.
Should You Learn to code? Probably not.
Web 3.0 is all about integrating new killer apps over user identities and tokens, that can be ported from platform to platform. Tokens, such as DESO, are changing the way we do social.
With all the excitement surrounding Web 3.0, there is a renewed interest to learn how to code for these new platforms/tokens. There are plenty of good resources out there if you want to learn how to develop for them.
As an early investor in Solana, I was interested in learning programming for the lightning network and even dipped my foot into this excellent course. Ultimately, it was not for me, but I did stumble upon something that may eliminate the need to learn new programming languages in the future.
Watch this:
With a simple text command, OpenAI’s GPT-3 will simplify coding in the future, making it accessible to almost everyone.
While there will always be a need for programmers, the tools of the trade are also becoming decentralized.
Currently reading: Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday
I am a firm believer in reading the right book at the right time, and the timing of this one couldn’t be more perfect.
Having the courage to change your career, marriage, the city you live in, and to carve out a new path for yourself, is one of the toughest decisions a person can make.
With much of the world in transition after Covid, people are looking for more happiness but many are afraid to take those first steps. This book gives readers a push in the right direction. Much of the inspiration for this newsletter came from this book and it is worth a read.
Quick Steps:
- Peloton shares have dropped 35% since the pandemic. Lots of used bikes for sale on Craigslist and Marketplace as people return to work.
- OnlyFans.com business consulting is a thing. From a former adult star turned brand strategist.
- HELIUM With the recent spike in crypto prices, and the relatively low cost of owning an HNT miner, Helium mining might be the most lucrative of all the crypto miners. Here’s a good one that is actually in stock as of today.
Hey, it’s me, Chris. Like what you read? Get my subjectively awesome newsletter here.
