By Stu Willson
I know, it’s everywhere.
But if you believe people like Matthew Ball or Chris Dixon or Radicle’s Drew Rasansky, the metaverse and web3 are going to transform the internet and how and where we engage with our customers. Also, who we compete with.
You may be skeptical. It’s reasonable to be. But people were skeptical of both web 1.0 and web 2.0 — and web3 is no different.
The truth, as you know, is that the future is not evenly distributed. And it’s early. We’re all focused on making bets and protecting ourselves against disruptions that may or may not happen. Responding when they happen is waaaay too late.
When it comes to the metaverse — or really, any market being created or disrupted by new models, approaches, and technologies — we need to re-anchor ourselves in the future. How we do things today isn’t relevant. It’s a sunk cost that in a new context where everything has changed is simply… the past. We need to understand the possible, the implications for our business, and make a call.
We’ve been going deep into web3, defi, nfts, and the metaverse over the past months, helping customers identify the best NFT studios to partner with, running pilots with digital avatars, landscaping defi, mapping the metaverse, and finding experts — we call them guides — who can help you best navigate an uncertain road.
Here are some resources that we have found helpful:
- Web3 Marketplaces with Adam Jackson, the cofounder and CEO of Freelance Labs, which builds the Web3 project Braintrust. https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/web3-marketplaces-with-braintrust-ceo-adam-jackson
- Kevin Rose and Alex Ohanian (founder of Reddit) discuss the transition from web2.0 to web3. https://www.proof.xyz/from-web2-to-web3-alexis-ohanian-and-kevin-rose/
- Pioneer Square Lab’s thoughts on web3. https://www.psl.com/feed-posts/web3-engineer-take
- USV’s Fred Wilson on why web3. https://avc.com/2021/12/why-web3/
- Matthew Ball’s Framework for the Metaverse. https://www.matthewball.vc/all/forwardtothemetaverseprimer
- Chris Dixon on Why Web3 Matters. https://future.a16z.com/why-web3-matters/
- And last… Web3 is Bullshit, https://www.stephendiehl.com/blog/web3-bullshit.html, and My first impressions of web3 by Moxie Martingale founder of Signal https://moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html
- We have a library of another 40–50 articles; if you’re interested, reach out.
Also, a few podcasts– a sliver of what’s out there — that focus on Web3 and have high single / noise ratios:
- Modern Finance: https://modern.finance/
- Probably Nothing: https://itsprobablynothing.xyz/
- Proof: https://www.proof.xyz/
- Bankless: http://podcast.banklesshq.com/
If you’d like to hear more about how we use the people creating markets — like leaders of Decentraland, Octi, Wave, and Spatial in the Metaverse — to help our customers navigate them, get in touch.
Who better to help you navigate the future than the people disrupting it.*
* That’s our business.
