The Dark Social: Are We Entering Web 3.0?

the uptick, issue v

“I know not what Web 3.0 will look like, but Web 4.0 will see us return to pen and paper.” — ZK

Just kidding.

But the first murmurs of Web 3.0 are upon us.

If your news team is investing in messengers, bots, and newsletters (ironic, I know), you should know that these are not the future as much as they are signs that we’re heading into Web 3.0.

So what will Web 3.0 look like? I like to call it the ‘dark social.’

Remember internet forum culture from the late 90s and early 2000s? The mainstream is ready for that.

The dark social feels private, closed, secure, and intimate. Emphasis is not on a “wall,” “page,” or “profile.” One-to-one or one-to-many relationships are privileged. Content appears in feeds and is discussed in direct messages to individuals and carefully selected groups.

Snapchat is the first platform that is emblematic of the dark social, Instagram comes close. Facebook is trying to head that way. It will probably fail.

The next big social media platform will be dark, and it will carry us into Web 3.0.

Who’s ready to build it? 😈