Web 3.0 Needs a Shared Vision and Greater Collaboration
I would never have thought that my role as a product engineer would include being a bit of an amateur historian. Technologists are, by our very nature, forward-looking optimists. We make a living selling leaders and teams on what the future can look like, and then do our best to meet and exceed that vision.
The more I read about Web 3.0 and the energy behind it, the more I feel we need to look back on what made the origins of the original internet (aka Web 1.0) work as well as it did. A critical ingredient in Web 1.0’s success was government and defense leaders recognizing that a cooperative communication framework was needed to increase communication speed during the Cold War. That common and very unifying goal: to get an edge over our enemy. Are we heading in that same direction with the current discussions around the Metaverse?
Massive Cooperation and Sharing Scaled the Internet
ISPs didn’t “make” the web originally for the benefit of consumers. Under the umbrella of ARPANET, the telcos (fierce competitors, let’s remember) were given the funding and the research to scale that framework aggressively, with consumer applications being almost an afterthought. The consumer model could only scale because ISPs agreed that traffic had to be shared amongst networks (that’s a very short and simplified reference to Tier 1 peering agreements). I still have to remind myself that peering agreements are basically what makes it possible for you to read this post…to this very day.
Product leaders, before they dive into developing complex and costly applications intended for this “metaverse” (that is still highly conceptual), the question is always going to be “why.” Products almost always prove to be useful because people need them. For example, email was a game-changer because it was easy and often more convenient than a phone call or in-person communication.
The late 90s was a lifetime ago, but consumer values haven’t changed much. Initially, online shopping didn’t disrupt brick-and-mortar retail, disrupting catalogs. How quickly consumers flock to metaverse experiences will largely depend on what they disrupt…in positive and effective ways.
There are always obvious “whys” or motivators for people to hump through some hoops if it makes their lives easier.
Where are Those Opportunities Today?
Why do people adopt new products and services? When those new services replace something that is either expensive, inconvenient, or not of adequate value.
For example, the NFT marketplace is intimidating for the average consumer right now. Blockchain infrastructure has potential but is not ready to scale. Oculus goggles provide limited immersive experiences, and cryptocurrency is highly speculative.
Right now, the blockchain/crypto horizon still includes a lot of what ifs.
What if:
- Blockchain infrastructure scales, and underpinning digital identity could offer superior app experiences?
- Digital identity is consumer-controlled and widely acceptable across platforms and apps?
- Crypto is adopted not just by the wealthy or risk-friendly outliers, but becomes widely accepted as a worldwide and/or personal reserve currency?
- NFTs unlock an excellent market opportunity for every creator out there?
- Virtual and augmented reality brings education to the underprivileged, provides great customer experiences in healthcare, education, industrial companies, and transforms social relationships?
For that all to happen, however, large bodies like Meta, Google, Microsoft Epic, and other market leaders that own these individuated pieces of IP have to be as cooperative and generous with each other as those institutions that built the foundation of the web. And that’s where we get to a pretty significant “chicken and egg” problem of Web 3.0 and the metaverse.
Consumers won’t adopt anything until it scales (or at least, that’s what history tells us), and for new technology to rise, the parties involved all have to share those frameworks across each network. Now imagine Facebook, Google, Apple, Epic, Microsoft, and so on being generous and cooperative…with each other.
New technology and products have far-reaching impacts when they are easy to use and scale to benefit every business and person. Good leaders can make good products, and consumers embrace new tools when they improve the things they already do. Most buying public isn’t cynical about new technology, nor is it defined by early adopters. Most of us sit right in the middle.
As with everything, though — and granted, this may be the optimist in me saying this — the best lessons about where the future lies is usually the most evident from what we already know from the past. Now the success of web 3.0/meta is dependent more on alignment and collaboration for the greater good of society.
