Web 3.0 Is Coming, Are You Prepared?
Are you ready for Web 3.0? If not, you need to read this post right away!
Unless you have been living under the rock during 2021, the terms web 3.0 and the metaverse have been floating around tech media like it is going out of fashion. But what are they really?
I know what you are thinking, you are a small business owner who just got your head around social media for your business. Now there is some new concepts and digital media for you to get your head around.
To put it bluntly, Web 3.0 is the next generation of the internet, it offers a user friendly, decentralised version of the internet we know and love today. Think of it as the evolutionary ladder outlined below
If Web 1.0 connected people
Web 2.0 connected people and places
Web 3.0 connects people places and things. Essentially the physical and digital worlds will become one. From an epistemological point of view, reality will increasingly become blurred.
The pandemic acted as a catalyst for this advanced adoption. As more people went into lockdown in 2020-2021, there was a need to create an escape into virtual worlds. Web 3.0 offers this promise.
Let's face it Web 2.0 was and still is the age of the oligarchs. Large tech giants who commodified your data, to a point where society has been brought to the brink. Web 3.0 offers the chance for users to cooperate and collaborate in a promised decentralised tech utopia.
The good news is, that Web 3.0 is not expected to come into effect until at least 2027. Which gives you a good 4-5 years to strategise and experiment with, and still be ahead of the curve. Here are three actionable items you can do right now before your competitors do.
Buy Your First NFT (Non-Fungible Token).
2021, was the year that NFTs broke, owning digital assets will be become just as important as physical ones. Luxury brands like Gucci already sell digital items as NFTs in games like Roblox. As previously mentioned in a podcast episode back in November 2021. You can buy NFTs for as little as $40 AUD on marketplaces like Opensea and Nifty. This gives you a taste of what things are going to be like in years to come, and who knows, like finding a rare basketball card during your youth. That $40 investment could go up in value.
Play Video Games!
It is in video gaming, in platforms like Roblox and Fortnite that are offering the primitive versions of the metaverse. However, if you can get the chance to play as a guest on Decentraland, to get a feel of what the stage of the internet is going to feel like in 5 years time. A decentralised internet is all about communities and collaboration. It is all about building experiences, and community engagement.
Look into AR and VR
For these are the tools that act as a gateway into the metaverse. AR (Augmented Reality) in particular offers holds so much potential. If your customers cannot come to you physically, then recreate your shop or business digitally and offer a truly immersive experience.
Take a leaf out of the music industry: Ariana Grande held a concert for 78 Million Fans on Fortnite back in October 2021. With rapper Travis Scott pulling in similar numbers on Roblox. There is a ready-made audience waiting for you, and your virtual event. Rather than hosting a Zoom call, make the leap as an early adopter and really impress your audience.
Now is the time to experiment and build tomorrow's more open and democratic internet today.
Remember Friends, Stay Curious and the Future is User Friendly.