Web3 is coming. In many ways, it’s already here.
The past few years have witnessed the meteoric rise of cryptocurrencies and NFTs with and, although many are yet to adopt or even understand these concepts, both have given us a taste of the next major evolution of the internet.
What is different about Web3?
As this is an online article and not a novel, we’ll keep things as concise as possible.
The internet’s history can be broadly split into three primary eras: Web1, Web2, and Web3. That progression essentially takes us from a fairly basic, informational internet to what we’re seeing today: a fully functioning, decentralised social space with an added emphasis on user privacy.
More personalisation
Web3 will see the efficacy of current tracking techniques such as third-party cookies reduced significantly. That means it’s going to get harder for marketers to collect data in the traditional sense. Given we are already seeing a demand for increased user privacy online, it is easy to understand where this has all come from.
The primary difference between Web3 and Web2 privacy can be best understood through the lens of decentralisation. By moving away from relying on a single port of call (for example, the use of HTTP on Web2) to a blockchain-based network with information stored in multiple locations, users will be able to better control the databases that our current tech giants have almost exclusive access to.
Communities and AI/ machine learning
Online communities differ from the standard social media platforms in that they are controlled by individuals. Once again, it all comes back to decentralisation; rather than having one large organisation responsible for governing our social interactions, we will be able to control these spaces ourselves.
AI (artificial intelligence) also ties into this crucial concept of an increased opportunity for individuals to take back control online. At present, AI is primarily recognisable in the form of large, centralised projects owned by – yep, you guessed it – those large organisations. On Web3, we will see more and more people not simply using this technology but owning it. Creators of AI will have their own platform in the form of communities, leading to an increase in collaborative networks.
Added user privacy
Much has been made over the past decade or so of how large organisations use our data. Whether we’re talking about Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook or our very own pockets and Apple, these massive firms haven’t necessarily always been in the news for the right reasons.
Naturally, people have pushed back a bit and demanded the ability to decide where their data goes and who gets to see it. Enter Web3, which promises to take the power away from tech giants and put it back in the individual’s hands. That means reduced centralisation, which in turn should lead to greater security.
Consider the impact of a huge firm such as Facebook being hacked. Their servers famously went down in October 2021, and it led to a widespread reaction within minutes. Within fifteen minutes, national news channels were covering the story as millions of people lost the ability to interact with each other. With a reduction in centralisation, such an attack would not only seem less appealing in the first place, but would also cause significantly less disruption.
What Does Web3 Mean for Digital Marketing?
Given everything we’ve discussed up to this point, it is easy to see how such a dramatic change in the online space will impact the digital marketing industry.
First things first, though; will digital marketing still represent a valid service once Web3 has been fully adopted?
Absolutely.
Will digital marketing – and digital marketers – need to significantly adapt their approach to ensure they’re capitalising on the new opportunities presented by such a dramatic change?
Of course.
While the shifting landscape will undoubtedly present challenges, it will also create a lot of opportunity. We discuss these opportunities in detail in another piece, which focuses on how we believe Web3 will affect digital marketing moving forward. For now, we will outline the central point to all of this and explain how you can ensure you’re prepared for the changes we’re all going to see.
The bottom line
For now, though, we thought it would be helpful to re-emphasise the underlying theme to this entire article: opportunity.
That means opportunity for everyone, not just those lucky enough to be in the driving seat in big tech companies, or those rich enough to buy themselves a seat at the table. With decentralisation and personalisation comes a genuine chance for anyone, provided their understanding is up to scratch, to grab a slice of the much-sought-after pie.
What do we all need to ensure we can capitalise on these opportunities? We can prepare for it in a number of ways:
- Familiarise yourself with data analysis. We’d like to think this shouldn’t be too tricky given you’re presumably already in digital marketing, but it is worth putting this point right at the top of this list given how important accurate data analysis will be moving forward.
- Stay up to date with industry news. Whenever anything remotely new drops, be that a new social media algorithm or a huge story in a celebrity gossip magazine, new information always presents itself with alarming frequency. If you’re not able to stay in the know, you could quickly find yourself lagging behind.
- Get to know the blockchain. Put simply, understanding the blockchain and its technology is going to be essential for anyone hoping to cut it in the world of Web3.
Maximist Limited – Web3 Digital Marketing
Here at Maximist, we have dedicated ourselves to understanding Web3 and to bridging the gap to it for our customers. If you wish to speak to us about any of our services, or are simply interested in learning more about some of the topics discussed in this article, we’d absolutely love to hear from you.
You can reach us on 0800 059 0116, or fill in one of our online contact forms.
