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The implementation of Web 3 technology has the potential to disrupt the social media and gaming industries. Not only that, but this technology may even save democracy in the digital age.
The economic potential is staggering, because Web 3 may provide a monetization tool for vast numbers of users and creators, individuals who are currently denied a fair share of the billions of dollars that flow though social media and gaming. How much money might users and creators make? For some it may be substantial, for others perhaps modest, but in an age of historic market transitions, acquiring additional income sources can improve the lives of millions, and for many, this may even be a financial lifeboat.
The largest social media platforms provide few direct financial rewards to users and content providers. For sources of online income, one needs to go outside the platform. For example one may use ads or content on a particular social media platform, to get business income from another entity outside the platform, who becomes a customer. With this arrangement, there is no direct monetization, of content or platform networking activities, from the social platform, despite the fact that most of the company’s value comes from the combination of content creation and the building of an online network by the users. But what if platform users and content providers could also get income directly from the platform itself? Such a situation is possible, using Web 3 software automation that distributes the ad revenue directly to all users and content creators on any given platform.
Another source of social media revenue is selling data about users. How might users monetize this? What if the middleman was cut out of the process, and all this money was returned directly to the users who provide their personal information? Again, this is possible with Web 3 protocols.
With Web 3 social media, the users may also potentially be the owners. This means that advertising money and other sources of income, such as that gained by selling user data, can be shared by all social media participants. Shared ownership can be granted on the basis of having a user account, together with a crypto wallet. The wallet is employed as a form of ID, for logging in, and for receiving a share of the platform’s ad revenue, as well as other transactions, such as donations. If the platform includes play-to-earn gaming, the wallet may be used by gamers to accept crypto prizes, and to control NFT assets used in blockchain computer games. Many of these Web 3 social and gaming services are likely to take the form of 3D metaverses.
Then there is the issue of free speech. In today’s social media landscape, the corporate management of social media giants have a history of censorship, including arbitrarily deleting popular web pages and video channels. While some might argue that they are private businesses, and therefore have a right to refuse service to anyone they do not like, others argue that these businesses have biases that lead to ideological discrimination. As so much of society’s discourse is carried out on large social media platforms, they are in a position to hide information, or stifle the forums where important public issues are discussed. With Web 3 this power and responsibility can be shared more democratically, throughout the online community, rather than delegating it to a few centralized entities.
Another problem with today’s social media giants, which Web 3 solves, is a lack of transparency. We see that a particular post or video gets a particular number of likes, and is distributed through the platform. One may hope that such network activities are displayed accurately, however these systems are not transparent. By utilizing blockchain technology, such data is open, transparent, and may be monitored in real time, 24/7, by anyone with a computer and internet connection. Trust, but verify!
There are a number of crypto and Web 3 related social media platforms, including: Torum.com, Cent.co, bitclout.com (also called DeSo), Flote.biz (with built-in crypto wallets), hyprr.com and minds.com.
There is also Blockster.com, which is more media than social media. I had read the it was decentralized social media, but did not find any meaningful social media on the site. I did see sections for comments on articles, a sort of lighter version of social media, though sometimes there weren’t any comments related to particular articles. However it is worth mentioning in this context, as a comprehensive crypto news website where articles often have links to crypto-related posts on Web 2 social media. Rapidinnovation.io claims that Blockster connects 200+ million crypto fans worldwide.
In addition to such decentralized sites, blockchain metaverse projects, such as the Sandbox and TCG World, are vast decentralized platforms, where thousands of developers can build games, online businesses, events and digital art. By making an online world which connected thousands of digital places, with a rich diversity of online implementation, Metaverses blur the lines between social media, gaming, and other uses of digital space.
Web 3 introduces significant benefits to gamers. For example, players can take their avatars and skins across various gaming environments, where these digital assets can be easily used, sold or traded.
And with blockchain play-to-earn gaming, players can compete for crypto prizes!
The list of blockchain games has grown tremendously in recent years, including Gala Games, the many games of the Sandbox metaverse, Crypto Kitties, Smash Karts and Spider Tanks. The game Axie Infinity has a history of providing a salary to a substantial number of professional gamers.
Here are some links to Web 3 and crypto related metaverses and social media platforms:
https://www.sandbox.game/en/
https://tcg.world/
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