Web 3.0 has flooded our notification boxes lately. Enthusiasts call it "the new internet", and they have all the reasons to do so. Web3.0 is a decentralized version of the internet that not only lets you read and write but also own your interactions across the networks you use daily. Overall, the future of the internet looks bright and very different from the present. The new internet is about embedding properties in the digital world that are the same as our real world.
When it comes to digital marketing, there have been three waves of technological expansion during this time: Web 2.0, Social Media, and now Web 3.0.
Web1.0 was all about static texts and graphics. Then Web2 came, and everything became interactive, social media platforms started to pop up here and there, and we could begin interacting with one another by means of Instagram stories, tweets, blogs, and Facebook posts. And what is next?
Web 3.0, or the decentralized Web.
The financial crisis in 2018 was the gist of all this. It exposed the government's negligence and how they used public money to bail financial institutions. For many, this was the last drop and a reason enough to come up with a solution. It took an anonymous individual ( or group) by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto to deploy the Bitcoin blockchain. This automated the need for banks and other centralized intermediaries allowing users from anywhere to send money in a secure and trustworthy way.
The blockchain gave birth to Web 3.0 as we know it today, but it still took a few more years before we saw blockchain applications like decentralized finance (DeFi), smart contracts, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). When social networks like Facebook turned to Meta, it bolstered the relationship between hardware ( like VR and AR devices) and software. Web3.0 became the perfect medium for the latest technologies based on data, including AI and blockchain.
Now back to the point, the new internet promises to be smarter and more intelligent than the previous eras of the Web. With better and more immersive technologies, we're expecting digital marketing to reach new heights. When it comes to attracting new people to use their product in a fun, more personalized, and engaging way, brands will be spoilt for choice.
Web 3.0 rethinks the way brands and businesses access and leverage user data. Today, make a lot of profit based on the data they collect from users. Either by selling it to third parties or by using it to pump their marketing endeavors.
Supporters of the new internet believe that consumers should be more involved in the way their data is used and who they share it with, knowing how valuable it can be.
According to Savanta, new user privacy guidelines would make it harder for brands to collect consumer data but at the same would force them to be more transparent with data collection and usage. They will likely need to find new creative ways to reach their target audience.
NTFS and the metaverse will eventually become more mainstream. Later this year, we're expecting to see the trend slowly taking off. We've seen NFTs massively used by artists to sell their paintings online. But there's more to these digital tokens than just that.
Tokens have a unique value that provides a record of ownerships with real-world benefits. NFTs are more than just pieces of art, and the blockchain technology that supports NFTs can be used by brands and marketers to create new experiences for their customers by:
Customers decide what to do with these tokens. They can hold on to these unique tokens, or they may place tokens on an already NFT-crazed market and sell them on.
Another immediate change will be in how brands and businesses accept payment. We're already seeing more and more digital stores accepting cryptocurrency, which will transform how we message and talk about the specific point of sale.
The new internet is all about redistributing power to the verge consumer. Consumers will be those who will decide and promote the ideas they're most interested in instead of just being along for the ride.
With this shift, digital marketing companies and brands will have to rely more on creating a strong community. Because skepticism about brands and how they use data grows, the community is more important than ever.
As we speak, many content creators feel at the mercy of platforms they publish on with stringent guidelines in what they can publish to limited earning potential. The new internet would endow them with full autonomy.
Artists and content creators only gain a fraction of the revenue when someone downloads their content, and the hosting platform (think Apple Music or Spotify) makes out like a bandit. The same happens with content creators on Twitch and YouTube. But this won't be the case with the new Web3.1 revenue model. It's time for creators to be masters and benefit from their own efforts.
Obviously, there's still a long way off from Web 3.0 becoming a reality. Yet, it's something that marketers will need to wrap their heads around sooner or later.
