Most people talk about web3 so ubiquitously I wonder how many people know what that really means or if they just use it as floating signifier to simp for anything blockchain adjacent. Before we get into the meat of the topic, we should clear up a misconception that seems to be creating a lot of cognitive dissonance. Web3 didn't come into form to replace Web2 like it's some archaic fossil or boomer cultural misanthrope. They are optimized in a stack that synergize with each other. Much like a tech stack. It's not like every advancement we make replaces or disrupts its predecessors, in fact many work in tandem. Movies did not replace books. Many respected cinema pieces are actually based on novels.

I think the problem with the social currency conversation is that we are conflating too many ideas and propping up perverse incentive structures which are close to duplications of problematic systems that are already in place elsewhere. Upvoting culture on Hive is very reminiscent of fiefdoms and despite claiming it as web3, we see less autonomous expressions and more echo chambers and orbiter culture.

Before socialists misappropriated the word equity, there used to be this idea called social equity. You spend quality time with people and build relationships and then when you need something like help moving, you tap into that social equity and your friends help you out. You can also overburden your social equity by asking too much and not putting enough in. This creates a natural homeostasis so things can balance themselves out and the entire social network can prosper without being taxed too much in one area. Alternatively, Hive has a weird trickle down economic theory so the systems themselves are never designed to balance out. I think the important takeaway is to not put Hive up on a pedestal as an end all be all type thing. It's an experiment in progress and the most successful people with apply bayesian theory and improve on its methods instead of just yes-manning a stop-gap measure.