Many put crypto and Web3 together. It is an accurate thing to do since they are linked. Cryptocurrency is a vital component to Web 3.0 as is the underlying technology, blockchain.
For this reason, mentalily looking at them as one is accurate.
Things change when we start to look at the human element. Here is where things are severely altered.
Web 3.0 people are radically different from those involved in crypto. While there is natural overlook, as we will see, the numbers do not align.
In this article we will look at the two types and what their focus is.
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The number of crypto people overwhelm those involved in Web 3.0. It is sad to write that yet it is the case. Unfortunately, this is a massiive setback to the entire industry.
How do we distinguish between the two? Hopefully, by digging into this we can clarify the matter.
It is best to start with crypto people. They are the easiest and most common.
Crypto advocates are nothing more than green candle people. They care about little else. While they might use some Web3 buzzwords, there only goal is to push whatever coin or token they are interested in.
We see them all over social media. The fact they are on Web 2.0 is a sign. To me, talking about one's favorite crypto token on Web 2.0 platforms does not equate to Web 3.0. Many will try to do this under the guise of marketing. What the heck is being marketed in a discussion about Bitcoin or Ethereum? Or even worse, when the conversation is about ABC token, they are "marketing" with no applications or services available?
In many circles, that is called a scam.
The reality is that, in most of these cases, the goal is to pump the price. Once again, green candle people. They want price to go up. These are coins or tokens that are held by the individual, seeking to expand the value of the wallet.
Naturally, there is nothing wrong with making money and looking to enhance oneself financially. The point is we cannot mistake them for Web 3.0. Crypto simply a tool they use for financial gain. It is no different than any other asset.
We see this in the terminology. Crypto people use words and phrases such as bull, bear, price, market cap, or ROI.
Swap out crypto for stocks, commodities, or Cabbaga Patch Kids and the conversation is the same. In fact, many of the discussions around NFTs after that bubble burst reminded me of the Cabbage Patch craze from decades ago.
Web 3.0 people are the gem. They are not the ones spending their days on Web 2.0. Their focus is not on pricing, bull or bears, or anything that Jim Cramer would discuss. Instead, their vocabulary is more in alignment with a CEO on an earning call.
Listen to a call for the most successful companies. These CEOs rarely will talk about stock price even when asked by analysts. Their conversation is filled with market share, profitability, expansion, sales, and a host of ther terms that apply to business.
Web 3.0 are business builders, at least with their mindset. Even if the individual is not an entrepreneur, the mental outlook is akin with this line of thinking.
The problem with the stock market these days is that, unfortunately, many CEOs are only concerned with the short term moves in the price. Due to their compensation plans, the timeline is 90-180 days. These are also the companies that tend to struggle.
When we shift the focus to people like Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg, or Huang, share price is not even on their radar. Their focus is on building the business. If we move past the CEOs, we find that most layers of upper management is the same.
Another way of looking at this is the focus. What is the most commonly used application on one's phone. Web 3.0 people are not hanging out on Web 2.0 all day. Instead, they are building in some manner. This might be daily coding for infrastructure, an application, or running a team that is looking to grow a business.
The impact of crypto versus Web 3.0 focus has opened up the door for Wall Street and Big Tech. I long discussed the hijacking of Bitcoin by Wall Street.
When we look at developed, much in technology is driven by venture capital money. You would think these financeers were market focused people. They are not.
Instead, they seek to fund the building of applications or platforms that are successful. Again, their terms are not that of market players. Instead, they focus upon the growth by using other metircs that chart the progress. The exit plan, financially, is already in place so execution is the goal.
Of course, to exit, this usually means getting the company publicly traded. It is ironic since tokenized platforms already achieved that.
If we look at the infrastruture that people utilitize, what is behind it? In most instances, it is VC money or some Wall Street firm. Even the financial aspect of things, which serves the crypto people, is being taken over. This might make then happen but it is feeding more of the same beast.
One of the core features of Web 3.0 is going to be AI. This holds true for most businesses going forward. However, a major difference from Web 2.0 is the building with AI in mind. This is what separates Web 3.0.
As we discussed repeatedly, we are seeing data at the core of this. A major part of my problem with Big Tech is the fact that it is only serving to make those entities more powerful. Feeding data to Meta, xAI, and Google via their platforms is the reason why they have some of the most powerful models.
Naturally, it is unrealistic to believe that complete avoidance of Web 2.0 platforms is possible. It is questionable whether that is even desired. However, feeding all our information to them is not sound. It is, however, exactly what crypto people do.
The future success of Web 3.0 depends upon the AI services that will be offered. Tokenization provides the opportunity for a different ownership structure. It is one solution to the "winner take most" scenario that is commonplace in the Web 2.0 world.
It is an arms race, one that effectivly pits centralization against decentralization. Reverting back to the main topic, where do you think most people who are involved in "Web 3.0" focus their attention?
AI is always being fed; it is just a question of where.
