We talk a great deal about Web3 and the next generation Internet. This is something that anyone in cryptocurrency should be focused upon.
The question, however, is what will become of social media? How is it going to change? This is an important concept to discuss considering that we are talking about a radical change in the online world.
While this is valid, I think a more accurate question is what is going to happen to everything else? When we see disruption, it comes in ways we least expect it. A case could be made the tentacles of social media are only extending further.
Regardless of what took place over the last decade, this medium only grew. When we look at the numbers, they are astonishing.
Let us compare the largest U.S. banks by customers (source:
As we can see a huge difference. If we are dealing with the attention economy, where are the eyeballs?
My view is that, in the future, everything will be social media. This is what will swallow most other industries. It is not so much that things will disappear as they are going to be incorporated into the social media platforms.
After all, why would these companies not leverage their user base for greater profits? This is done by offering more services.
There is also another factor in play here. Many industries are going digital. Finance services, today, are mostly digital. If we need a mortgage, open up an application. We do online banking. Financial assets are purchased through brokerage firms using a website.
Here we see something that is ripe for disruption.
Another industry that is going fully digital is media. When we consider it, what is streaming? What makes the likes of Disney and the other companies special? Leaving their parks and hotels aside, the main aspect of the business, the media, is all digital.
Could this be incorporated into the social media platforms? You can bet the ranch on that.
Again, we have to isolate where they eyeball are.
Let us look at the streaming services (source:
The same story. Netflix's numbers are much less than what the social media companies have. Of course, these are paid services where social media is, on the surface, free. That said, where people are is important.
It is not a question of social media, streaming, or finance. Instead, what we are really dealing with are digital platforms.
Here is the key. The future appears to be based upon digital platforms. This makes sense in a world where networks are plentiful. When one is successful at attracting eyeballs, everything changes.
Let us look at the Facebook family of applications versus the banks. The numbers are insane for the former. This means that, if it can offer even basic financial services, the customer base is instantly 30 times what Bank of America has. Let that sink in.
It is the path Elon Musk is looking at pursuing.
The numbers only make sense. It is far easier to build something in an application than it is to get people to switch their applications.
Think this is outlandish? Do you recall the Apple Savings account? That made major news earlier in the year. Where does that stand now?
In August 2023, Apple announced the account had reached more than $10 billion in deposits since its launch. To compare, only about 150 U.S. banks (out of nearly 5,000) have deposits of more than $10 billion, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
In terms of deposits, you can look at Apple as a top 150 bank in the United States.
The bigger question is what will stop Google or Facebook from doing something similar? Naturally, we also have to look at the idea of Web3 platforms as a viable option in the future. What part of the pie will they pull away.
This is the direction of things. We are dealing with fragmentation, something that is going to change. As these digital platforms add features from other industries, we are going to see fierce competition. Unfortunately for the incumbents, it will not come from areas one would traditionally look.
For example, Netflix might not be wise to focus solely upon Disney. That might not be the competitor to watch out for. Instead, it might be YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. The same holds true for the banks.
We covered a couple of industries that are seemingly unrelated yet are going to be built upon digital platforms. Here is where the opening for Web3 enters. We are talking about an entirely new structure for ownership, asset management, and innovation. Tokenization truly does change everything.
However, we can not overlook the basis of what we are dealing with. To successfully achieve this, Web3 needs to offer the services. This is something that has not taken place. Try to find platforms that offer even the most basic of what is mentioned in this article.
It doesn't exist.
This is the challenge before everyone. The playing field is wide open. For that reason, the race is really between digital platform providers. Who is going to come out ahead?
Understanding the game is crucial. That is what will give some of the contestants a leg up. Most are still focused upon their core business like nothing is changing. The reality is everything is changing.
Perhaps if we added a few other industries such as shopping the point would be clearer.
Either way, this is what is likely to unfold. The next generation Internet is going to eat up more industries. We could easily add in another such as shopping.
It is becoming clear where things are going.
