Web 3.0 is going to change everything. As we delve into some of the potentialities before us, we can see a path where certain disruptions can be enhanced.
Over the last year, we investigated what is taking place in the world of entertainment. While there are many things affecting Hollywood, much of it is window dressing. That is not to say it is not accurate or a piece of the equation. The point here is we are looking at fringe stuff that is not the real thrust of change.
Hollywood, like many industries, saw a technological disruption due to this thing called the Internet. Now, it can be facing another technological push in the form of artificial intelligence.
This opens up a completely new opportunity, one that is going to require different monetization tactics.
Image generated by Ideogram
Web 3.0: The Epitome of Disruption
Anyone who follows my writings knows that YouTube is the largest streaming platform. This is a big jump from where it started.
One of the keys is that disruption always starts from the bottom and moves upward.
The early days of YouTube were videos of the cat walking on piano keys. This certainly was not something that Hollywood television or movie studios had to worry about.
Yet today, it is the largest streaming platform by hours of content viewed.
It is an important lesson for Web 3.0.
Many look at it believing it is not happening. After all, things are proceeding very slowly. Elon Musk is noted for asking "where is it".
None of this is untrue. The rate of progress is hard to see. We are a long way from mass adoption. As of this moment, services and utility are still lacking. Like the early days of YouTube, there is no threat.
The question is where will things be in a decade. Here is where the scope of the threat can change.
Accelerated Pace
Artificial intelligence is going to accelerate the fragmentation of Hollywood. We are seeing tools provided to individuals that previously were not possible. The output is still raw yet will get better as time passes.
Here is an example. These are two AI generated videos.
The first was from April of 2023:
The second one is from January of 2024:
Notice the difference between the two. Both are AI generated yet the ability to create was enhanced greatly as time progressed. Granted, we might be dealing with two completely set of skills regarding the creator. Nevertheless, we can see how this enhancement put forth a product that is of much higher quality.
Also, the second one generated 34,500 views for the 3 minute video. That is 1,725 hours worth of attention that was not directed at something created by the major Hollywood studios.
The tools are improving with each passing month. Google just introduced Veo, a Sora competitor that is garnering some solid reviews for its text-to-video abilities.
Of course, what we are showing here is all Web 2.0 stuff. None of this has anything to do with Web 3.0.
A New Business model
The biggest question going forward will be how will fragmented videos get attention?
YouTube content creators are able to get seen because of the platforms draws in a lot of traffic. If that continues, then no problem. Where a challenge could arise is if YouTube, with regards to social video, is no longer the main platform.
My guess is we start to see fragmentation there. Technology is decentralizing a great deal. The upcoming search wars could be a prime example. Google held a monopoly on search for most of the last two decades. However, chatbots are moving ahead, often providing similar (if not better responses). What happens when we start to see SLMs emerge which are build into platforms. People will be conducting searches right from the site.
The last disruption moved the distribution channel from Hollywood (and New York) monopolies to YouTube. What will the next one hold?
Here is where the monetization process gets challenging. New designs will be required, something that is difficult to do with the Web 2.0 realm.
Tokenization can seriously alter this completely. The basics of the digital platform business model can be magnified through the use of cryptocurrency. It opens up a new pathway for individuals or companies who are moving into this realm.
Tens of Millions of Media Companies
For much of the last 100 years, there were a handful of media companies. If we harken back before cable and satellite, we were dealing with only a few television stations. This was coupled with the Big 5 Hollywood studios.
Things started to expand a little over 40 years ago. Cable ended up bringing us hundreds of channels.
YouTube took this even further. Even though it was a single platform, there are tens of thousands of "channels" on there.
The next generation is going to expand this again. We will see tens of millions of media companies emerging, those which are monetized in some form. Of course, not all will be pulling in billions of dollars. In fact, as things dilute, the Hollywood money is going to be funneled elsewhere.
How much will Web 3.0 capture?
Actually, a more important question is how soon it will happen. Disruption starts slowly then accelerates over time. If entertainment is going to be done with the help of AI, it is no longer simply a realm of the major studios.
Platforms that start to capture this idea and apply it will be positioned for change. New technology always generates different business models.
This ends up making the old ones obsolete.
It also provides a path for Web 3.0 to take over entertainment. The technological push is going to disrupt things even more.