The Future of Communications in a Web3 World. A Manchester Ink Link Community Member Perspective.
There’s a lot of noise and media these days around cryptocurrency and NFTs. Surely you have seen media coverage about the people who have made or lost millions on everything from Crypto to the Bored Ape Yacht Club series of NFTs.
VON 3 SUMMIT
In January, I attended and was a presenting speaker at the VON3 summit. Historically the VON conferences (first held in 1996) help accelerate the global growth of Voice and Video on the internet. This most recent, and for the first time virtual, global event engaged speakers across eight different time zones and multiple continents in real-time.
VON is just one of several program series created by Jeff Pulver, an internet pioneer in VoIP, founder of pulver.com and co-founder of Vonage and a number of other companies. Because of his visionary approach and the resulting FCC Pulver Order in 2004, we are able to use voice and video and communicate freely over the internet. Facetime, Zoom calls and Google Meet are familiar but would never have had the chance if the decision alone was left to Ma Bell.
MEDIA AND THE GOLD RUSH
While media has focused on the gold rush frenzy, it has missed the deeper more resourceful and creative explorations of where technology CAN go. At a fireside chat with Jeff, we talked about the power of building Communities of trust and their central and critical role in our rapidly evolving Web 3 world.
Rather than look at NFTs as a commodity for trade, we took the time to explore their ability to act as an access token. One that opens doors to broader levels of learning, knowledge, privileged information, and especially membership, in a totally transparent and accountable way.
Do you dislike what social media platforms have done to your privacy? Are you bothered by the intrusive, interruption of advertising based upon your profile of online “clicks”? How about advertising hyped as press releases?
They may be important to the sender but not to the reader or digital media outlets where a unique authoritative voice can be diminished by a tug of war over “earned media” in a world of content marketing. Kyle York of York IE has it right when he talks about “drumbeat marketing” but, to reach a broader audience, we will need to have trustworthy independent sources of information. Just who will pay for it – and how will it avoid the conflict-of-interest concerns of today’s traditional media world?
TRANSFORMATION
Dramatic changes in how we interact with companies and brands are happening now in everything from retail commerce to marketing and media communications. Jeff is exploring the possibilities of what he has labeled as Programmable Communications.
Imagine a world where you can require payments from those who wish to advertise their products and services to you. Instead of random or even targeted interruptions on your devices, you might very well be able to set a price for your time and attention. Imagine a world where artists will retain a financial interest in the downstream re-sale of their creations.
I have written and presented extensively about the transformational power of Business – Art – and Technology and how interdependent they are for success. From this VON conference, I have added “Culture” as an important fourth building block for Web3 success.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
- Web 1 – was static – websites were the digital version of yellow pages, print ads and brochures
- Web 2 – interactive – where social media opened the doors to everyone until they became the new gatekeepers
- Web 3 – PUTS COMMUNITY FIRST. Gatekeepers are failing once again. Cookies, intrusive tracking and aggressive marketing giving way to Decentralized Autonomous organizations
Check out this video for an overview of Web3 from a developer’s point of view,
WHO WILL PROSPER?
Digital First Communities will be the winners. With the internet as the great equalizer, communities that have trust at their core will excel.
HOW?
In the madness around NFTs and Bored Apes, the quiet factors of TRUST, EDUCATION, AUDIENCE and REACH will determine the long-term winners. Creativity and innovation are the power fuels to create the seller-buyer Commerce Bridges. Cultural considerations will strengthen every roadmap to success.
As we move forward in Web 3, Cyber Security will play an ever more important role. In addition to my presentation, I moderated a conversation between Oz Sultan and Deidre Diamond. They explored the economically disadvantaged groups across the globe and cultural and gender needs and expectations.
There are exploding career opportunities here and a potential for consumers to block brands that don’t meet our diversity, equity and inclusion expectations.
Ted Rubin, a leading social media strategist and international speaker ranked in the LH Top 200 Voices in Leadership, gave me this important quote that I utilized throughout the summit:
“A Network gives you Reach. A Community gives you Power.
Networks Connect … but Communities Care.”
There is so much more to come. Contact me if you want to explore Community building and Web 3. The opportunities are wide open.