Web3's biggest & broadest value add (how it will work & how we will get there)
Web3 won't make everyone rich.
...sure, it'll make some people rich, but not everyone.
The broadest change we'll all likely feel, is in data ownership.
Which sounds like let down, but it's actually super exciting when you consider where we're at right now...
As we move from the industrial age into the information age, we're seeing a shift in individual economic value from labor, to data.
I.e. the behavioral data that makes up our digital identities is starting to become more valuable to businesses than our potential output of labor.
The only issue is, while we have access to our digital identities - we don't actually own them.
...which is kind of insane when you think about it.
The third party sale of your data is like an art supplies shop claiming they should be able to own and profit from your art, given they provided the canvas it was painted on.
The data that makes up our digital identities is largely owned by the likes of:
Google (Android, Search & YouTube)
Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp)
ByteDance (TikTok)
...and one of the big promises of Web3 is to flip this ownership structure on its head. You will own your digital identity, and anyone that wants to access/leverage your data will have to rent it from you.
Ok, neat - that's a nice 'pie in the sky' goal, but how would it even work and what will it take to get there?
Let's start with: how will it work?
The average US email address is associated with 130 different online accounts, all of which are collecting and linking your data.
Self owned, Web3 digital identities or 'self sovereign identities (SSI's)' would live on your crypto wallet and replace your email as a login / authentication tool.
Right...but aren't you just swapping an email for an 'SSI' - won't companies just track your behavioral data on their platforms regardless?
Yup! They will. Which takes us to:
What will it take to get there?
As our dance instructor keeps telling us:
"It takes two to Tango...it's not only impractical when you show up alone, but kinda sad."
Point is, this is going to need co-operation from both users and platform operators...and this is where things get tricky.
This new power dynamic won't come about from legacy platforms like Meta and Google just handing over the keys to their cash printing machines (your data).
It'll start with Web3 developers creating open platforms that slowly pull users away from their Web2 counterparts - enough that they will eventually have to make allowances / adjust their business models, from:
Owning user data and selling it to advertisers on their platform.
To...
Renting user data and selling it to advertisers on their platform.
Obviously, this is much easier said than done and Web3 has a BIG mountain to climb to get to that point.
(Hell, it might be more of a moon mission than it is a mountaineering challenge).
But it's the size & scope of this challenge and its potential reward, that makes it one of Web3's biggest value adds.
