The information system we know as the World Wide Web is now more than 30 years old. This system has evolved steadily since its inception – from the static websites and insecure protocols of Web 1.0 to Web 2.0’s richer web-based applications and social media-centric interactivity.
Today a new iteration of the Web – dubbed “Web 3.0” — is in the works. This iteration promises to return some measure of control to individuals and individual content creators by implementing a more decentralized structure incorporating blockchain technology, NFTs, DAOs (Decentralized Automomous Organizations), and smart contracts.
I recently chatted with Tony Pham, VP of Marketing at Superlayer.io, a company that defines itself as “a crypto venture studio aiming to build Web 3.0 products of new users entering crypto.” Superlayer has an A-list of investors backing the venture, including Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, Paris Hilton, Joe Montana, Nas, Anthony Pompliano, and Gary Vaynerchuk; Tony’s career includes stints at Kadena and TrustToken, both high-profile crypto companies.
One of the promises of Web 3.0 is to return some measure of control to brands and individuals participating in social networks. Because so many brands were burned in the past decade when they spent significant sums of money – often in the millions of dollars – promoting their social network presences, only to have their organic reach decreased afterwards by those same networks, I’d venture to say that many will be interested in Web 3.0 features that provide for more autonomy, customization, and personalization than currently provided by existing social networks.
In the complete interview below, Tony and I discuss the advantages of Web 3.0 over earlier versions, how social tokens can provide a fairer economy for creators, the challenges of introducing hundreds of millions of new users to Web 3.0, why marketers should pay attention to Web 3.0, brands that are already incorporating Web 3.0 technologies into their loyalty programs, whether brands seeking to experiment with these technologies should host internal “skunk works,” and other issues relevant to Web 3.0 and next-generation marketing.
