I’ve just spent 2 days at the Future Innovation Summit in Dubai. Many diverse subjects were explored, from space exploration to smart cities to visions of the metaverse. There were many younger voices on stage, most of whom have thrown in with an idea about Web3 as being revolutionary and offering a utopian solution for a new world.
Barrier 1 – Jargon
This is a classic tactic for creating an ‘Us and Them’ construct and like the rest of the Web3 ideology, it’s not new. Cockney rhyming slang was used as a secret criminal language, CB radio had a rebel-underground element to it and SMS text messaging led to new phrases like LOL.
Txt-Speak was created out of necessity. Typing on a phone keypad was time consuming and the message was limited to 160 characters. ‘Laugh out Loud’ is 14 characters whereas LOL is 3.
Web3 on the other hand is more like rhyming slang or CB radio chat. It creates an ‘us and them’ dynamic. You’re either in, or you’re out. You’re either cool or you’re not. You either ‘get it’ or you don’t.
Some of these words are technical, like “epoch”, some are laziness, like “ded”, some are abbreviations like “NFT” and some are even veiled insults to people within the community – phrases like ‘simp’ or ‘degen’.
It’s almost like the Web3 crowd don’t want mass-market adoption. The ego boost that is derived from being in the small club of people who ‘get it’, is more important than onboarding new community members. Which leads us into the next barrier to entry.
Barrier 2 – The Kool-Aid Bubble
A lot of Web3 people have very thin skin. Maybe it’s because they got swept up in the hype and don’t want to admit they got played. Maybe it’s because they have built their predictions on a false narrative – that blockchain will solve all the worlds problems.
There is a cult-like mentality that requires a kind of blind faith. Worship at the alter of blockchain and everything will be alright. All other beliefs are wrong. Do not question the teachings of Satoshi.
Genuine questions are often met with defensive reactions like “It’s early”, or “why do you have to be so negative?” There is a feeling that Web3 has all the answers and everyone else “needs to be educated”. This is of course extremely arrogant and patronising to potential customers.
Barrier 3 – The Lack of Collective Memory
The Enlightenment is a collective set of ideas cantered on the value of human happiness, the pursuit of knowledge obtained by means of reason and the evidence of the senses, and ideals such as liberty, progress, toleration and fraternity.
Substitute the words reason and the evidence of the senses for blockchain, and you have the Web3 manifesto, that they invented, for the first time in human history.
There is a lack of collective memory. This is the first technological evolution that this crowd has ever experienced. Phrases like – “In Web3, marketing needs to work more closely with product, not like Web2.” show a fundamental misunderstanding of what ‘Full-Stack marketing‘ is, or what Web2 was.
There is a conflation of ideas that may not have ever been intended by the pioneers of blockchain.
Why is the blockchain distributed? The Bitcoin whitepaper set out to solve a problem, which was to design a digital currency that couldn’t be spent twice. The system needed to be distributed to prevent fraud – not to save the world from the tyranny of ‘big tech’.
Why is the blockchain immutable? To prevent fraud. Not so your coffee purchases are recorded for everyone to see for all-time.
“Web3 is all about community and speaks to our need to be in tribes”. Tribes, those social groupings that humans lived in until AD 211 when the Romans abolished them in Europe, but continue to this day in parts of the world. Communities that are a new thing, not like the “Hells Angels” or the “Tifosi” or “Anonymous”.
Telling the entire Web2 industry that they are wrong and don’t know anything and have created some kind of living hell that can only be solved by Web3 is insulting and arrogant.
Barrier 3 – The User Experience
“Web3 will allow you to remove intermediaries and pay lower fees.” Perhaps the best user case there is for Web3 is ‘Defi’ – or decentralised finance. However. The user journey is horrible. Multiple chains means multiple wallets. Multiple tokens means multiple exchange rates and exchanges. There are hidden charges and commissions. There are complicated passcodes to enter and it’s much easier just to use your Visa or Mastercard.
I shouldn’t have to learn tokenomics or read a white paper to be able to participate. I shouldn’t have to invest in the company to use the product. I don’t want to use Discord to get support, I want to use the channel that I am used to. I want to know who I am buying from, because your supposed trust mechanism is broken.
Barrier 4 – Customers Don’t Know How to Value the Utility.
Not every product or service has to solve a problem or meet a need. Utility, which is relative and subjective can come in the form of a want or an emotional benefit e.g. I don’t need an 8K TV, but I value a superior viewing experience, so I will pay for one…
Some Web3 people are starting to work this out. Most NFT projects are based on possession utility – the value to the customer comes from ownership. But there are 3 other types of utility.
Not every customer will value a distributed network model, in fact most really don’t care. What does a distributed model offer them? No really… That’s one of those Kool-Aid questions that are seen as being overly aggressive.
Not every customer will value anonymity. The success of Linkedin and Facebook is down to the fact that people are who they say they are. Anonymity also breaks the value creation for products like land in the metaverse – if you don’t know your plot is next to Snoop Dog, then why is it priced so high?
It’s Solvable
Every one of these barriers has a relatively simple remedy, especially the ones that are related to the attitude towards those who haven’t yet dabbled in the space. The answer is not education. If you can’t explain your value promise in a sentence, then it’s you who needs to change, not your potential customer.
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