In my mind, technology has always been a source of fascination since I can remember. We also need to consider how it will affect our daily lives. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a part of creating products that improve the way we interact with the world.
In the tech world, it seems like we’re constantly hearing about the next big life-changing innovation, many of which have unfortunately come and gone. Visit any news source, discussion board, or timeline to see what I mean. You can expect to see more and more talk about Web 3.0 technologies each year, from those who believe in it, those who don’t, and everyone in between. The future of Web 3.0 is still up for grabs, and everyone has an opinion on the matter.
Mark Cuban, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg are just a few of the world’s most well-known business and technology leaders who have put their money where their mouths are when it comes to Web 3.0 technologies. There is no doubt that these people have created products that have stood the test of time, regardless of how you feel about them personally.
Web 3.0 technologies, I believe, have the potential to fundamentally alter the way we store and trust data in our world. However, I believe we haven’t reached that point yet.
Web 3.0 is a catch-all term for a number of different technologies. In the last few months, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) has become one of the hottest tech topics, along with blockchain and cryptocurrency.
When it comes to NFTs, many non-technical people think they’ve gone from not knowing what they are to not knowing why they exist in just one year. And I don’t blame them for being a little apprehensive about the situation. Digital art pieces selling for millions of dollars can easily be found by searching NFT right now.
NFTs, like any other collectible—baseball cards, art, classic cars—are a digital answer to ownership and provenance, except NFTs are the digital version. As long as no one else has access to the collectible, it doesn’t mean no one else can see it.
Despite the current popularity of NFT technology in the form of Bored Apes and other forms of digital art, I believe this is only the beginning, thanks to early adopters who have helped to drive it forward. This technology has yet to find its best uses or be widely adopted.
When it comes to intellectual property, NFTs have a wide range of applications. NFTs are smart contracts built on blockchain technology that is secure and transparent. The public ledger is used to verify each transaction, so they are impenetrable to outside intrusion. Cybercrime and fraud are on the rise as more and more transactions are carried out online. NFTs are a direct response to the need for contracts that are impervious to fraud.
So, why isn’t there a broader range of applications? Consider the early 1990s, when Web 1.0 was being developed, when the majority of businesses did not use the internet to promote their products or services. What’s the harm? Because the general public hadn’t yet arrived. We began to notice this shift once it was adopted by the general public and businesses, rather than just the early adopters and techies. NFTs and other Web 3.0 technologies are likely to have a similar effect.
Every person’s level of technology comfort and dependability varies. For instance, you may be fascinated by technology, use it in your professional or social life, or never use it at all. Innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards all fall into one of five categories of technology adoption habits. The use of new technologies and products is mapped in a well-known bell curve chart that depicts human adoption.
Geoffrey Moore’s classic book Crossing the Chasm dives deeper into the famous chart. He provides an explanation for the enormous discrepancy in high-tech adoption between the early market (innovators and early adopters) and the mainstream market. He explains (early majority, late majority, and laggards). The latter, on the other hand, are more concerned with staying ahead of the curve than embracing new technology. Instead, the mainstream majority prefers to stick with tried-and-true technologies. That chasm is where mainstream use cases will begin to emerge.
Nearly 70% of the population is in the mainstream market. If you think everyone is talking about Web 3.0, it’s probably because they’re in an early stage.
Success in the mainstream market can only be achieved through a strategic focus on an early majority, a group that is leading the mainstream market, according to Moore. Once a product or service has gained the confidence of the early majority and is regularly used, it will naturally make its way into the mainstream market. Verbal dissemination from early adopters into other adoption sub-niches occurs. According to this hypothesis, businesses have only just begun to realize the potential of new technologies. Web 3.0’s true leaders will be the companies that choose to invest in their research and development.
Until we cross that chasm and enter the change-resistant population, Web 3.0 technologies will be widely adopted. As a result, the fundamental shift in how we store and trust information will be accelerated. We’re still in the beginning stages of our adoption process.
