Web 3.0: Hype or Future?

Welcome everyone to another episode of the Product Bakery. As usual I'm sitting here with my friend and co-host Christian. Hi Christian. Hallo Alex. I do hope you had a great day. I definitely did. Same here. Ready to chat with you. Nice. And Christian, today I'm bringing a topic that actually is like super fresh and top of my mind. I was scrolling on LinkedIn like 10 minutes ago and one of the first messages that came out was a designer that I know since quite some time, no names and no company names, but he was in a pretty nice role for a quite established and international company. And he changed job. You have these fancy LinkedIn pictures for like, hey, I started a new job with some terrible illustrations. Oh, they're so ugly, right? Damn, what were they thinking? Yeah, probably a conversation apart. Yeah, let's make an extra episode about this shit. But beyond this illustration, what I saw is that he actually changed job to be like mid-level individual contributor for a micro startup, but with the twist, Web 3.0. And this is definitely something that I keep seeing more and more. A lot of people are like completely shifting, changing direction, changing roles, changing careers, changing companies, giving up security, however you want to put it. And they go and work in Web 3.0. So I know you're a little bit more into the whole space. I know very little about it. I do have some minor crypto investments. I've never bought a single NFT. Maybe a wise choice. Oh, that's new. Yeah, I changed my mind a little bit. Okay, that's also very interesting. But I mean, the burning question, do I need to quit my job and work for a Web 3.0 startup? I mean, you especially, yeah, definitely quit your job. No, I'm kidding. I don't know. Do we need to quickly explain what Web 3.0 is? Oh, hell yeah. What is Web 3.0? The question would be, what was Web 1.0, right? I am still stuck at 2.0, right? Yeah, we are still at 2.0. So here's the thing, right? Web 1.0 was like a read-only website. The internet was back then just read-only, right? So you opened it, you were able to read something. HTML and some GIFs made the whole thing interactive. I mean, GIFs was already like high-end shit back then, right? 1.86. 1.86, you're right. Almost 2.0. Exactly, almost 2.0. And then Web 2.0 came, where the internet became much more interactive on both sides, right? So not only you as a user were able to comment, but also companies were able to collect your data, analyze them, and also target their marketing activities, for example, around you, with the price of having your data. And here comes Web 3.0, where the whole idea is, first of all, to give people more ownership about their data, because the whole internet technology, hashtag blockchain, is much more decentralized. And at the same time, with the decentralization, also less controllable by a certain group of people, right? Because behind those projects, you usually have communities, not exclusively, who are voting and deciding together on how projects should, can, will develop. As like a rough introduction into the world of Web 3.0. But the idea is also a lot of more privacy and decentralization. And that's per se not a bad idea. But so how big of a role – maybe that's a helpful clarification as well – how big of a role or how big of a part of Web 3.0 is Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and everything that falls into that area? Here's the point. We shouldn't mix certain things up, right? So what I would right now, first of all, do is focus on Web 3.0 with the goal of more privacy and decentralization. And the blockchain is a good way to do that. So Bitcoin is not the right blockchain or technology to do so. We're rather talking about Ethereum, Solana, and other blockchains. But the base idea is, before we get lost into technology, and I'm also not a coder, I have also only theoretical knowledge about it. But generally, the idea behind it is to change the way the internet works, right? Because there is to a certain degree a fair critic point that companies might have too much of your data, and maybe not using it the wrong way, right? You see that shoe, you click on it, and you see it on literally every fucking page. Is that good? Is that bad? I mean, there are also a lot of ethical questions around it. But I believe that people who make that change, like your colleague, are very much believing into a different world, different online world, right? Are they believing in a different online world or are they following a trend? And that's a good question. Now we're talking. And you know, that's a good one, right? And I have to say, for myself, I cannot 100% answer this on a rational level. Because whatever I'm going to say, I'm pretty sure there will be someone out there who is going to destroy my argument. But this is always happening when new trends are emerging, and new technologies and changes. So the point I want to make is, I think the basic idea of it is good. I think the internet of the future will not be exclusively 3.0-ish, rather 2.5-ish. So I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. But I don't know how this whole technology is going to develop. I'm a big fan of the whole cryptocurrencies and the crypto technology and the blockchain. So I believe that the people who are working on such projects like Web 3.0 have good intentions. And right now, I don't see a negative impact by now. And that's why I'm for it. So I think it might become sustainable and it might become the future. But we are at the very, very, very beginning. And the hype around it is, in my opinion, to come back to your question, maybe a little bit too big, because there is not much out there that we can look at at the moment to really say, hey, it's bulletproof, you know? Yeah. And probably also, many of the end consumers don't understand it well enough. Because I feel like in our sphere, right? And you can probably also name a couple of our common friends who are working in that sector, right? It's people who know a lot about the space. And some really believe in it. Some have heard a lot of it and see the trends. I can definitely also see a trend where people are copy pasting every existing business model and concept and say, but now it's on the blockchain. So, I mean, is that the future? Do I need to put everything on a blockchain? Does every company now have to rethink the way they work? So the question is, what do you want and what do you need as a user, right? And for example, I can just speak for myself. And I know many people who say, hey, I don't give a shit if they have my data or not. And that's fine. So I don't say that. I like my privacy. And I think, I mean, it sounds bad, but I have given too much away of my freedom and my data in the past. I mean, you're on WhatsApp, right? Exactly. I mean, let's talk about giving data away. Exactly. And with these new projects emerging that are going against that, I am fine as a user and I'm going to use those technologies in the future and already. So I like it. But isn't the foundational question, not the question around Web 3.0, but more a question of ethics? 100%. And in addition to that, I think what the whole technology, the blockchain technology does right now, it's the best answer to the problem. Which doesn't mean there are different answers out there, but right now the blockchain is transparent. Everyone can look into the transactions. At the same time, behind wallet addresses and stuff like this, you stay anonymous. So there can less shit happen like in the past. And I'm not saying that's the only solution for the need of more privacy. But right now, to me at least, it seems like a good solution that is in place. However, and you just mentioned it, and I wanted to come back to that, I would say more than 90% of the end users don't even know. So I think the technology is years ahead while it hasn't clicked on the consumer side. But I don't know how you think, maybe you can share your thoughts. And there is still way too much money to make with data. 100%. I mean, it's definitely a fight. I wouldn't say it's a fight because Web 2.0 is as it is. The Google machine and stuff like that, it won't stop working, even not with Web 3.0. At least not now. Yeah. At least not in the next five to 10 years. I think with the ethical conversation behind it, right? Should we use the data? What data should we use? I mean, it's more of a question to pick the right thing. Okay, there is technology that can enforce this. But I think it would already be a good start if companies start tracking this. My question for you is when it comes to ethic, is there a right answer? Don't be evil. I don't like that quote, to be honest. Why is it not, be good? You have an answer for that? Yes and no. An assumption? Well, I wouldn't focus too much on that quote, but slightly trying to go away from that one. I mean, it could be the headline for 3.0. Don't be evil. The question is, is there a good answer? And here's the thing. I mean, I believe we are living in a world where ideologies and opinions are stronger than ever. And I'm not sure how I feel about it, but what I know is you see more and more interest groups forming around certain beliefs, ideologies, interests, etc. Like a nation, right? A nation is a big group of interest at the end of the day. And therefore, I think, as I said, I believe at the end of the day, you're going to use what you want to use. You're going to believe what you want to believe anyway. So there will be always an answer to your beliefs, whether it's technology, whether it's a certain God you believe in or whatever. Yeah, I mean, as crazy as it sounds. But I believe that's the change. That's the real change that we are seeing right now. Because due to this extreme world of ideologies, change, and I mean, look at the world, what is going on? 2021 and 2022 have been the prime example of people joining, forming, following groups and ideologies, right? It has been crazy. And this is exactly the trend we see. And the technology is just reflecting anyway, what's happening in the world in its own way. And technology is just one part we like talking about, but we could talk about other topics. But that's the point, right? I think there are good solutions out there that are getting developed, and it's worth using it. But at the end of the day, you need to ask yourself if you stand to it or not. So to coming back to the question of the beginning, should you quit your job? If you believe in Web 3.0? Yes. If you're not sure? No. If you don't, no too. Yeah, that's my answer. Yeah. And I mean, I think especially working in financial industries, the whole blockchain topic and the technology behind Web 3.0 is quite relevant. And it is also in my daily conversations. Right? So it's not that it's completely like one or the other. I think of course, in certain business models and contexts, you can leverage on the technology whenever you need it, whenever you need to do something where you require either the transparency or the anonymity. That's such a hard word. But yeah, so I definitely also see it a bit of a mix. But I feel like the trend is the thing that bothers me. And that's like with most of those big trends. And maybe this brings me to the last question. The whole conversation around Reddit, Twitter, all these forums, right? I mean, I know you have been actively part of the strong community, especially when it comes to crypto and so on. We see Twitter being a massive influence on the valuations, the prices, and the volatility of this whole market, especially when we talk about crypto, yeah, absolutely. So what have you seen in those communities? Or how much of it is actually like just creating this hype, and there being this one person who creates the hype and benefits from all of it, versus a lot of other people losing in this whole space? I mean, influencing is always a part of marketing, right? If you influence, you also use the basic function of marketing, you have to marketing your opinion, you have to market yourself at a certain point. So I've been to these communities. And at the beginning, I was deep into learning about technology, also seeing what kind of new trends coming up. But then I just caught myself from time to time that I got more and more into this whole belief system that is around it, right? For example, NFTs. I made that comment at the beginning, I'm very deep invested into NFTs. I'm not sure if I ever get my money back, I have to say. But you know, what's the point, right? I was, I like the technology, the NFT technology is amazing. And it has big potential for the future, from my side. But when it comes to the images that you can buy with the technology and the ecosystems behind it, it sounds nice. But what you also need to know is that like, almost 80% of the whole revenue in the NFT space is made by 20% of the people. And it was something that I wasn't looking at. That's something that you can't read on Twitter. So you have to do your own research, right? That's one of the main quotes. It's one of the holy rules in the financial world, do your own research, which I wasn't doing because I believed too much, talking about belief system, what the community was saying. So there are definitely a lot of people who are creating hype. And if you have good intentions, and you're just resharing stuff or saying Bitcoin is amazing, or this NFT is amazing, you might not even have bad intentions, but you are supporting a hype that might have no foundation. So that's why I'm saying be careful on what you're sharing. And I think in this communities, there is a lot of hype. But in order to getting trapped into that hype, you also need to do active work by following it and reading it every day. And it was my mistake, which I did too much. So that I wasn't able to see the big picture. So and the truth, as you can see, is in the middle, right? Too much is not good. But you know, not following the trend is also not good in quotes. So but yeah, it's dangerous. It's a dangerous game to answer your question. In such communities, I would be careful. And I would really make sure that I that you have good sources and not just the opinion of an influencer, not even Elon Musk. Sometimes he tweets shit. Oh, of course. So yeah, I mean, if Elon Musk tweets... Let's be honest, if I would have the power to influence so many people with a single tweet, I would also use it to my advantage. So yeah, I don't believe that he's a saint and that he only does what's the best for the public. And the same is like with all the other influencers. And I mean, NFTs, influencers got rich because of them. A lot of them, some normal people as well. But if I look like the Jerry V's, the like all those people that with a single call, they can get 1000s of people to invest into one specific thing. I mean, they don't need the blockchain to make money out of it. It's a nice excuse. It's a nice trend. It's a nice... It's a fast way, actually. Yeah. And you have a lot of tax benefits. Sometimes. Be careful. And one last thing here. I mean, you know, there are more and more people who are investing into crypto. I think in Germany, you were 10%. In the US, it's almost 25%. However, there's just out of all these people, 1% who's investing into NFT. Bear that in mind. So it's a really small community. Wow. Okay. And I would be careful. Yeah, that's an interesting number. However, the technology is amazing, right? For the future references for, you know, having like the driver licenses as an NFT or, you know, a car gets produced, the number of kilometers or miles are tracked into the NFT blockchain, you know, right? So less manipulation. So there are good things you can do with NFT technology. But if you're just trying to make money fast, you know, that never works. Becoming rich is a process. Oh, yeah. Christian, you always end with these extremely wise words. People think it's crypted. Crypted. Yeah. Very nice one, Alex. Nice catch. But I think to close this actually, like, I now got curious. We started this podcast, I think one of our first episodes, number six or something was with our old friend, who already back then, we're now operating since two years. September 2020. Wow. Already one and a half years, he was both deep into crypto and the technology, and quite an expert. So I will go listen to that episode again to refresh my mind. If anyone else wants, please do. Liam Murphy, the guy, we still love you, Liam. I hope you ever, you will come back to visit us in Berlin. And for everyone who's interested in not the past, but future episodes, press the follow button. And with that said, Christian, Alex, have a nice evening. Talking to you next week. You too. Bye.