MetaVerse + NFT's + Decentralization + Blockchain = Web 3.0

by Dustin Miller | PolyInnovator
Dustin Miller | PolyInnovator
Creating content is part of who I am. I have been a blogger for decade, as well making videos and podcasts. This site is the hub of my works! 🎙️ I'm the Host of #ThePolymathPolyCast
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November 21, 2021
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21 min read

As a technologist, and self-proclaimed futurist; I think it is my duty to share what I think the future will hold. From social media going decentralized, and blockchain being the fundamental building block of all future internet tech. You heard me right, All.

I think this is a time to stamp my place in history, place my bets if you will, and more importantly than that... Learn! Self-education is a major principle in PolyInnovator, and I got in a rabbit hole within minutes of watching Gary Vee's new video. An interview with Mark Zuckerburg, CEO/Founder of Meta.

I don't necessarily even like Meta as a company (formerly Facebook), and that could offend some readers of this post. An opinion purely from a user of the platform since 2009 (really early on), and prolific content creator. However what Fac....Meta does is bound to set in stone some trends to keep an eye out for.

Meta made purchases like Instagram or WhatsApp, purely because they could see the potential of each app's kernel features. Meta's own "feed" became a staple in almost all social networks, and "stories" from Snapchat flew to Instagram/Linkedin/Twitter/etc.

All of these social networks are glorified experiments with revenue.

What those experiments do, are just the byproduct of how that app connects people together. Snapchat's disappearing stories lead to quick, and at first incognito, little pictures/messages that would make you closer to someone.

Same for Instagram's unique way of approaching images, sure there are issues with body image, but that is because of how we used the platform as users. We glorified exercise gurus, fit women, and hot people by liking/following them. We are now seeing podcasters find unique ways of creating content for the platform, or perhaps with IG Reels it will change completely. I still think people are sleeping on IGTV too. It all comes together, and that is why Instagram is so polymathic.

How this Post is Structured

Well I'm currently building out the skeleton, as I write this section. Meaning I'm going with the flow, and that will lead to some great ideas. Now hopefully my skills as a blogger will kick in, and make it all flow together. If not then I am sorry, but hold out because you wouldn't want to miss a golden idea/nugget.

Each video or link I'll try to touch on, could be a paragraph, or could be an entire blog post's worth. Note: I may end up doing a post on it in the future too.

Please for the maximum experience, and for you to get the best understanding of this post. You must try to consume as much as I share here. Some videos are long, and so I encourage you to either speed them up and/or listen to them as a podcast.

Here is a playlist made with all the videos in this post, as you may want to watch them separately, or as you go!

-Playlist-

What I think is interesting with my content pod idea I shared, is that it doesn't matter what "app" or channel you are viewing from. I.e. Instagram or Pinterest, the image you are viewing can be retrieved from any of them. Just the user experience you prefer, or the social circle you are connected to; Those are going to be the reasons you choose one platform or another.

This leads into Meta's Metaverse concept of layers. At least that is how I understood it, as the different levels of abstraction grow. 2D becomes 3D, and 3D becomes VR/AR. The level of immersion, and more importantly connection between people increases.

That potential of bringing social connections closer IS the main motivation behind the Metaverse. Let me be clear. I am not saying that Meta's intentions are pure and heart of gold, but that doesn't mean that they are not. Yes they need to make money, but I am sure there are good people that work there. That literally just want the see the world more connected. However will all of the trouble the company has been through I wanted to be clear, and tread carefully with my words.

Keep in mind the more people are connected, and fulfilling our natural desire to feel the warmth of others (digitally or not). Then the more money the company can make, and this goes for ALL social networks. Presumably decentralized ones too, it is too soon to say (see steemit fiasco, now hive.blog).

"I would argue any forward thinking brand would have a presence here." Keep in mind that every single person IS a brand, and you market yourself everyday to the people you meet. How you introduce yourself is your branding, how you hold yourself is your branding, and it only makes sense that your online presence is YOUR BRANDING. In this case personal brand, and if you are a forward thinking brand; Then you would have a presence in the Metaverse, or any of its undoubtly competitors.

Extra Video for this Sub-Topic:

One Major Key to Unlocking the Door...

As he said in the next video "the key is decentralization of ownership...", and that level of freedom a decentralized platform gives you. It is what will drive humanity to make the next phase of the internet. I saw humanity as a whole because platform creators, regardless if they are centralized or decentralized, can't do the things they do WITHOUT people.

Here are some platforms I am on as decentralized networks:

Now I still need to do better at being more active on them, but I think they are the future alternatives to Medium/Reddit, Twitch, and Youtube respectively.

Quick video!

Another one is Mastodon, which is sort of like Twitter in a way, and now I can't speak for the quality of it. As the actual app is great, but I am only in one community. The way the blockchain works, is that anyone can fork and make their own community (which is essentially their own social network). Take that for what you will, I had some really awesome tech and futurist people I saw on there, as well as degenerate ultra political obsessed people. If you know me I detest politics, as I don't agree with most people on any side. lol

Anyways point being it is still in the infancy stage.

Something BEYOND social networks that I find fascinating, although since it is a company IS centralized... and expensive. BUT

A system that takes down the exact timestamp of when your piece of content was posted, and stamps it on the blockchain (meaning it theoretically can't be faked). Just a really unique way of making sure you have control over your data and content, and helps prevent people from stealing it.

Here I will share other networks, and unique ideas related to them that I don't have much of a place for. However should be noted at least.

Note: That may mean I don't have experience with them, and do not endorse them such as I did with Hive.blog or D.live!!

Here is one I recently found.

https://twitter.com/distriktapp

Speaking of Twitter...

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Instars: Earn Crypto for Consensual Data Exchange

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Decentralized Alternative to TikTok?

I literally just found this as I was doing all this research and learning. So I have not used it, but I am actively considering posting content there like TikTok. Given how similar the platforms are, and my philosophy on early content adoption. It may be a good idea, if not great idea.

Note: My aforementioned philosophy in case your curious, is that when a platform gets popular, such as Tiktok. Then other platforms copy the mechanisms/gimmick, such as YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Then the early adopter benefit is that you can cross post without penalty, and it makes it easier to join the new features/platforms. So unless you have a watermark, like how tiktok has on their vids, then you can syndicate your videos on all three. Now perhaps all four if you include CanCan.

The NFT GoldRush

Remember the California Gold Rush, or the Florida beach front property? Yeah, me either, as we both weren't even alive at that time in history. However with the rise of social media there was a gold rush to gaining subscribers and adsense. Many of us missed out on that, although I'd argue we still can make significant growth now... see my omnichannel post.

With that being said, there is another goldrush now, the NFT market, and finding a niche in the new VR worlds like Metaverse. The quicker you can get into it the better. I remember back in 2011/2012 I was digging into VR headsets, way before they were "cool", and I'd argue they still aren't THAT common now.

Particularly my motivation was gaming yes, but that doesn't mean it couldn't translate to other areas. A couple years ago I looked into making VR content, and I actually bought an action camera recently for swimming videos. What is to say I bought another and put them side by side to make 3D videos for VR?

Onto the NFT's they are a non-fungible token, which means that since they are built on a decentralized blockchain (sort of a redundant pairing of words there); That they can be sent out everywhere without the risk of it being stolen.

I was going to link to business insider but their site blocked me from accessing purely cause of my adblocker. Screw that.

I came across a tool called Uhmi that allowed you to put a micro paywall for various content pieces on your site. Could be a video, pdf, or something small. Perhaps even an NFT in the future. Figured a rare tool like this is worth mentioning, as we would probably see more of them in the near future.

Entrepot - Marketplace for NFTs on the Internet Computer

NFT Marketplace for the Internet Computer, developed by ToniqLabs

Marketplace for NFTs on the Internet Computer

Here are some links and resources I came across in my digging:

Again please don't be daunted by the sheer number, and you can always skip to the next section. I just want to put these here for the people it is like catnip to. The ones who can't get enough information, and when they see this list it lights them up. :)

!!!!^^^!!!!

What is Web 3.0 and the New Frontier of the Internet?

I found this concept to be in all of the videos/resources above, but I wanted to touch on it separately. The level of expansiveness is quite exponential when you really get into it, from blockchain to NFT or the Metaverse. I am sure there are more topics too related to Web 3.0 that I am forgetting even too.

With blockchain people all over the world can become economically active, and it leads to modernizing some 3rd world countries too. That is just one benefit to this future.

The Spatial Web | Peter H. Diamandis

Ironically in my search, Peter Diamandis a phenomenal content creator/futurist had an article on the LAST page. Google failed to rank it higher yet, and so I thought I'd share it here.

They are great reads for you, and I hope that by putting it here it will up the articles in the rankings too.

To me it goes beyond the "3D" concept he touches on, as many people are focused on the VR or 3D social networks like Second Life or Metaverse. Ironically I think of it as a 3D Internet web. Think of Web 1.0 the first search engines and websites creating the simple pages. Social networks came in and made them all link together, and started forming aggregations in Web 2.0! In Web 3.0 that horizontal plane that social networks created now goes even more global and 3D with those aggregations going literally global with more nations around the world chipping in.

Let alone the ideas being shared across borders, and the rules that social media follow are different than what the new platforms will follow. I don't mean that as in regulation, but more in human interaction levels. I think Peter talks about this fantastically in his articles.

If Web 1.0 is Infancy, 2.0 is Terrible Twos (Toddler Years), then Web 3.0 is Young Childhood

We are going to see the internet mature a bit, and overall get more and more refined. One might think we already are now, i.e. LinkedIn/Indorse, or Pickmybrain , or even just how you approach your personal brand.

However again those are all 2D thinking, and how we approach the 3D way of Internet life is going to be different. It is too early to predict now, even though many people are trying. It is just like how we couldn't foresee Snapchat or Tiktok changing the social media game with Disappearing Stories or Short-form vertical video respectively. As Gary Vee puts it in one of the videos in the beginning of this post, there might be "Sally" out there who comes up with a brand new IP or platform on this new technology.

That platform will evolve to be the Metaverse's Tiktok for example.

I have followed this creator for years, and his post on the subject I find to be quite helpful:

https://timdenning.com/the-creator-economy-will-slowly-then-quickly-migrate-to-web-3-0/

I think Web 3.0 is a great way to envision the next version of the internet. We are approaching the late child years and intro to teenage years of the interwebs. Content is maturing, especially as creators, as we can't just "create" anymore. We need repurposing, remixing, and unique creating. Gotta step up your game, and by doing so you can plant your flag on the new beach front property of the web.

Additional Videos and Resources:

I can't speak on this channel's content, as I only saw one video. However after scanning through their videos it seems they have a lot of interesting videos related to all this. (Link in image description)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq76OnPaXOnvo73sECoUcBQ/videos

DSCVR

A decentralized social news aggregator built on the Internet Computer

Video Explaining Dapps or "Decentralized Apps"

The Rise of the "Omniverse"

omnisphere

This Section is Separated, as they are interesting Videos, but I am unsure how well they fit the scope of this article.

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Meaning that the paid subscription gets you long form, information/wisdom dense, and overall just full of value posts like this. Topics may vary, but the quality does not! You can expect awesome detailed posts like this one!

Note: This one is very link heavy, which is saying a lot considering my mega posts like this usually have a lot of links. They don't always look like this one ^.

I made this in a flow of learning and wanting to share my learnings. Not to mention the ideas stuck in my head. Given how I haven't fully launched PolyPro as of the publish date of this post. I am giving out this for free.

When I do launch in the near future, there will be EVEN more of these. At least once a month, if not more often. <3

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Dustin Miller | PolyInnovator

Creating content is part of who I am. I have been a blogger for decade, as well making videos and podcasts. This site is the hub of my works! 🎙️ I'm the Host of #ThePolymathPolyCast