The world of technology is venturing into uncharted territory, where a collective effort pushed online experiences into new realms of efficiency and effectiveness. Now, on the cusp of Web 3, interoperability and participatory culture are well established. Consumer demand is rising for something new.
Technology solves a lot of the world’s problems and has the potential to do so in ways that affect everyone on the globe. That’s what Web 3 is about: a boundary-less multiverse of endless possibilities and an upgrade into new territories of human-machine cooperation.
AUSTIN, TEXAS - MARCH 16: Swan Sit speaks onstage at 'Web3 is Coming! Navigating the Past, Present, ... [+]
Above Board Gaming in the Metaverse
Perhaps the best-developed component of the internet of the future comes in gaming, with entertainment happening every day in the metaverse. This is a space where many business leaders see growth potential, and those with an eye to the realities of Web 3 are already imagining what kind of business can be won or conducted in alternate realities.
While digital assets have been taking mainstream media by storm, “Phygital” products might be the nearer future for most of us. The value of a sweater that keeps you warm during the winter but also comes with a digital clone that gives you magical powers in a video game is a lot easier to understand than a pure JPEG.
Building a metaverse requires a balance between designers and engineers; specialists in both fields are often quite idealistic and stubborn in their own ways. To effectively bridge the two without compromising either, the leadership must emphasize on the player and game narrative rather than the business directive. While maximizing profit motivates investors, a good story motivates everybody.
This type of customer-centricity, even while understanding and supporting the business potential in the metaverse, encapsulates the ethos of Web 3. If Web 2 paved the way to uphold the end-user, Web 3 puts that user on the throne, catering to their every need and reducing any friction in the process.
There is a predictable adoption curve for new technology, and the metaverse is no exception. But the future of blockchain as it stands today can go either way. Today’s landscape is filled with outlaws, misfits, and uncertainty. In the hands of responsible developers, it is an opportunity to begin again, take what is broken in Web 2 and fix it through Web 3.
A word of caution, though: If left unchecked, the natural tendency for humanity to misbehave behind a wall of anonymity will destroy the frontier before it even gets a chance to mature. Nevertheless, entertainment within the metaverse as full of potential as a revenue driver for companies of all kinds. That is, if it effectively serves the end-user, and encourages transparency, solid principles of practice, and catalyzes operational excellence.
AUSTIN, TEXAS - MARCH 12: Attendee experiencing the Metaverse during the 2022 SXSW Conference and ... [+]
“Enabling Technology” for a People-Centered Web 3
We are seeing an emerging trend in which Web 3 is people-centered, a principle that competent leaders already understand. But it’s not about who is specifically good at a certain skill set, such as having the best engineer or UX designer, but how each team member can multiply everyone else’s efforts by tenfold. Especially at the early stage, this team dynamic is critical for the exponential growth needed to escape the great filter of many failed startups. There is no room for error.
The Future of Food in the Real World
In a totally different sector, some of the original parties in blockchain technology are working to solve problems in the real world with Web 3-friendly strategies. Jon Trask has experience of scaling businesses and applying sophisticated technology. He is bringing this acumen to a startup called Dimitra, an agriculture technology platform. Trask and his team of experts are deploying agtech tools to support smallholder farmers around the world and are already in over 70 countries.
In this alone, Trask faces an unusual leadership dynamic: “Balancing teams of agricultural technologists with app designers and software developers has its own unique challenges. Great people are the key to success and running highly diverse teams has brought incredible value to the design and development process. We wouldn’t be as successful without diverse teams” Dimitra already has active partnerships with government agencies worldwide, which makes the diversity component mission-critical for the company.
The company is harnessing the power of blockchain to create truly useful tools that support food production around the world. “I personally look at this technique as innovating with purpose, innovating to solve a problem but having a clear vision of what outcome we are trying to achieve.” He urges other leaders working toward Web 3 with this directive, “We need to leave room for research, ideation and repetition in our discovery and development process. Balancing innovation and cost is sometimes a challenge but we need to invest and plan for innovation in today’s Web 3 world.”
In his words, “Blockchain plays a key role in the systems and platforms of the future. Over the past few years we’ve started to uncover where blockchain fits into a developer’s toolbox and this has led to the evolving area of Web 3.”
The Power of Tomorrow Starts Today
Web 3 will be full of value from an amalgam of technologies, including machine learning, IoT, data analytics, and more. Delivering these to the end-user in a way that is so effortless, so easy, and optimally efficient is the driving force behind leading innovations in this space. Leading into the future of new online structures and experiences won’t be easy, but purposeful, passionate, mission-driven leaders are already achieving it every day.
