Blockchain now promises to decentralise the web, put the power back in the hands of users, and reward creators for their hard work
Think blockchain is just a fad or trend? Once upon a time, Bill Gates thought consumers wouldn’t embrace the internet. In fact, he later had to revise his book “The Road Ahead” to talk more about the internet.
In 1995, Newsweek even published a column piece by Clifford Stoll predicting that the internet would just be a passing fad.
As someone who became a tech journalist in 1996 by joining the pioneering IT newspaper in the Philippines, Metropolitan Computer Times, I can tell you that many smart people didn’t believe the internet would take off.
CEOs, tech luminaries, and experts were saying in the 90s and 00s that the internet wouldn’t replace physical stores, put newspapers out of business, or entice people to watch movies and TV shows online, and so on.
Digital champions and critics
It was hard being a digital champion back then, and funny enough, it still isn’t a piece of cake now. As this article hilariously points out, the 1990s were a transition period from the analogue world to the brave new world of the internet:
“Those of us who are old enough to remember the world before we became completely dependent on the internet could never have predicted what life would be like now. Some of the things the internet has enabled us to do—wireless video chats with friends halfway around the globe, ordering food to be delivered to our door at the click of a few buttons, virtual support groups for every possible interest or ailment—were the stuff of imaginary, far-futuristic worlds, surely not realistic to expect in our lifetimes. (I mean, I figured we’d have flying cars before we’d have computers we could fit in our pockets, yet here we are.)
“The 1990s were this weird in-between phase where the tech geeks were all about the .com world, and tech-reluctant normies were all, ‘Gretchen, stop trying to make the internet happen. It’s not going to happen.’ Once the internet started becoming popular, some people did try to predict how it would all turn out.”
Social media sceptics
That happened during Web1 and was repeated during the advent of Web2 when sceptics said social media was just a fad. It wasn’t that long ago when many people scoffed at the idea of companies creating Facebook pages and posting these weird things called tweets.
Now, for better or worse, we take social media for granted. And Web2 has thoroughly changed how we work and play, just as the first iteration of the web did.
Enter Web3, which now promises to decentralise the web, put the power back in the hands of users, and reward creators for their hard work. And just as you would expect, sceptics again say Web3 will just be a fad.
Fad and FUD
Along with the fad accusations are the FUD. Particularly now that we’re in a bear market for crypto. How many times have pundits predicted that the crypto bubble has burst? And how many times have they been proven wrong? Just like those who predicted that the internet was just a fad. Or that social media was just a fad.
It happens whenever a new technology emerges, just like what’s happening now to the blockchain. You will have many sceptics saying it won’t take off, that it’s too technical for consumers, that society isn’t ready for it, and so on.
And, yes, we’re still in the early days of Web3. But it will continue to evolve, become easier for consumers to use, and reach critical mass. I think people have just forgotten how clunky email clients were during the early days or how primitive the first websites were.
Things will improve. We’ll continue to build Web3 and make it better.
As a digital champion from Web1 onwards and a gamer since I was a kid, I firmly believe blockchain gaming will be the entry point for the mass adoption of Web3. Just look at how the huge success of the blockchain game Axie Infinity and play-to-earn encouraged many gamers to learn crypto and create their own wallets.
All gamers need is the right incentive. After all, for years, we’ve worked hard to level up our characters, complete missions, and finish games. All for the sake of virtual items and virtual currency. What more now that we can earn NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and cryptocurrencies that have real-world value?
So, no, blockchain isn’t a fad. But maybe being a sceptic is.
Source: e27
