The What Why and Where of Online Writing’s Next Frontier
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My name’s Jason and I’ll be guiding you through the innovative world of Web3 writing. This ever-evolving guide is directed at writers who are curious about the world of crypto, NFTs, blockchain and Web3. From exclusive literary tokens, to wallet-based subscriptions, censorship-free social media and decentralised marketplaces, there are countless opportunities in this emerging market. But it does come with its fair share of required learning!
Those of you who are seasoned pros in the weird and wacky world of web3, feel free to skip straight to the Web3 Writing Platforms section. That’s where you’ll find the latest alpha.
Still not sure about Web3? No worries, I’ve got you covered. Let’s take a quick tour of the key concepts and find out what’s what amidst all this hyped-up jargon. We’ll be up to date in no time!
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin. I’m sure you’ve heard of these at some point or other. These are different types of cryptocurrencies; decentralised virtual money.
CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, Doodles. Maybe these ring a bell? These are some of the larger NFT collections out there.
The former are digital alternatives to traditional money. As freely exchangeable monetary units, these can be referred to as “fungible” assets. Fungible is just a fancy word for freely interchangeable and indistinguishable.
The latter however are highly individualised tokens. These are “non-fungible”. Individual tokens may have unique traits, and as such cannot be said to be freely exchangeable, at least not on a 1:1 market value basis.
To give you a quick analogy, paying for coffee with bitcoin is like paying with US dollars. Holding a Bored Ape token is like owning a rare baseball card.
This is a very high-level overview, and believe me it goes far deeper than this, but hopefully this lays the groundwork for where we’re going: Web3 writing.
Wait a minute. Are we just throwing catchwords around again? What on earth is this Web3?
Let’s dial it down a minute and think back to the early days of the internet when we needed to dial up. For those of you who were online then, you might recall painfully slow connection speeds and very limited webpages. Web1 was basically in READ-ONLY mode.
Fast forward to where we are today, and online interactions are made possible in an endless number of ways. With cloud storage, social media posts, video calls, and user generated content sites, it’s easier than ever to leave your mark on the internet. Web2 brought us to READ-WRITE mode.
Now let’s think about all this the data we’re creating. The majority of the platforms offer free services, but consider the costs associated with hosting equipment, designing software and paying for staff. Where does all the money come from? You may not be paying for the services you use in your country’s currency, you’re paying in something far more valuable – your data.
By leveraging a mix of cryptographic tools and decentralised protocols, online interactions can be made possible without having to hand over an endless stream of user data. As a result of this, true digital ownership of your profile, your data and your assets becomes a possibility. Web3 opens the curtain to the READ-WRITE-OWN era of the internet.