You are a wizard Harry.
Beginning the magical adventure of Harry Potter, this sentence has left its mark on many who dreamt of being wizards or witches, in order to fight monsters and enemies and to overcome, with their friends, ever greater trials.
In the absence of magical adventures, everyday life.
Web3 can be seen as a strange, supernatural, and often scary world.
A door behind which, it is said, lies wonder, success, recognition, and freedom. But this door can also reveal darkness, hostility, and even danger.
It’s a world not so far from the magical one imagined by J.K Rowling.
A world invisible to Muggles
The Harry Potter universe is divided into two coexisting worlds; a world of Muggles, humans without magical powers; and a world of Wizards, endowed with magic and knowledge of the existence of this parallel dimension.
Web3 is a good representation of this magical world which is remote and almost invisible to Muggles and the uninitiated.
Words are spells and wizards are guides
Swap, NFTs, Mint, Tokens, Dapp, DAO. There exist as many esoteric terms as new spells to learn and understand before mastering and using some of this magic.
It is a world that is difficult to grasp without gui(l)des, without teachers making us follow the trail and lessons of illustrious wizards with equally magical names. Vitalik Buterin or Satoshi Nakamoto are the greatest examples.
But where legends exist, anonymous or not, it is also easy to be fooled by the supposed illusion of grandeur and knowledge of our interlocutors. All experts and consultants, like Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League...
Popularity, followers, social media presence, and fanatics arent proof that these dark mages are not hiding dangerous secrets. It is easy to create multiple identities, to hide behind pseudonyms, 0x, and to promise newcomers wealth while siphoning them of all magic. In Web3 there are many Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
"In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king" makes sense in such a young ecosystem. But watch out, the Blockchain God is omniscient, never forgets and an invisibility cloak won't save you.
A library of knowledge and opportunities at your wand tips
Fortunately, this world is a vast and welcoming place for those who know how to search and surround themselves. Many living, changing and growing libraries exist, almost endowed with a magical life of their own. These are called Twitter, GitHub, Discord...
Places where authors and knowledge flow freely, where occupants and passengers can choose to vandalise the space and leave nothing in return or, on the contrary, decide to participate, collaborate and support projects.
Here, the community is king and it decides on the life or death of a project. Wizards must not forget this. There is strength in numbers in the face of adversity and it is possible to unite around a common vision in a decentralised, autonomous, and organised way like the Order of the Phoenix.
But in web3 There’s no sorting hat that chooses your fate. You are the master of your destiny, your choices are your own and it is up to you to forge your own adventure.
Schools exist: Beauxbatons, Hogwarts or Durmstrang are being replaced by Cryptocurrencies, NFTs, Decentralised Finance....
As time goes by, a multitude of internal houses are created mixing different schools. Resulting in Play & Earn, Phygital NFTs, GameFi...
These universe fusions are worthy of the greatest potions. A pinch of video games, an ersatz of DeFi, a consequent dose of NFTs and you have a promising and explosive new project!
As every wizard has his or her own wand, it is possible to find a type of magic in Web3 that suits you and your tastes, experience, and ambitions.
The world of Web3 is a gigantic blue ocean where anyone can find, propose and innovate in a sector they like. But be careful not to be bewitched by the siren song, because here too the rapture of the deep can be deadly.
Defence Against the Dark Arts Class
It is also important to think about safety. And although animals are strongly represented here; from foxes and apes to elephants and frogs, there is no such thing as a 100% effective cerberus.
This is why there are different solutions, such as getting a pocket Gringotts from Ledger.
But it was Voldemort who figured out the most effective way to protect himself. Splitting his private key into several well-hidden Horcruxes. A true multisig before its time.
The magic never stops and it can be exhausting, it is easy to feel lost under all the stimuli and multiple branches. Follow my lead and put your memories, doubts, and thoughts in the Mirror.
You are a wizard Harry.eth
And you too, reader, can transform from Muggle to Web3 Wizard.
All you have to do is walk through the door at Platform 9¾.
This is the first iteration of my vision of Web3 presented in a more accessible way to allow more new wizards to get interested.
As there are many parallels possible, I have chosen to keep this first text short to make it easier to read. A more in-depth version of each part may appear (magically) later.
If you enjoyed this text, would like to get in touch or be informed of my news, follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Thanks to Nmeyla, Carmen, Nina, Loïc, Marielle, Théophile, and Pasha for proofreading, and to all the Muggles, Half-Bloods, and Wizards I've had the opportunity to meet since the beginning of this adventure.
Sorcier