Join the new open system

July 13th, 2023

This text is a translation of an interview with Crypto Nastya for the Estonian youth portal. Original article:

To answer this question look at the history of the Internet, which can be conditionally divided into 3 stages.

In Web 1, we viewed static web pages and were just consumers of content.
Now we are in the Web 2 system, where users are not only consumers of content but also its creators.
However, the problem is that Web 2 has been captured by monopolies such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter.
They own all our data and monetize it - we get almost no benefit from the existing system.
Web 3 is a new concept of the Internet where every user has full control over their data and can actively participate in the network's economy, using cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.
It is assumed that such an open and free system will lead to a more fair and efficient distribution of resources, which will positively affect the well-being of both an individual and society as a whole.

Web 3 Social is a direction in Web 3 that is just beginning to emerge, and I believe it will become the next trend, significantly influencing the mass adoption of the "crypto world".

Web 3 Social can be understood as a social system built on open infrastructure (blockchain) and includes all categories related to the interaction of people/groups of people with each other in Web 3.

Now, based on market analysis, I see the emergence of the following categories (note that the trend is just appearing and in the future there will be many more categories, as the concept of a social system is very broad): DAO/communities, social networks, social tokens.

DAO, communities

DAO is understood as Decentralized Autonomous Organizations.
Let's break down all the components of this concept:

Decentralized - the management of the organization can be evenly distributed among many token holders.
Autonomous - all the rules of the organization can be written in computer code and execute autonomously, i.e without human participation.
Organization - in other words, a union of people.

Now DAOs are neither autonomous (since the rules are not written in code), not fully decentralized (since the decision is usually made by a limited group of people or even one person).
Therefore, it would be correct to call them just communities.
However, I believe that this is a gradual process and over time autonomy and decentralization will grow.

In simple terms, decentralized communities resist hierarchies (in the face of states/large corporations).
Throughout history, the balance of power has always changed and I believe that the time has come to strengthen the power of communities.
Thanks to open infrastructure (blockchain) this has become possible.

We are already seeing the emergence of many DAOs/communities with various goals. These can be joint investments, finding new Web 3 projects, creating their own products, achieving social goals, educational activities.

DAOs/Communities - it's about people working together online, achieving common goals, coordination, collaboration. This is a new form of corporations as we know them.

While most of the work in communities happens in Web 2 networks (usually, this is Telegram or Discord), however, Web 3 tools are emerging, including crypto social networks and tools for managing communities, so this process is gradually moving into Web 3.

Social Networks

Social networks consist of chains of various social interactions of people with each other.
In Web 2, they found their place on centralized social platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook).
However, these platforms have gained complete power over the most valuable resource of the 21st century - information.
Moreover, they not only own all the information about us, but also have full control over users.

Web 3 offers a new construct for social interactions. I'll tell you what new networks might look like using the Lens Protocol project as an example.

You can also check the similar projects (like Farcaster).

The model proposed by Lens Protocol:

You own your profile, content, social connections, messages, and other data as property in the form of NFTs.
You can manage your data independently, monetize it, and benefit from it without sharing revenue with a centralized intermediary.
You are not tied to the platform and can switch from one application to another, while your followers and content follow you across the limitless space of the Internet, which allows you not to lose accumulated social capital.
You can monetize your data directly on Lens, as there are already features like paid subscriptions, conveniently integrated donations, advertising fees, rewards (tokens) for creating content, viewing or helping in distribution, etc.
Any developer can come into the ecosystem and create their own unique application or algorithm based on the accumulated available information and user base.

Social Tokens

In history, states have not always had a monopoly on the issuance of money.
The balance of power changes.
The strengthening of open systems/decentralized networks/communities also means an increase in the importance of private money, which social tokens represent.

According to the concept of social tokens, any person or group of people can issue their own money.
Open infrastructure (blockchain) allows this, even without technical knowledge.
But what do personal tokens mean, and what are community tokens?

Personal tokens are digital assets created and issued by individual persons.
They represent a stake in a personal project, business, or a person's success.
Essentially, they are a tokenized representation of the reputation, skills, or work of a specific individual.
Personal tokens can be used to monetize content, skills, or time, and their holders get certain privileges.
These include exclusive access to content, the ability to participate in decision-making, or even a share of the profits from a person's projects or work.

Community tokens are similar to personal tokens, but they are issued by communities, groups, or organizations, not individuals.
They represent a stake in group projects, ideas, or the success of an entire community.
These tokens can be used to monetize public content, resources, or assets, as well as to encourage participation and collaboration in the community.
Holders of such tokens can also get certain privileges, such as voting rights in decision-making, access to exclusive content, or participation in the community's profits.

At the heart of everything is decentralization, where power, functions, people, or things are distributed far from a single central location or authority.
Governance and decision-making are distributed to many participants or nodes in the network, rather than being concentrated at a single point.

In addition to this, the foundation of Web 3 Social is the ownership of any digital assets/rights.
If we look at human history, it was precisely the institution of property rights that led to the boom in trade and the economy.

The principle of system openness is also important.
It allows for quick responses to changes, as it does not require approval or information to be conveyed to the "top".
It also fosters innovation, as anyone can become part of the network and contribute, benefiting both the individual and the system as a whole.

Web 3 Social will promote the principle of ecosystem.
Ecosystem means creating an environment where various applications, platforms, and services are interconnected and interact with each other to provide users with a comprehensive experience.
This is fundamentally different from more traditional centralized systems, where each application or platform often operates independently and does not exchange information with each other.

Another principle worth mentioning is the principle of everyone's participation in the work of decentralized networks.
Web 3 Social aims for decentralized governance and active community participation. This means that users not only consume content or interact with the platform but also participate in decision-making that affects the development of the platform itself.

The principle of economic participation should not be forgotten – users can participate in the platform's economy directly, earning tokens for their activity, participation in platform governance, or investment in projects and communities they support.

I believe it's time for more open and decentralized networks.
You own your data, your profile, and connections; you can monetize them, taking power away from monopolies – in my opinion, these are the ideas that can easily become mainstream, as they have always been at the heart of historical revolutions and overturns in various forms.
Cryptocurrencies (not the stock or other markets) – this is what interests the youth, who will set the next trends.
It doesn't require financial expenses, as you can invest not money, but time.
Web 3 Social is in the early stages of development, which allows entering the market at the very beginning with low competition and taking a good place.
The principle of the ecosystem.
My investment experience led me to the conclusion that it is better to bet on ecosystems rather than isolated products that are not connected to others.
The more there is around products, the higher the chance of hitting the target.
Web 3 Social has this important feature for me.

How to make money from this knowledge?

I want to emphasize once again that the trend is just emerging, so it's unclear what it will turn into.
You can approach it from any side and choose your unique path.
Below I will indicate what I'm doing myself.

Entering crypto social networks at the early stages of development, which allows for quick promotion, creating content and building an audience.
But it's hard to predict whether the network will survive.
Creating a brand. I'm creating a personal brand, Crypto Girls, and the brand of our community, Crypto Girls DAO.
Participating in communities or creating your own - contribute and grow with and because of the community.
Creating a personal token or a community token.
Investing in other tokens; doing activities to get project tokens for free.
Educational activities.
For instance, I run a channel, record podcasts and videos, write articles, attract like-minded people, and accumulate social capital.
Development of such familiar areas as marketing, design, jurisprudence, psychology, management, and others with an emphasis on the concept of Web 3.

What resources will help those interested to delve more deeply into this topic?

In Web 3, the ability to independently search for information plays a special role. There are not many people who can lucidly convey such new material to you.

Keep in mind the high degree of uncertainty, potential risks, and understand that Web 3 is not the ultimate truth, but rather part of the cycle from centralization to decentralization; from closure to openness, which should give a new impetus to the development of society.

My goal is to provide hints, a foundation. The rest is your imagination and research.