[unedited from original Nicheless posts 1 and 2, April 14, 2022]

Immediately after learning about NFTs, my mind shifted to the implications the "own-able internet" would have on platforms, and the way individuals interact online.
Then after meeting Evin, learning about verifiable credentials, and bridging technical solutions to many of the questions I'd deemed unanswerable years prior, it all made sense.

We reached escape velocity on the web when our imaginations outpaced the activities available. in fact, we now yearn to break through the invisible walls that bind our interactions online. with our online and offline identities constantly at odds, our many selves separated only by the thin lines of the windows with which we interact, we are exhausted.

Tired of context switching between work and personal life.

Tired of being constantly available simply because there are more minutes in a day.

Tired of not just being ourselves.

To me, the opportunity for disruption lies mostly with the individual.

The "user"

The truth is, that's where the power always has been. But we finally have a way to harness it. Web3, the contextual web, will allow us to finally change the transactions with which parts of ourselves are the currency.

Our data. The difference won't be that it's all public. It won't be that it's "on-chain". The difference will be that it's ours.

That we finally have control of the one thing that matters most to us. The thing that's been most valuable to everyone all along.

The stories we tell ourselves. About ourselves.

The information companies have been using to manipulate us into driving their bottom lines up forever.

The lifeblood of all technology.

Our identities.

And if we own our own data. We're going to need somewhere to put it. Enter, data backpacks.

We're already used to interacting with wallets in this manner. But it's wrong to assume that our wallet should be the only key-card that opens all the doors.

That's not the version of the future that I want to live in. The one where you flash your black Amex at the door to get into the VIP room behind the VIP room. And that everyone saw you do it.

But what that means, if there is no data moat, is that all apps are simply experiences.

Experiences that change, contextually based on the data you bring them. Based on your identity. At least, the parts of it that you want them to know about.

Because much like a bar today doesn't *need* to see all of the information on your driver's license to know if you're old enough to drink, a website doesn't need to know who you are so long as you meet the requirements it sets for you (maybe you need to verify that you have a wallet, email, and phone number attached to your account. not what they are.)

So in a world where we bring all of our own preferences (light mode or dark mode? signal or telegram? contract or full time?), how dynamically personalized can the experiences we receive be? They were already so good when someone else was guessing on our behalf.

No more guessing, no more targeting.

This time, companies and platforms must listen.

The best UX will be the ones that focus on, and answer the needs of the individual. The user.

But we must be gentle with users in this transitionary period too. Most have been deeply conditioned not to be in control.

We must give them confidence, and then the tools, to do things even they didn't know were possible.