Welcome to the third instalment of me trying to convince you why web3 is a great idea and why you should be getting involved [pours a big cup of coffee].

By now you probably have a basic understanding of what an NFT is, perhaps you even have your crypto wallet setup and found a project that appeals to you. (If not, please do yourself a favour and check out one of many web3 events and twitter spaces that Allbright hosted over the last two weeks – they are epic! #shamelessplug).

But like any good tech evangelist would tell you, that was just to get you interested. Now let me tell you (yes YOU!) how your life will change for the better with this magical new concept of web3.

“What is web3?” I hear you ask, “and what happened to webs 1 and 2?!” The moment of truth – I hadn’t even realised there was a web2…until I heard about web3, so you are not alone in your existential pursuits.  

Have you ever, perhaps over a glass of wine on a Friday with your girlfriends, wondered how your life could’ve been different if you took the whole Instagram thing more seriously earlier? Or maybe, while downloading a new app, you wondered why you didn’t think of that app idea earlier? Technically speaking, both of those are your missed opportunities in web2. So, you may relate to my excitement that for the first time in my 37 years at life, I am early to something… anything.

But let’s start from the beginning.

Web1 era

Think desktop computers, dial-up connection, and ICQ (uh-oh! If you remember that sound – congrats, you are old!). Invention of the internet itself - web browsers, early days of e-commerce and the crazy idea that someone might be stupid enough to type in their credit card details into the world wide web. Often described as the ‘read-only’ version of the internet.

Web2 era

Think smartphones and Mark Zuckerberg, invention of the smartphone and the concept of the app, the rise of Google and, of course, the social networks. Important to note here, ownership of your data in web2 largely rests with the Facebooks of the world, rather than you. This is the ‘read, create, connect’ version.

Web3 (or 3.0)

The all-encompassing term used to describe the next era. Blockchain based, decentralised, the rise of the metaverse, immersive experiences in augmented and virtual reality, the rise of cryptocurrencies… to the moon and back. There is a big focus on communities. Ownership of personal data, in theory, rests with you because of the decentralised nature of web3. ‘Create, own, immerse’ version.

Wait, I have so many questions!

So is web3 and blockchain the same thing?

They are connected. Blockchain is the innovative technology (the train tracks so to speak) that allows the web3 ecosystem to function. Blockchain is powered by the internet.

What about the metaverse, is that web3?

It is a part of web3 and refers to the concept of taking physical world experiences and transforming them into more immersive ones with elements of mixed reality, virtual reality, augmented reality. Currently this assumes the use of a virtual reality headset, prominent in the world of gaming, but could also be via a mobile phone.

So why should I care about this magical new world?

Well as it turns out, though we may have been blissfully unaware, we have in fact been helping build this web2 over the last two decades. Whether you like it or not, we are all part of today’s digital economy. Think about all the ways in which our lives were changed by the digital revolution. The way we consume information, the way we buy, the way we pay, how we interact with the world online. Think about how businesses market and promote their products today. Think about all the jobs that didn’t exist less than 20 years ago - bloggers, influencers, digital marketing, UX and UI designers and developers, content creators, virtual CFOs.

Web3 is the evolution of web2 and hence will create new opportunities, adding yet another dimension to the digital world we know and love. The decentralised nature of web3 should reduce the barriers to entry. Let’s not kid ourselves though, there are still many barriers – starting with the nascent infrastructure and the complexity of setting up a crypto wallet. But that will change as the space matures, and what is different this time is the strong community aspect that underpins most projects at this early stage. The communities are vast and welcoming if only you choose to go down the rabbit hole.

There are three broad opportunities that I see to get involved in web3 right now:

Create, collect, invest

The world of NFTs is by far the easiest and most exciting way to get involved in web3. The creative aspect makes it exciting regardless of whether you are wanting to create, collect or consider it an investment. Feel good factor is an added bonus as you can align with causes that appeal to you, be it mental health, girl power, education or climate action. (No, NFTs and climate action are not necessarily mutually exclusive.)

Become a thought leader

Having spent the last decade of my career working in finance and being intimidated by my larger-than-life imposter syndrome, I can finally breathe out and say that I know a little more about the topic of web3 than most people in your average room. This is purely because I started reading about it 6 months before the topic hit the main-mainstream. Unless you are wanting to build stuff in web3, educating yourself about the core principles will not take long. From here, there is an opportunity to become a thought leader and an expert on web3 in your existing domain. For instance, if you are currently a lady boss lawyer specialising in intellectual property, you can, in a relatively short period of time, become a voice on web3 opportunities in IP law. Or if you are working in events, you can publish an opinion piece on how NFTs will transform the ticketing experience. The opportunity is there because there are very few experts in existence. But not for long.   

Explore career pivots

Similarly to how a blogger was not a profession until about a dozen years ago (though your mum probably still thinks it’s not a real job), new vocations will come to life as web3 gathers pace. We are already seeing a rising demand for discord community managers, and as more traditional brands extend into the metaverse, the web3 iterations of marketing, operations and creative jobs will become more prominent. The one web3 careers website I checked when writing this article had 14,000+ active jobs advertised worldwide. And yes, a lot of those will be developer roles at this stage but the tide will turn quicker than we might expect.   

And.. if you are game, then you might want to try yourself as a web3 founder. I don’t have an entrepreneurial bone in my body, but I sure can promise you it will be a wild ride. 

Some serious banker guy from a big investment bank on a podcast, with a disclaimer as long as my arm about how their info should not be quoted, estimated the size of the opportunity at around US$8 trillion. That number was derived from the size of the existing digital economy. Knowing his types, I’d say he was being conservative with his estimates, given we don’t understand the full extent of possibilities that these new decentralised structures will create. It is still early days, there is a lot of attention and a lot of investments being made in this space.

I am bullish on this (can you tell?!) but I am also acutely aware that missed opportunities of today will compound both the education and the wealth gap of tomorrow. And those gaps are particularly ruthless when it comes to women (hello! only 2% of venture funding goes to female founders). So, mind the gap ladies and get learning!