The freedom of limits: Why the metaverse is shaping up to be like Web2

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The future of the internet is top of mind for many technologists these days, from speculation of how it may come to life via connected virtual worlds to the possibility of aBlockchain-based web. The discussions around Web3 have been difficult recently. Web3 has been awash with bad press from a bearishcryptocurrencies market, various high-profile scam or crashes, and slumping broader interest in applications. Due to these disruptions, Web3 proponents are looking to the metaverse as a credible path for bringing a new technology to the mainstream. The current state of the metaverse appears to be more similar to Web2 than Web3.

Without a change in direction, this is an inevitable outcome that would chill the blood of Web3 lovers. There are two points that need to be made clear.

Web3 and the metaverse are not the same concept, nor are they dependent on each other, they are ideas about how to build the architecture of the web and how to access it.

Much of Web3 can be seen as a rebuke of Web2 and the extent to which powerful platforms like Google, Meta or otherwise capitalized on vast amounts of personal data, largely in the form of advertising. The power of Web2 wasn't in the abstract. Convenient services for users are what Web2 provides.

The rise of social media and other forms of user-generated content gave Web2TrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkia is defined by the rise of social media and other forms of user-generated contentTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkia is defined by the rise of social mediaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkia Web2 became worth a lot because it served basic human needs with an understanding that most humans aren't terribly technical, or at least tend to privilege convenience and ease The product still looking for a solution came as an outcome of this solution.

If you are a technical person, it is easy to lose sight of this because access to and creation of things on the internet isn't necessarily inconvenient. A phenomenon that may be getting worse is the lack ofLapses in Humanistic Thinking in Technology. Web3 is prone to ignore human-oriented thinking due to the fact that much of the technology is designed to remove as much of the human element as possible. The current Web3 landscape is defined by overconfidence in technology and under thinking about the human element.

The most obvious example of where this trend is coming to fruition is the fact that the best and largest examples of what the metaverse may be are largely in the domain of gaming. Thanks in part to the runaway success of the originated games that structure these worlds, creators and marketers can find massive audiences and a toolkit for creating things in a 3D virtual environment that would otherwise be out of reach for all but the most technical people. Centralized gaming platforms are popular because they are easy to find and create.

In popular applications of Web3 such as NFTs, the same marketers or creators who can relatively easily set up an activation on these platforms often find more difficulties. Conversation with brands have shown that even non-financial applications can make an NFT a dubious prospect from a legal or policy point of view.

The basis of problems beyond interest from marketers or creators is the larger loop of negative reinforcement in Web3: leading with financial rewards only increases the prevalence of bad actors, misalignment of incentives and limiting thinking towards formulating value and solutions in a virtual world on the same terms as we. Limits have an explicit purpose in a game environment and can be used to make an experience engaging for the player.

A bias towards greed and financialization is shaping the future of Web3 in a way that not only doesn't attend to basic human needs but is becoming an impediment to societal trust around the technology The problems being solved are all about financial rewards and not about the pleasures of fun or human connection. The most successful platforms in Web2 did the same thing as gaming. We should not be surprised that we are seeing a convergence.

A feeling of missing out on the gold rush in Web2 has allowed centralized players to claim a disproportionate amount of the revenue. The development of the metaverse may have been overcorrected. Few of the potential advantages of decentralization have come to fruition and what is left is inconvenient tech that is restricted for financial gain.

It's not an endorsement for platforms or the Web2 model, it's a product of human tendencies towards technology adoption. Web2 platforms came to prominence and various middle agents have always existed, so there will be natural gravitation toward the Web2 model if left as is. Humans don't care about the technology per se, they care about the value it gives them, and if the value is assessed in dollars and cents, then much of the value is left on the virtual world.

The VP of Global Business Research is Jonathan Stringfield.

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