The Cultural Downside of Inevitability
Why web3 is inevitable, but it should stop acting like it
As I’ve been diving deeper into the rabbit hole of the web3 world, I can’t help but notice some interesting cultural phenomena. I’m still straddling the web2 and web3 worlds, which gives me a unique, if fleeting, window into the dynamics of how the two are interacting.
Note: I’m painting with broad strokes in this one. Not speaking about any individual in particular, but rather the “emergent” properties of these communities.
Here’s what I’m seeing…
There’s a vibe that web3 gives off. An energy that feels like over-idealism but is presented as optimism. Confident, but smug.
I think what’s happening is that people who work in web3, which is a group I’m slowly starting to call myself a part of, see web3 as inevitable.
And I don’t think they’re wrong. I’m sure web3 is going to happen. To those immersed in web3, it’s not if but when. The world couldn’t stop web 1.0, and 1.0 couldn’t stop 2.0. 2.0 won’t have a chance at stopping web 3.0 either.
I’ll refer you to this great podcast episode that reinforced the inevitability for me.
But as I straddle these two worlds, I’m seeing the cultural downside of that inevitability.
The web3 community largely doesn’t feel an obligation to thoughtfully bring new people into the community. It doesn’t feel a need to advocate outside of the walls of web3. It looks at the web2 community as stuck in the old way of doing things. But they’re not worried about us web2 folk, because web3 is inevitable. Web2 will find its way to web3 donned in punks and lions, or kicking and screaming clutching to the comforts of our FAANG overlords. Either way.
It’s the unfortunate downside of believing in inevitability. You stop feeling an obligation to help others arrive at the destination, instead relying on gravity to pull everyone in.
I think it’s why we see a lot of cultural issues in web3.
It’s such a hard space for beginners to enter, with all of its jargon and inside jokes. Few people in web3 feel an obligation to bring newbies in with intention. We’ll all have to learn one way or another. To people in web3, “gm” is a sign of positivity but to people in web2, it’s a sign of exclusion. It just means “good morning”, and is used as an address to fellow community members.
Of course, there’s also the fact that a lot of people in web3 unabashedly refer to themselves as “degens” and embrace the criticism that this is all just a big pyramid scheme. The anarchists in the web3 room could care less if web2 feels comfortable. If anything, it’s their goal to disrupt the establishment. But there are a lot of people in web3 who would very much like to build a welcoming ecosystem.
But it all adds up to the web2 community sensing this air of smugness from web3. It’s not because of web3’s optimism, but because it has already left web2 behind and doesn’t care when they catch up.
And it’s why some of the narrative in web3 around inclusivity feels so far removed from reality.
Bringing the “unbanked” (people around the world who don’t have access to central banking systems) into the modern era is going to be tough when every transaction costs over $100 in gas (the fees you pay to transact on Ethereum).
Decentralizing power from corporations and putting it in the hands of the creators and consumers sounds good until it costs $10,000 to become a member of the DAO.
And yes, these are problems that are being worked on. Transaction fees won’t always be this expensive. There will be new governance and ownership models for DAOs.
But the divide deepens when the web3 community is talking about an idealistic future, while the web2 community is still dealing with the harsh realities of the present.
As a result, web3 has a branding and cultural issue.
And web3 may not care about its branding, but it’s going to hurt deeply when they do need “outsiders” to understand. Take politicians for example. For policies to be web3 friendly, web3 needs friends in policy.
Web3 is in high need of experienced community managers and operators. It will be in high need of a lot of roles that it hasn’t needed during its early phases of focusing on infrastructure.
And I really hate to see web3 making the same mistakes that web2 has made for over a decade when it comes to diversity. Find me a web3 project that isn’t 75%+ male and white (and that’s being generous… most are 90%+ male). This isn’t just bad for the people who are systemically oppressed… it’s also plain bad for businesses and communities.
Sure, politicians, community builders, and underrepresented innovators will eventually come to web3, if we’re right about the fundamental shift that’s occurring before our eyes.
But we have an opportunity to bring people, bring humanity, into this exciting new world with a warm embrace.
I know this because I experienced it. I’ve been tiptoeing on the edges of web3 since 2017 but never really felt immersed in it until recently when I found a group of my friends curated a small discord with a very specific focus on helping newcomers learn the ropes.
Having a space where I could ask any “dumb” question and not feel excluded for it made me feel safe in the space for the first time. Having people hold my hand through getting my first wallet set up and learning the basics of defi made me feel confident in web3 for the first time.
And I have a lot of privilege that got me to this point. I work in tech, I have a lot of connections in web3, I build communities, I’m white, I’m male, I’m financially secure… and even with all that, it was this hard for me to enter the space and feel welcome.
There are people in web3 who have made it a priority to be a bridge for web2. There are people who are working to build inclusive and diverse web3 communities. There are people who believe web3 is inevitable, but understand why others haven’t seen it yet. Web3 needs these bridgers. If we can more thoughtfully bring web2 into the web3 future, everyone will enjoy the ride.
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Other Notes and resources:
We’re hosting an intro to web3 event for web2 community builders on Nov 16. It’s already the biggest non-conference CMX event we’ve ever hosted. The appetite is there. Come join us!
I interviewed Dani Weinstein this week on MoC about internationalizing communities. If you have a global community and you want to give members experiences in their local language, give this one a listen.
Dunbars number says that a person can only hold 150 people in their network at a time. How many communities do you think they can hold?
Marketing that tried to change minds often fail. Marketing that preaches to the converted often wins. Community is more effective at changing minds, but it takes time.
Here’s a very thorough explanation of a DAO.
DAOs are never going to be fully decentralized. But they’ll be a lot more decentralized than the traditional corporation in that contributors will have real ownership and voting power in the org from day one.
There are a lot of web3 companies that are building the web3 version of successful web2 companies. “Airbnb but web3!” sounds nice, but from the consumer standpoint web3 isn’t a differentiator. Getting mass adoption is much harder than simply building on the blockchain. The biggest web3 companies won’t look anything like web2 companies, and we haven’t yet grasped what kind of businesses can come out of web3 that have never been possible before.
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As you can see, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about web3 these days. If you’re going down the rabbit hole or thinking about dipping your toes in, hit reply. Let’s learn together.
-Spinks
This is good; and yes we really do need more positive bridge builders and focus on inclusion