#web3

Web3 at a16z (and a bit of a16z’s structure)

An interview with a16z’s (Andreessen Horowitz) head of crypto investing, Chris Dixon. First, a bit on how a16z is structured (good info for anyone interested in startups and VC) then they get into a deep dive on web3, NFTs, and more in that space. I found it a fascinating and informative, if long, read. https://www.theverge.com/23020727/decoder-chris-dixon-web3-crypto-a16z-vc-silicon-valley-investing-podcast-interview

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Web3 camp for kids

Does this sound like an industry trying to enculturate a generation to ensure the industries’ acceptance in the future? Seems kinda slimy to me! https://www.vox.com/the-goods/23020971/crypto-kids-nfts-web3-education-summer-camp Might be done with good intentions but.,,

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What can you do with a web3 domain?

Well, for one thing you can use it in place of your crypto wallet address. Why? If you register with ENS your crypto wallet address is part of the registration (much like your web2 site’s IP address is a part of your DNS entry) so you can just have crypto currency sent to your web3 domain instead of that long crypto wallet address.

https://cointelegraph.com/explained/the-concept-and-future-of-decentralized-web3-domain-names has a good (maybe a bit too detailed) explanation of how web3 domain registrations work. Registering a domain with https://app.ens.domains/ only cost $5 per year BUT you need to pay the Ethereum “gas” (i.e. pay for the energy required to perform the registration and get the transaction recorded on the Ethereum blockchain, as of this writing about $75).

Is it worth it? Hard to say at this time but if you’ve got the gas money 🙂 why not?

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What is Web 3.0 and how does it differ from current?

The article at https://www.makeuseof.com/web-2-vs-web-3-whats-the-difference gives a good high level overview of web3 and its differences from our current web/internet (web2 or web 2.0). What it misses is that all those machines that participate in the chain still need to be paid for along with any hosting and network charges, not to mention the additional resource required to validate and add blocks to the chain.

How are they paid for now, in web2? Generally 2 methods: 1 direct subscription fees (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc), 2 your personal information (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc). Could this same model be used? Sure but what I’ve seen put forth in many instances is, in order to protect privacy, users directly pay for the resource using some cryptocurrency. In a privacy-focused web, that’s certainly the most private but how much will you be charged for a “transaction” (i.e. a visit to a site, a page refresh, etc.).

I’m not sure any of this has been sorted out yet. Depending on the level of anonymity desired (and expected) by web3 users, it may not be possible to “pay” with your personal information. Some companies are working on directories whereby a user can control what information is made available to all sites, certain sites, etc but, again, this all is still in a major state of flux. I anxiously await the sorting out.

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“You don’t own web3”

Jack Dorsey tweeted this a few days ago (https://twitter.com/jack/status/1473139010197508098) and it caused quite a stir. I don’t completely disagree with him but I think it’s a little different – web3 belongs to those with cash. You see, every transaction, every webpage loads, every search has to be paid for in some way. Why? It’s the cost of owning your own privacy and is the linchpin of web3. No, it generally doesn’t cost a lot but you have to pay in REAL money by way of tokens or cryptocurrency. Want a web3 domain? Sure! Get one at https://app.ens.domains/ for only $5/year. BUT you’ll need to pay the “gas” (i.e. pay for the energy expended to register your domain on the Ethereum blockchain. How much is that? Well, how much does ETH cost? Right now, it’ll cost about $100 to register that $5 domain. Quite a lot different from those deals you can get from “regular” registrars (for .com and .org, etc).

So, which is it? Pay with money or pay with your personal information?

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It was bound to happen

Token Music, https://www.tokninc.com/, is launching a way for music artists to securely sell a portion of their royalties to their fans using blockchain tech – FST (Fungible Security Tokens) as opposed to NFT. https://toknmusic.medium.com/prepare-for-the-alpha-5508353d4523 has details for how you can join them.

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No-code/Low-code web3

A few days ago I was fortunate enough to find out about thirdweb.com over on ProductHunt.com. (see https://www.producthunt.com/posts/thirdweb). ThirdWeb is a platform to help you build and deploy web3 apps and games without worrying about how to make your commits to the blockchain of your choice. It’s still in the early adopter phase and they interface with various testnets so you can create and test your ideas for no cost (you can easisly get free testnet tokens). If you’re interested in learning more or trying your hand at creating a web3 app (dApp), check them out – https://thirdweb.com/early

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Roadblocks to web3 and cryptocurrency

Every time I bring up either of those subjects to someone not part of the “in crowd” (I say, tongue-in-cheek), I’m met with either a blank stare or a statement of disbelief (e.g. “scam”, “ponzi scheme”). And it’s JUSTIFIED! This whole area is clouded with jargon and the mysticism so often created by the technorati when it comes to new technology. https://paulstamatiou.com/crypto-design-challenges/ (a LONG read) discusses this and proposes ways to remove the mystic

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