Web 3.0: The future of Internet

The Internet, or Web 2.0 as it should correctly be referred to, has done more to connect our daily lives than any other tool in our known universe. Through it, we can hold video calls, share experiences, learn, teach, shop; the list is extensive. But in all its current glory, the Internet is still flat. What do I mean? Well, experiences on the current web version are two dimensional, mostly shared as images and videos. However, over the last couple of years, we’ve been getting glimpses of what Web 3.0 would be like. 

Have you ever tried a filter from Instagram or Snapchat? Maybe explored an object space or caught a Pokémon using augmented reality? These are the beginnings of the next version of the Internet – spatial, connected and experiential. 

Web 3.0, for better or for worse, will mimic and replicate real – world experiences and interactions better. If you are old enough to remember the first chat rooms, compare them to systems like WhatsApp and Facetime today. Even though they connected users worldwide, these experiences were relatively primitive in what they could share and where you could use them. 

Now consider how technologies like volumetric video, depth-sensing cameras, faster connection speed and devices that continually get smaller but are much more powerful will influence the next wave of messenger apps. Volu – an app that allows iPhones to create volumetric videos – is already working on cracking some of these technical hurdles, and they are not alone. 

Spatial is one of the most significant differences for the future of communication. It’s one of the key ingredients for changing the narrative from seeing to experiencing. Spatial puts you in the middle of what’s happening; it drives immersion and unlocks better-mixed reality experiences. But why should brands and companies care about the technology that still isn’t ‘here’? I don’t believe that is the right question to be asking. Can companies afford to wait until Web 3.0 is matured to begin their journey? Well, what is their competition doing?

Even if they sit in a unique niche, the new trends of direct-to-customer, metaverse spaces, and NFTs will most likely impact industries similarly to how e-commerce did. In addition, recent trends such as v-commerce, i-commerce, play-to-pay, play-to-earn, and community governance will also dictate if consumers want even to be associated with brands in the first place. 

A look at some brands who understand their audiences have begun to play in these spaces. They’ve held concerts in Fortnite and brand launches in Pokemon Go. Companies are beginning to explore the benefits of spatial and connected environments. New ecosystems such as Odyssey Stream and The Cloud City Metaverse are using modern Pixel streaming technology to push the capabilities and aesthetics of online experiences into Web 3.0 standards. Additionally, this year we are poised to launch several metaverse type brand engagement experiences with one or two explicitly focusing on the UAE and GCC region. So Web 3.0 is coming, with new rules of engagement, brand activations and social constructs. My question to brands and companies is, can you genuinely wait or have you already started experimenting?

Read: What does the future of gaming hold?