The identity of the next web giant is unknown and we can’t be sure if it will be based on the hyped Web3 concept. Yet, radical changes reshaping Search and Social can be envisioned from it.

The concept of Web3 holds indeed a lot of promises. But it’s important to note that Google and Meta, the two companies that dominate search and social media, do not comply at all with Web3 principles. And they are very unlikely to adopt them in the near future, given that their architecture and business model is totally centralized. They are thus at risk that a competitor leverages the Web3 advantages to rise on their territory.

Web3, wft?

First, let’s take a little step back and sum-up briefly what Web3 is about (long version here). It is a technological approach of telecommunication that incorporates the following concepts:

• Decentralization of interactions and ownership
• Blockchain architecture for transparency of operations
• Token or crypto based economy

It’s not hard to imagine possibly better, at least totally different solutions to the problems that Google and Meta solve, based on Web3 principles. For the next Elon Musk out there, I provide here two Web3 visions to revolutionize search and social media.

• Social Search Engine. A social media platform powered and controlled by AI could provide a search service where results and suggestions are not compiled by a search engine, but are based on the aggregation of millions of personal recommendations made by individual members of the network, in the area that they know best.
• Social Media Torrent. A new type of social media exchanges could be provided via a constellation of thousands of independent websites, instead of being owned on a single server and domain such as Facebook.com. A torrent architecture could support the nodes networking, spread via easy to use CMS modules such as WordPress plugins. 

When will this come ?

Right now, the hype is high about Web3 technology and its impact on many industries. This concept is not the first one that was said to revolutionize our society in the late years. From blockchain to NFT and from crypto to the departed metaverse, many buzzwords got some attention. Yet, not all buzzwords turn into fallen promises. If you build it, they will come. Elon, can you hear the wind of change ?

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Author: Nicolas Morel
Image: DeltaWorks
Music: Scorpions