THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET

Mirko Maccarrone, award-winning marketer, public speaker and guest lecturer specialising in the new frontiers of Web3 Marketing, breaks down the future of Internet.

Over the last 12 years, Mirko has helped worldclass organisations in the tech and luxury sector cultivate and achieve brand, marketing, and business objectives including Huawei, Saatchi & Saatchi, Bvlgari and Bitsong (Cosmo Blockchain) — across the UK, Australia, Italy, and now Dubai.

Mirko now leads the digital transformation of LIGHTBLUE, pushing the creative boundaries of what’s humanly possible with the mission to become the leading Web3 experience agency in the Middle East, working with clients including Algorand, Burberry, MDLBEAST, Puma, Sony PlayStation, and Tom Ford.

What is Web3, and why is it important?

Web3, a term coined by Gavin Wood (the cofounder of Ethereum) in 2014, refers to the decentralised, blockchain-based internet of the future.

It places a high priority on the security and empowerment of its users by returning the control of their data and online personas back to them.

This is done through blockchain technology, a distributed database that allows multiple parties to securely store, record and transfer data without the need for a singular, central authority.

Web3 technologies have the potential to bring about significant changes to the way the internet operates, potentially resulting in a wide-ranging impact on industries such as healthcare, finance, and more.

What are the big questions you should ask to create value in Web3?

It’s essential to carefully consider these and other questions as you plan and develop your Web3 solution to create value in the space.

What problem are you trying to solve?

Identifying a clear problem and understanding how your solution can address it is crucial for creating value in Web3.

How does your solution leverage the benefits of Web3 technologies?

Web3 technologies offer unique benefits such as decentralisation, security, transparency, and more. It’s important to understand how your solution leverages these benefits to create value.

Who are your target users, and how do you plan to reach them? Understanding your target users and how you will engage with them is crucial for success in Web3.

How will you monetize your solution?

It’s critical to have a clear plan for how you will generate revenue from your solution. This could include charging fees for access to your service, selling tokens or other digital assets, or using other monetization strategies.

How will you ensure the security and reliability of your solution? Web3 solutions must be secure and reliable in order to be trusted by users. It’s essential to consider how you will address security and reliability issues in the design and development of your solution.

How will you build a strong community around your solution? Building a strong and engaged community is crucial for the success of any Web3 project. It’s important to consider how you will engage with and build a community of users, developers, and other stakeholders.

How Web3 Is creating space for ‘Phygital’ Experiences?

The reality is that we aren’t just buying products or services anymore – we are craving experiences, paving the way for an era of the ‘Experience Economy’.

Businesses that are ahead in this game are generally more successful than those that aren’t. In fact, the Experience Economy is expected to be worth $12 billion by the end of 2023.

The value of experiences has taken precedence, with 78% of millennials choosing to spend money on an experience over products. By creating unique and immersive experiences, businesses can tap into the emotional needs of their customers, and Web3 is the primary playground for it.

With the introduction of new technologies fuelling a more connected world, we’ll begin to see the physical and digital worlds blend in new and interesting ways. “Phygital” is one way to refer to this interplay.

Web3 is allowing us to create a seamless, immersive, personalised customer experience at the intersection of physical and digital worlds. An example of this is a Dubai-based experience for Mastercard that was showcased at Expo 2020.

The introduction of the Mastercard Cube was an installation that immersed visitors in a range of multi-sensory experiences as they embarked on Mastercard Priceless journeys tailored to their passions, including sport, food, and music.

At the Cube, visitors were wowed by mixed reality content that brought to life the next era of innovation, as Mastercard demonstrated how the power of payment technology can be harnessed to make life safer, easier, and more connected for all.

How is the metaverse defined?

The metaverse is a virtual world that is created and shared by users through the internet. It is a space where people can interact, communicate, and engage with each other as well as virtual objects and environments in an immersive and interactive way.

The term “Metaverse” was first coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 science fiction novel “Snow Crash,” in which it referred to a virtual world that was accessed through the internet.

The concept of the metaverse has gained significant attention in recent years, as advances in virtual and augmented reality technologies have made it increasingly feasible to create immersive and interactive virtual spaces.

The metaverse is often seen as the next evolution of the internet, and is expected to bring about significant changes to the way we communicate, work, and engage with each other and with digital content.

Think of the Metaverse as if it was Microsoft Office. If you were born in the analogue era, you have undoubtedly experienced numerous software changes. You might have been typing reports in Word or making budgets in Excel 20 years ago.

You can still do that, but you can also use Microsoft Teams to conduct an online conference for coworkers all over the world. The point here is that software evolves over time.

We are currently seeing Metaverse 1.0, and we can’t predict exactly how version 2.0 or 3.0 will be because there are endless possibilities and uses.

But that doesn’t mean you should stand back and wait for the Metaverse to unfold. The time to start integrating it into your business strategy is now.

What are the challenges and opportunities with the metaverse?

Like every new and unexplored technology, the metaverse presents both challenges and opportunities, and it is important to consider these as we work to build and shape this emerging virtual space.

Challenges:

Like every new and unexplored technology, the metaverse presents both challenges and opportunities, and it is important to consider these as we work to build and shape this emerging virtual space.

Scalability: The metaverse must be able to handle a large number of users and transactions simultaneously in order to be viable. On the other hand, new hardware and software are being developed to withstand the technological demands, for example Unreal Engine 5, the Meta Quest Pro VR headset, and other advancements.

Interoperability: The metaverse must be able to seamlessly integrate with a variety of different platforms and technologies in order to be successful.

However, we can see Digital Avatar platforms addressing this, such as ‘Ready Player Me’ having the ability to be used across multiple platforms on different mediums (mobile, VR, and web).

Regulation:Tthere are many legal and regulatory issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure the viability of the metaverse. However, as governments begin to adopt the technology, they are creating entities to develop regulatory frameworks.

Opportunities:

Innovation: The metaverse offers a vast and untapped space for innovation and creativity for both businesses and individuals.

Collaboration: the metaverse allows for new forms of collaboration and communication that were not previously possible.

The term “Metaverse” was first coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 science fiction novel “Snow Crash,” in which it referred to a virtual world that was accessed through the internet.

The concept of the metaverse has gained significant attention in recent years, as advances in virtual and augmented reality technologies have made it increasingly feasible to create immersive and interactive virtual spaces.

The metaverse is often seen as the next evolution of the internet, and is expected to bring about significant changes to the way we communicate, work, and engage with each other and with digital content.

Education: The metaverse can be used as a platform for education in a variety of different fields.

Entertainment: the metaverse offers a new platform for entertainment and leisure activities.

How is Web 3.0 transforming the Middle East business landscape?

This is perhaps happening now more than ever. Starting with the UAE, Dubai is on a mission to become a global hub for Web 3 and expand towards new and innovative economic models.

More specifically, Dubai is aiming to become one of the top ten metaverse economies in the world, supporting more than 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030, and adding USD 4 billion to Dubai’s economy in five years.

Since 2006 Saudi Arabia has had an established plan for digitization, called the National Strategy for Digital Transformation, leading towards their Vision 2030 plans, which focuses on a vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) collectively are streamlining their digital developments, with Qatar also launching initiatives to support sustainability and digital transformation.

The potential contribution of the metaverse to GCC economies could be around USD 15 billion annually by 2030, of which USD 7.6 billion would be in Saudi Arabia.

Furthermore, the emerging technology’s contribution to Qatar and Kuwait is expected to hit around USD 1.6 billion and USD 1 billion, respectively, by 2030.

What does 2023 hold in terms of Web3 development and progress?

It is difficult to predict with certainty what the future holds for Web3 development and progress.

However, there are a few trends and developments that may shape the Web3 landscape in 2023:

Increased adoption of non-fungible tokens (NFTs): NFTs, which are digital assets that are unique and cannot be exchanged for other assets, have gained significant attention in recent years and are expected to continue to grow in popularity in 2023.

Improved scalability and performance: as the Web3 ecosystem matures, it is likely that we will see continued improvements in scalability and performance, which will make it easier for developers to build and deploy decentralised applications (dApps).

Greater mainstream adoption: Web3 technologies are still in the early stages of adoption, but it is possible that we will see greater mainstream adoption in 2023 as more people become aware of the benefits of decentralised applications and technologies.

Continued regulatory developments: as Web3 technologies continue to grow it is likely that we will see increased regulatory scrutiny and the development of new regulations to govern these technologies.

Overall, the Web3 landscape is constantly evolving, and it is difficult to predict with certainty what the future holds. However, these are a few trends and developments that may shape the Web3 ecosystem in 2023.