Web 2.0 Creators Beware, Winter is Coming

Time to find the decentralized Web 3.0 disruptor in you

Photo by Nubelson Fernandes on Unsplash

Recently I started decluttering my Web 2.0 digital footprint in social media, starting with revamping my Twitter account according to the decentralized Web 3.0 paradigm.

Do not worry, dear reader; I will not hide in a bunker somewhere and start mining crypto for a living.

Well, at least not yet.

I am not going to say goodbye to social media altogether, but I have come to realize that things are changing, and slowly winter is coming to biased Web 2.0 and the dawn of the decentralized web (Web 3.0).

That’s why it’s time to raise awareness of the dawning era of Web 2.0 influencers and form a new guild of content creators — the digital disruptors. Like-minded individuals who pursue their dreams, no longer roaming the digital multiverse as rogue nomads but upholding the light side of the Force against the darkness creeping in the shadows.

The Age of 2.0 Puppets

We have all heard about the so-called Facebook Papers and how the social network is accused of colluding with the dark corners of power. It spreads fake news to support the ominous plan of the Sith cohorts, a secret elite of celebrities and politicians manipulated (and protected) by an obscure dark ruler.

What we learned from Facebook Papers whistleblower, Frances Haugen, is not even the tip of the iceberg; it’s probably just an icy crystal molecule of frosting on top.

MySpace and Facebook were among the first powerhouses of Web 2.0 and the paradigm that Zuckerberg helped create still dominates our lives; yet I can already feel the winds of change, having experienced Facebook’s one-sided criterion far too often.

Meta was Mark Zuckerberg’s way to escape the fallout from the Facebook scandal by going on a virtual escapade from this little-old corner of the Universe. Teleporting himself to an immersive digital world of his godly-like design, called the “Metaverse.”

The Decentralized Web Awakens

Walking on the shoulders of the Semantic Web by Tim Berners-Lee, Web 3.0 is the age of AI-based systems, and even if many don’t know yet, the precursors are already at work, and you do not want to miss the train and ride the disruption wave.

That’s why I nuked my old Twitter, as it bears all the misconceptions and blunders and remnants of the old Web 2.0 empire paradigm. I realized how the foundations it was built have become counterproductive.

The number of followers has little value if the audience you have amassed for the last ten years comes from a melting pot of interests that have little to do with your primary focus nowadays.

I first noticed this issue on Facebook a decade ago, and now it has also become valid for Twitter. TikTok’s powerful algorithm helped scale the audience development paradigm.

Thus, nowadays, user engagement is the driving force on social media. And you can’t engage a community that is not responsive to the content you’re delivering.

I’d built my Twitter following like a Babylonian tower where my audience wasn’t hard-wired because I followed the mindset of a Web 2.0 influencer back in 2014.

I focused on building a following and resorted to every trick in the book to encourage growth, and it worked. I currently have a network of around 30,000 followers on social media.

What do I get out of this noteworthy number of followers?

Ziltch!

I noticed there was a lot of noise from too many voices, and entropy led to chaos. Algorithms hate clutter because they prefer mathematical order and exponential growth patterns. If you send out a tweet and there is no response in the first minute, your content is immediately forgotten.

That’s why I have taken down the tower and am now focusing on building a networking community where everyone speaks the same language and has a similar background.

Winter is coming for the lone successful influencer anchored on his yacht in a deserted beach in Turks & Caicos.

The era of Web 3.0 is upon us.

It will revolve around small guilds of digital disruptors, using peer-reviewed data to inspire innovation and a better future for all humanity.

The 4 Pillars of Decentralized Web

1. Semantic Web
   Technological innovation will bring forward new ways to handle online content. The Semantic Web seeks to facilitate the communication process between the various system participants to create a shared mental model, minimizing the possibility of ambiguities and thus promoting the development of applications that manipulate the multiple data sources.

2. Connectivity
   Web 3.0 allows data to be shared across multiple systems and platforms and acts as a bridge between the community’s different data formats and media. Hence, we will be able to connect and share content in ways never dreamt of before.

3. Ubiquity
   Users will be granted access to data and information across multiple applications and devices via 5G capacities globally.

4. Artificial Intelligence
   Web 3.0 will integrate artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain capabilities to ensure the optimal experience and security. State-of-the-art language processing algorithms will ensure that Web 3.0 software will understand the information in a more human-like fashion to optimize results.

Concluding Remarks

Zuckerberg’s “Metaverse” looks a lot like Coruscant. In Star Wars, a utopian republic transformed into a despotic empire. A world disguised as a playground for puppets and cartoon-like avatars. A place where sinister warlocks and death dwellers get up to all sorts of mischief behind the scenes.

Digital disruptors are the new Jedi in this eternal battle against the oligarchic domination of the few.

That’s why I am fully committed to the Web 3.0 new order, as we build the new permission-free blockchains, where users are no longer mere puppets but equal and valuable members beyond any social or cultural banner.

Takeaway:

Changing my attitude toward social media to the groundbreaking Web 3.0 paradigm is already having an effect. To think that with a smaller following on Twitter, I am already getting more significant and genuine engagement than with my old account, which had thousands of followers.

Thanks for reading this article and supporting our creators’ community here on Substack. Please consider joining my journey across the blogosphere by picking up a thread from my content portfolio on Medium or Vocal. Your support is highly appreciated. Till next time, cheers. - Rui