Not In The Digital World Happens In A Vacuum

The lessons of the Internet are becoming clear.

While they were always there, most where unaware of what was taking place. Sure, we heard some things about how data has value. There was also the correlation between what we produced and advertising. Tracking is something we all knew about since the smartphone became popular.

However, all this was taken to a new level with the introduction of LLMs to the general public in the form of chatbots. OpenAI really brought this all to the forefront a year ago with the unveiling of ChatGPT. Since that time, many others have followed suit, setting off an arms race in this arena.

This is evidence of the exponentiality of the Internet. We are quickly learning how software (algorithms) can alter things in ways we never considered. All of this drives home an important point.

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Nothing Happens In A Vacuum

Here we have an idea that most inherently know yet few take notice. When we are doing our thing online, how often do we look for the correlations of what we are doing with the outcomes? This is something the masses tend to ignore.

For example, what are we doing when we engage on Instagram? Do we really realize the ramification when we post a few pictures, make some comments, and provide some likes?

All of this is being fed into Meta's servers. The company is processing this data and, ultimately, creating another product out of it. For the most part, this entity exceled in creating profiles that were sold to advertisers. However, with some of the recent innovations, we can see how this applies to a lot more.

The reason why this is brought up is we are dealing with the same thing in Web3. When we undertake an action, it has more than a linear effect.

When looking at Hive, how often do you see the different layers where each action has an effect? It can be difficult at times since we are unaware of what many project teams are working upon. That said, there are things being developed that underscore the multi-faceted effects that every action has.

For this reason, it is crucial to understand how nothing is operating in a vacuum. This is most evident in the digital world.

Enormous Opportunity

The transformation from Web 2.0 to Web3 will be enhanced by this concept.

Exponentiality is something that will help to radically expand Web3. This is becoming an arms race of its own nature as the data mounds build. Obviously, Web 2.0 is light years ahead of Web3, making the task rather difficult. Fortunately, in an age of automation, this is much easier than a couple decades ago.

Many have heard of things such as Metcalfe's Law. There is another one associated with this idea called Reed's Law. Both discuss the idea of how networks are enhanced by a greater than 1:1 ratio. Each activity has a larger impact.

The simplest of this idea is a comment. Here we have one action, the posting of a comment, that can grow exponentially. To start, many others can read it, more than just the one responded to. Then we have the fact that anyone (authorized) can reply to the comment. On many platforms, it can be upvoted. In the world of Web3, this might be followed up by a monetary payout at a certain time.

Notice how one action resulted in many others. Now multiply this by the millions.

Of course, this is the most obvious layer. What gets ignored by the average user is the back end stuff. What happens when this is fed through a variety of algorithms? We know social media platforms are known for their recommendation algos. This is done by processing the activity of an account and aligning it with what the system believes the user will like.

As mentioned, we see these technology companies using this data to train its LLMs. We know this will only increase as the amount of activity grows.

Here is where the Web3 opportunity enters. This is not exclusive to Web 2.0. While the volume is much smaller, there are already things in development that is following similar process. Artificial intelligence is not just the playground for major technology companies. Here is where decentralization is really helping the progress of things. Not only are programming skills resident outside the largest corporations, Web3 data is growing.

The Wealth Is In The Boring

This is not exactly stuff that is going to make the average user's toes curl with excitement. It is, however, the foundation of incredible wealth. When we look at where things are projected to go over the next decade, there is little down that AI, in its many different forms, is going to be a major piece of the puzzle.

As it stands now, the mega-tech corporations are positioned to take full advantage of this. We also see a bunch of venture capital money rolling in, looking to create the next Facebook. All of this means that we have a choice: to let them win or work on alternatives?

Here we also happen upon the solution to the "Skynet dilemma". Many still feel that Hollywood is right and one company will take over the world. This is not going to happen since there are so many different players involved. The key, in my view, is to keep getting more involved.

The trickle effect is something that we have to pay attention to. Each time we remove ourselves from the major players, in some small way, and most that elsewhere, we tip the scales a bit more. In other words, each thread can help to offset a tweet, growing the amount of open data a slight bit. This is then fed into algorithms not created by the tech behemoths, providing an exponential impact.

When a bit of the pie is sliced off, this can mean big money. The total numbers being projected with these technologies are enormous. Many believe we are looking at tens of trillions of dollars in value being generated. Against this backdrop, the idea of carving off $100 million is a drop in the bucket.

It is why enormous wealth is awaiting those who leverage this concept. Web3 does have the advantage of financial inclusion, something Web 2.0 does not offer. Few who use Twitter are going to financially benefit. However, each day they are feeding more into the platform, making Elon Musk and his investors even richer.

Of course, he is figuring out how to monetize the service, something others are doing also. Subscriptions to Grok are growing, as they are for the other chatbots offered. Web3 should take note, understanding we have an additional monetary component to all we do.

We hear the about "the attention economy". Here is the question: where is your attention being cast? If it is online, this means to whom are you providing data? This is a crucial question going forward.

Remember, nothing happens in a vacuum.

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