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Web3 Returns the Internet to the Golden Age of Customization
This is what it feels like when the future enables what so many users loved most about the past.
MySpace, StumbleUpon, GeoCities, LiveJournal, Tumblr — the early internet thrived on user-driven, customizable experiences that, while rudimentary in design, clunky in function, and altogether useless for major brands (i.e., not monetizable or targettable), offered humans some of the earliest opportunities for representing themselves online.
Two decades later, across multiple transformational eras of the internet (more on this below), what can we learn from these now archaic — and predominantly extinct — platforms? To start, let's set the stage of the golden age of the web and the subsequent erosion of online customization that followed.
These early platforms referenced above were among the first to offer users a customizable digital sandbox that lacked the restrictions — and intrusive, expensive, increasingly ineffective advertising practices — that is now commonplace across tech. These were platforms on which people created, not platforms on which products were sold.
FAANG companies undoubtedly standardized the internet user experience. These companies built easier ways for people to create and disseminate information while creating the ability for the world's biggest brands to reach these new, content-craving audiences through new experiences and digitally-native business models. However, FAANG-style companies have also contributed to the flattening of the once-loved, now-nostalgic digital aesthetic, eliminating (or narrowing) users' ability to find customization online.
Example: go to StumbleUpon right now, and you'll just get dragged between identical Pinterest boards.
TIME Pieces by Time Magazine the first tokenized subscription from a major media brand
Mojito spotlights TIME Magazine, the first major media brand to launch a tokenized subscription offering.
Image credit: TIME
First major media brand to pioneer token as a digital subscription
TIME was the first media giant to experiment with web3 and has a number of marquee initiatives. TIMEPieces genesis collection, themed “Building a Better Future,” featured original artwork from more than 40 influential artists. Owning a TIMEPiece will also unlock unlimited access to TIME.com through TIME’s 100th anniversary in 2023, exclusive invites to TIME’s in-person events, and access to special digital experiences. Owners of multiple pieces will also be extended additional opportunities. TIME was the first media brand to add Connect Wallet, validate TIMEPiece NFT ownership and serve the TIME subscription content seamlessly along with a membership rewards program.
The Why
"While many of the NFT drops that have happened to date within the media space have focused on high-end single editions or multiple versions of collectibles, the release of TIMEPieces marks the first time a major media brand has taken on a Web3 approach toward building community and using this technology as an innovative extension of our current Digital Subscription efforts,” said former TIME president Keith Grossman at the last year's launch.
Our 0.02ETH 🍃
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Now Pass by NFT Now, a glimpse at the future of tokenized media
Mojito spotlights NFT Now, the tokenized media brand, and its landmark launch of the Now Pass.
Image credit: NFT Now
The Why
Tokenized media brand NFT Now believes the future of media is community-centric business models. The recent launch of their Now Pass and Now Network is the company's most significant web3-native move to date.
NFT Now: “We believe that media companies shouldn’t serve you ads. They should serve you opportunities.”
“The Now Pass is that first step for us in pioneering this community-centric media model, and starting to really redefine what the role is for a media brand in a Web3 environment,” said NFT Now Cofounder Matt Medved.
'Now Pass' utility
The 'Now Pass' grants holders access to:
- A Discord channel and “Alpha Chat” to share news and insights between members.
- Attend events, such as the NFT100 gala and an inaugural community meet-up held in New York during NFT.NYC.
- A membership portal where holders can earn rewards for their participation in the ecosystem.
- There are plans for an onchain voting system for content curation.
Results
NFT Now offered their Now Pass for $500 each, and sold out of their 2,750 total supply in less than 48 hours, raising $1.1 million. That price tag is the same as The Information's annual subscription, 50% more than the New York Times, and 10x more than the Wall Street Journal.
Extracts are sourced from NFT Now:
- ‘The Now Pass Sold Out. Here’s What’s Next’
- ‘The Now Pass Mint Is Officially Live’
- ‘Web2 Media Is Broken. The Future of Media Is Tokenized’
- @NFTNow tweets
Tokenized media brands we're tracking
137pm’s culture token promises access and collabs with cultural icons. Dirt aims to break down Web2 media regimes by publishing content from a network of freelancers, using blockchain infrastructure to keep media decentralized.
Our 0.02ETH 🍃
NFT Now has been deliberately building community since day one, and has strong support from builders and creators throughout the space (including us!). So it probably came as no surprise to the web3 community that NFT Now were able to sell 2,750 tokens, even at an elevated price point compared to traditional media. But how does this scale? How do the economic considerations of supply and demand come into play when it comes to making access to media brands liquid? Is the business model predicated on one-off sales of tokens, or will it mature to something more steady and reliable like subscriptions today? What forms of incentivized participation do communities actually want, and which will drive real ROI? Will royalties be a significant revenue stream, and if so, what's the right growth strategy there? If NFTs really could behave like cookies one day, and power a new-era of digital advertising, what specific steps should tokenized media brands being taking today to be poised for that future later? It's clear to us we are in the earliest innings here with many emergent possibilities ahead. What is clear is that media brands are motivated to experiment, and as we all know, necessity is the mother invention.
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Dorsey-backed Bluesky aims to give users algorithmic choice
Mojito spotlights Bluesky, Jack Dorsey's social media competitor, aiming to give users algorithmic choice
Image credit: Bluesky
What is Bluesky ?
Bluesky wants to enable a marketplace for media algorithms that users can vet and choose from in order to have total control over their feed, instead of it being decided for them by a centralized corporation.
The Why
Bluesky’s CEO Jay Graber has said that the idea is to “build a platform where a centralized figure cannot censor.”
Similar brands we're tracking
A number of Twitter alternatives have spun up recently, including Mastodon, Farcaster, and a rumored one coming from Facebook. They all talk about consumer control over what they see, and for publishers to be free from censorship, through the use of blockchain.
Our 0.02 ETH 🍃
While media brands like NFT Now and TIME are experimenting with ownable access passes and digital rewards as enhancements to their model, social media platforms like the above are betting that decentralized control over content recommendations will increase consumer satisfaction, trust, and ultimately, stickiness. How these worlds intersect at both the user experience level and the data interoperability level will be fascinating to watch play out, because clearly media brands and social media platforms will still need each other even in this new web3 world.
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