How Three Companies Shifted From Web2 To Web3
The internet began with the Web1 era, with the earliest websites made up of static text and images that rarely changed. After a few years it slowly evolved into Web2, the era of interactive content and social media, which is where we remain today. Now though, a new era called Web3 is beginning to emerge, promising users the ability to retain control of their data through the use of decentralized platforms that everybody owns.
Web3 is a new kind of internet that removes the need for middlemen and centralized platforms. It’s based on emerging technologies like blockchain, edge computing, cryptocurrencies, cryptography, virtual reality and non-fungible tokens. With Web3, everything will migrate to decentralized platforms that are owned by their users. Social media users will be able to retain control of their data, meaning no more targeted ads. Financial transactions will take place on a peer-to-peer basis, meaning fewer fees and cheaper content. Censorship will become a thing of the past, because nobody will have the authority to do it. Everybody will win, except for those that attempt to hold onto the decaying embers of Web2.
As we move into Web3, businesses that are firmly rooted in the Web2 world will need to evolve and embrace these new concepts. But how can they go about doing that? It will not be an easy move, but luckily they can follow in the footsteps of some forward-thinking companies that have already chosen to take the plunge and leap headlong into decentralization.
From Web2 To Web3
A great example of an app that has migrated to Web3 is Sweat Economy, creator of the Sweatcoin health and fitness app that has been around since 2014 and built up a user base of more than 100 million loyal followers.
Sweatcoin has emerged as one of the most successful players in the nascent “move-to-earn” economy, with a next-generation fitness application that enables users to control their own fitness data and get paid for exercising. Under its revamped model, with Sweat Economy users get paid in a cryptocurrency called SWEAT, earning rewards for every 1,000 steps they take, up to a maximum of 5,000 steps per day.
Sweatcoin eased its path to Web3 by integrating its crypto elements into an already profitable business model. Because the app already had so many users, it was able to make money through ads and by selling fitness-related subscriptions from partners. Now, with users earning SWEAT, it provides utility for that token by enabling users to receive discounts on subscriptions, burning those tokens once they’re spent. In this way, it leverages its existing business model to create demand for SWEAT, bringing value to movement. It has plans to further embrace Web3 too, with the launch of NFTs that will enable users to earn more SWEAT. It also plans to let its users own and sell their fitness data to third-party advertisers.
Video games developers are also looking to Web3. N3TWORK Studios, the creator of the popular Legendary: Game of Heroes (LGH) fantasy RPG mobile game, is planning to launch a new title later this year that will be set in the same universe. LGH was immensely popular and saw millions of downloads, and now fans of that game are being encouraged to migrate to the new title, Legendary: Heroes Unchained (LHU).
Although it’s set in the same universe, LHU is a sequel with a difference because it makes use of NFTs to introduce a play-to-earn element to the game. Players must acquire an NFT, which represents a game character, to start playing the game. Because the characters are NFTs, it means the players actually own them. They will be able to earn cryptocurrency by completing in-game challenges and winning battles, and use those tokens to increase the power of their NFT characters. If they decide to stop playing the game, their investment will not be wasted as they can sell the NFT on the open market.
N3TWORK Studios is planning to launch LHU later this year, and has already sold 5,000 loyalty passes for LGH players, enabling them to mint their first LHU NFT.
Social media is another world that’s ripe for Web3, and one of the biggest platforms in India has become the first mover. While Facebook toyed with the idea of introducing its own cryptocurrency, only to cancel that and focus on the metaverse instead, Indian social media platform Chingari has taken that original idea forward. Last year, it introduced its own in-app cryptocurrency, the GARI token, along with a digital wallet for anyone who has a profile on the app.
Chingari is a big hit in India, taking over the short video sharing niche in that country after TikTok was banned by its government. It has emerged as one of the most downloaded social media apps on Google Play, with millions of daily users. With GARI, Chingari users can earn daily rewards by creating, liking, sharing and commenting on videos. The GARI tokens can then be cashed out, spent on in-app purchases, or used to tip other video creators. Users can also purchase NFTs that act as reward boosters, increasing their earnings potential. Like Sweatcoin and N3TWORK Studios before it, Chingari has simply integrated crypto and NFTs into an already successful business model, enabling its users to share in the platform's success.
These early movers in the Web3 wave have all gone down the same route, decentralizing their applications and introducing a cryptocurrency and NFTs that have genuine utility within their platforms. The result is a win-win for the platforms and their users, and it’s a model that many more Web2 businesses will need to follow if they want to remain relevant when decentralization catches on.
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