Wenser

This article was first published on mirror (mirror.xyz/wenser2010.eth) and #public account: Mr. Winburn, authored by @wenser. For reprints, please contact for authorization (wechat: WinnerForget001, note: mirror), and we reserve the right to pursue legal responsibility for infringement and plagiarism.

This article is also titled: "WenSer: A Brief Discussion on the Inevitability of Web3 Replacing Web2."#

Hello everyone, I am WenSer, also known as Mr. Winburn, but I prefer to be called Wen Sir now; it's an inside joke that I'll explain later. Today, I want to discuss three topics with you:

1. What is the much-coveted Web3?
2. What are the advantages of Web3 compared to Web2?
3. How can ordinary people better enter the Web3 world?

Friendly reminder: This is a long article, so please avoid skimming too much to prevent needing to scroll back and forth.

1. Web3: The New Journey of the Next Generation Internet#

To start with a well-known source, let's begin with the definition of Web3. Allow me to first explain what Web3 really is.

In conclusion: Simply put, Web3 is the next generation of the internet (World Wide Web 3).

In discussing this, it's necessary to summarize and reflect on the eras of Web1 and Web2:

a. Web1.0 Era

Marked by Tim Berners-Lee, the "father of the internet," designing and creating the first web browser, the World Wide Web, it was content-centered, primarily represented by PGC (Professionally Generated Content) and OGC (Occupationally Generated Content), and mainly manifested as: readable. Examples include early domestic BBS forums, NetEase, Sina, and other portal websites. During this stage, most people's role was Consumer.

b. Web2.0 Era
This concept first appeared in 1999 and gained widespread recognition at the first Web2.0 conference in 2004 (co-hosted by Tim O'Reilly's company, O'Reilly Media), centered around "human," with UGC (User Generated Content) as the main carrier, primarily manifested as: readable + writable. Examples include Weibo, WeChat, Douyin (and overseas mirror applications). During this stage, Consumer transformed into Prosumer.

c. Web3.0 Era

Marked by the publication of the "Bitcoin White Paper" by a person using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in November 2008, centered around "creation" (or ideas, memes, influence, etc.), with cryptocurrency and digital ownership as the main content, primarily manifested as: readable + writable + ownable. Examples include Mirror, Metamask, etc. During this stage, the main role is Owner (including prosumer), meaning ownership holders and producing consumers, where people's role attributes are not just singular production and consumption but also gaining initiative in data, identity, and asset ownership.

Thus, based on entry points (devices used), platforms (main entities), and the stages of internet development, we can briefly categorize different eras:

• Web1 Era: Browser era, portal website era, PC internet era.
• Web2 Era: Smartphone era, social media era, mobile internet era.
• Web3 Era: MR device era, metaverse space era, fully immersive internet era.

After all this, you might feel a bit dizzy, but let me summarize simply what most of us need to focus on:

1. Entry point—software and hardware (digital wallets, MR devices);
2. Value—cryptocurrency (especially coins linked to real fiat currencies);
3. Scenarios—life, socializing, work, gaming, organizations (online and offline);
4. Production—labor, creation, and consumption are all included, being viewed also counts as a production model;
5. Consensus—also known as contracts or trust, this is the foundation for Web3 to be realized.

In summary, Web3 is the next generation of the internet, a personal value data network, a disintermediated economic model, a digital carrier of the encrypted world, where individual power rises, community power reshapes, and the online digital world can double map with the offline physical society, that's all.

In the current global wave of Web3, whether you have encountered Web3 companies, products, DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), DeFi (Decentralized Finance), GameFi (play-to-earn blockchain games), SocialFi (social finance), NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), etc., you have already been influenced to some extent, whether through information, currency circulation, or various social media, NFT trading platforms, digital collectibles sales platforms, writing and publishing tools, etc., all of which are subtle signs and evidence of Web3 permeating into the real world. Even the global political situation—such as the fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market driven by the Russia-Ukraine war.

Imagine that one day in the future, your life in the Web3 world might look like this:

• At 7 AM, your smart home wakes you up, AR contact lenses are automatically put on, various IoT robots plan your transportation, forecast the weather, and prepare your work, while waterproof earphones implanted in your cochlea play music, starting a vibrant day.
• At 10 AM, you enter your studio, log into your digital wallet and MR device, and as light and shadow flow, you have entered the metaverse world, where people are diverse—monkeys, bears, rabbits, ghosts—those are their metaverse NFT skins, different people enter different digital buildings to start their entrepreneurial work.
• At 12 PM, after a pleasant conversation with colleagues at the Mars base, you exit the metaverse server and enjoy a hearty lunch already prepared in the kitchen. The housekeeping robot automatically deducts the corresponding amount from your digital wallet each month, and as one of the NFT holders of this dining DAO, you enjoy a 30% discount.
• At 3 PM, today’s holographic demonstration went very well, and you are satisfied as you wander in the game world you created, playing games while earning game tokens, of course, this won't carry over to the public test, but it's enough to accelerate your dopamine secretion.
• At 8 PM, you start your night run on time, already holding a series of "athlete-level identities" with gold, green, and gray shoes, allowing you to earn a day's salary with just 15 minutes of exercise, but as a sports enthusiast, you insist on running 10 km each time.
• At 10 PM, after singing online with friends for half an hour, you watch your wallet puff amount increase while opening a book, starting your read-to-earn journey, enriching your heart through reading and spreading the blessings of knowledge to more people.
• At 11 PM, you peacefully drift into sleep, dreaming of various strange and beautiful things, even returning to the early 21st century when people had no MR devices and had not entered the metaverse, yet they already knew that some things were bound to happen, just like the internet wave, bubble, and rebirth of the late 20th century.

Alright, having fantasized this far, let's return to reality and continue discussing our second question—

2. What are the advantages of Web3 compared to Web2?#

To discuss this, we may need to look at the recent state of the Web2 world in China—

1. According to the Daily Economic News, from July 2021 to mid-March 2022, a total of 216,800 employees left 12 companies including Tencent, Alibaba, ByteDance, Meituan, Pinduoduo, Kuaishou, Baidu, JD.com, NetEase, Weibo, Bilibili, and Ant Group (although the total recruitment number reported was 295,900).

2. Taking JD Group as an example, media reports indicate that multiple sectors and departments such as Jingxi, JD International, JD Retail, JD Logistics, and JD Technology have set layoff ratios, most between 10%-30%, with Jingxi's Guangdong battle zone having a layoff ratio as high as 100%. JD's official response was: normal optimization, with a "graduation notice" after layoffs, beautifying layoffs as "graduation."

3. Even major internet companies are like this, and the internet industry is experiencing a winter: the once "first stock of WeChat e-commerce," Youzan, was reported to have laid off about 50%, with employee badges scattered everywhere; online education companies and short video platforms are no exception; Mogujie, e-signature treasure, Weidian, Tuya Smart, Wedding Record, WeMedical, Yunji, Beibei, etc., are also "not willing to fall behind."

Behind this wave of layoffs lies a cruel truth: the Web2 world has already reached a point of saturation.

Yes, you read that right; the Web2 world has long entered the "involution era." This began when someone first shouted "the internet has entered the era of stock" five years ago or even earlier. Despite the continuous increase in internet penetration over the years, and short videos, live e-commerce, and online education allowing many companies and platforms to rise, with the number of internet users exceeding 900 million now, the emergence of new platforms, products, and companies means the downfall of old organizations. Especially in the past three years, the pandemic has further exacerbated the plight of "already struggling families." Whether due to macro forces or the loss of competitive advantages, companies in the Web2 world are facing significant challenges.

Digging deeper, this reflects the difference between the foundational laws of the Web2 world and the underlying logic of the Web3 world.

• The commercial path of Web2 platforms is:
• 1. BP creation: From a business idea to a tangible business plan;
• 2. Financing: Whether self-raised or contacting investment institutions, seeking seed round or angel round funding;
• 3. Products: Community, media, content, applications, platforms, channels, etc., can all be seen as products;
• 4. Users: (also known as traffic) Early marketing promotion, buying traffic, subsidy wars, capturing user mindset, rapid expansion, increasing DAU/MAU, etc.;
• 5. Further financing: Support from well-known funds, VC, etc., raising the industry ceiling, educating the user market, recruiting talent, etc.;
• 6. IPO: Through a series of commercial operations, completing an IPO (Initial Public Offering), growing into a giant enterprise in a certain track.
• 7. Business model: Advertising, the lifeblood of Web2 companies, whether Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, or Baidu, Kuaishou, JD.com, all internet companies use advertising as the traffic entry point and view more users as "data," "traffic," and "consumption," thus supporting valuations and scales in the hundreds of millions, billions, or even hundreds of billions. Moreover, many links are interdependent and cannot be bypassed, only followed step by step.

In the Web2 era, simply and crudely summarizing its business model, it can be called the advertising-driven model, where all Web2 companies or platforms need to obtain three things as much as possible:

• 1) New users: Maintaining DAU/MAU relies on the entry and retention of new users;
• 2) User retention time: The longer users stay, the greater the value of secondary monetization from advertising;
• 3) Consumer conversion rate: The higher the rate of users converting to consumers, the higher the platform's returns.

As previously mentioned, the smallest business closed loop in the Web2 era: product-traffic-monetization, creating products-finding traffic-matching monetization, based on real demand, creating valuable products, seeking traffic pools, achieving sales consumption.

Such an economic paradigm and business model naturally lead to a situation where one company dominates, oligopoly, platforms reign, and users work for them.

The data generated by users' behaviors on the platform and the corresponding value are somewhat "stolen" by the platform under the guise of "providing various services." In fact, returning to the initial starting point, users only have [usage rights] over their platform accounts, not ownership. What users enjoy is the convenience "granted" by the platform, while what they lose is the true "value benefits," including their "social relationships."

Compared to Web2, the business model of Web3 may have undergone significant changes, and the premise for such changes lies in two points: 1. Personal value quantification; 2. Autonomous data ownership.

Due to the distributed ledger properties, decentralization, traceability, and value fragmentation of blockchain technology, "returning power to users" becomes possible—thus, the smallest business closed loop in the Web3 world naturally becomes: consensus/community-monetization.

Products and traffic are replaced by consensus, or rather, integrated into the community's DNA, or become part of the community, and within a community, a commercial ecosystem can form, facilitating commercial value exchange, and thus achieving monetization-currency circulation-ecosystem development closed loop.

• Unlike the "capital-first" approach of Web2, the commercial path of Web3 projects (or crypto-native projects) is:
• 1. Seeking consensus: First, there must be a narrative or consensus foundation with strong appeal and sufficient imaginative space;
• 2. Building a community: Based on consensus, establish founding teams, seed members, and community expansion, co-creating and sharing;
• 3. Releasing products: Whether online virtual products or offline physical products, they are all products of the community;
• 4. Constructing an ecosystem: Based on products, Web3 projects strive to build their own ecosystem, whether through external collaborations or improving internal unions/organizations, continuously creating more increments.

To some extent, from the people, by the people, for the people is what Web3 aims to achieve and can achieve.

In addition, there is another business model in Web3 that is worth noting: built-in royalties.

Taking NFTs as an example, when you (whether an organization or an individual) create a set of NFT works, you can set a certain percentage of royalties, generally around 2.5%-10%, and thereafter, each transaction will automatically deduct this royalty fee from the seller's earnings. If the liquidity of this NFT series in the secondary market is very good, then just the royalty income can be quite substantial. For example, the well-known "blue-chip project" Doodles in the NFT field currently has sales exceeding 100,000 ETH, and at a 5% royalty rate, its team could earn 5,000 ETH, equivalent to 15 million RMB. Of course, this is just the data from the industry leaders, but it is enough to prove that this business model is viable.

Moreover, I hope everyone can note one thing: Web3 includes not just so-called cryptocurrencies and NFTs currently at the peak of attention, but also many fields such as: DAO, GameFi, SocialFi, DeFi, Metaverse, and more.

Here, I also want to share an interesting business case—the Reading Room crowdfunding project.

In December 2021, the Qiangmang magazine team officially announced the cessation of operations, and immediately after, the team announced the planning of a new product—the Reading Room, and actively initiated a "recruitment plan" for founding members, 800 RMB/person, with multiple purchases allowed, totaling 1250 tickets, expected to raise around 1 million RMB. This information was first published on the public account platform and the Jike app, and subsequently, in less than half a day, the fundraising amount exceeded 1 million. This is not a true Web3 product in the strict sense, as there are no digital wallet links, no blockchain technology transformation, and no crowdfunding through tools like Juicebox, but in a certain sense, it is indeed a product of "community fundraising (Jike and the public account can be seen as a community), consensus first (paying for quality reading content), and cutting the cake after the fact (raising funds first, then developing products)."

This is a trend, a major trend: we are accelerating into an era where "consensus is king." In the past, when we mentioned consensus, we often explained it from the perspective of a collective, organization, or even an economic or political entity. However, with blockchain technology endowing digital data with financial attributes, the carrier of consensus is no longer limited to fiat currency but can extend to any object in the world through data, and the subject of consensus is also refined to individual persons. Therefore, to some extent, the future will undoubtedly belong to the era of super individuals, as individual value can be quantified and can be nested into organizational systems like the previous corporate structure, yet can avoid the rigidity and stagnation of the corporate system as much as possible.

So, where does consensus come from?#

Perhaps we can first understand a concept called "imagined communities"—this concept was first introduced by American scholar Benedict Anderson in Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Although Anderson wanted to emphasize that "this community" can only be a "political community," we have reason to believe that this concept has long been beyond the definitions and categories he provided in the rapidly changing social development and cultural transformation. Simply put, as long as we can connect through various media; exist within a limited spatial range; are relatively equal to each other (even if only in terms of identity, not class or wealth); and have a broadly imagined community that possesses a kind of supreme power based on imagination, then the "imagined community" will emerge, and thus, the so-called consensus will have a solid foundation.

• Therefore, we can simply summarize the sources of consensus:
• 1. Narrative: Humanity evolved through language and writing, and narrative is the combination of language and text; people gather because of narratives and watch over each other due to visions;
• 2. Core: Whether it is the founding team or early members, regardless of size or value, it relies on the style, vision, and values of core organizational members;
• 3. Emotion: Whether in the market or the broader context, where there are people, there is a community, and where there are people, there are naturally emotions; emotions are the most intuitive manifestation of uncertainty.

Currently, the emergence, development, and prosperity of Web3 product applications, foundational ecological structures, and numerous underlying blockchain technologies all benefit from the establishment, reinforcement, and continuous strengthening of consensus. In the Web3 world, consensus is like the "Sword of Damocles"; once it collapses, it becomes the "Achilles' heel"—the fatal flaw of a product, organization, or ecosystem.

Therefore, as Li Xiaolai once said: "Even a foolish consensus is still a consensus." If you can gather more attention and create a broader consensus, leading to different products or ecosystems, then you can find the path to wealth in the future. Of course, if possible, try not to be that "fool."

• Finally, let me summarize briefly the inevitability of Web3 replacing Web2 in my view:
• 1. Personal value vs. giant monopoly
• 2. Community first vs. capital first
• 3. Organizational expansion vs. limited bottlenecks
• 4. Built-in royalties vs. advertising monetization
• 5. Online and offline vs. online disconnection

3. How can ordinary people better enter the Web3 world?#

In the Web2 world, you only need "one account to rule them all," whether that account is WeChat, QQ, an email account, or an iCloud account, you can seemingly "conveniently" enjoy all services. This does not mean you have no costs; rather, your data, your usage behavior, your time and attention resources, and your consumption capacity have already "paid" for you. Hence, the saying "the free is the most expensive." Because the logic of Web2 products is: your data is the platform's asset, and you only have usage rights over your account, not ownership.

In contrast, the threshold and cost of the Web3 world are much higher. Besides the basic digital wallet, every product usage incurs gas fees, which are marginal costs that cannot be avoided. However, this means that your data and assets are entirely determined by you; of course, if you entrust your assets to a centralized platform, that's another matter.

• So, if you want to enter Web3, at least you should prepare the following:
• 1. A digital wallet, such as Metamask;
• 2. A communication community, such as Alpha community, DAO organizations, etc.;
• 3. A primary field of focus, such as DeFi, GameFi, NFT, etc.;
• 4. A brain for continuous learning, such as systematically learning about crypto economics;
• 5. A principal of no less than 1 ETH (about 20,000 RMB) (personal suggestion).

Now, let's define the identity of "ordinary people" as: a. limited capital; b. ample time but unable to convert it into effective productivity; c. lacking resources and cognition (due to environmental influences or personal initiative).

• The current state of Web3 is:
• 1. Lack of people: There is a shortage of motivated individuals; due to a series of subjective and objective reasons, relatively few people are planning their careers and life paths around Web3;
• 2. Lack of standards: The industry is in a period of wild growth; whether in foundational ecology or underlying protocols, there is a blank space that requires subsequent construction;
• 3. Lack of products: Whether tangible products like applications or intangible products like communities, Web3 has vast capacity but few products, especially killer applications; for example, the most widely used digital wallet, Metamask, has only about 30 million monthly active users;
• 4. Lack of scenarios: Although the visible scope of Web2 is shrinking or being impacted, the current application scenarios of Web3 are still limited to finance, socializing, and other restricted areas, unable to expand further;
• 5. Lack of new money: Yes, although this is an industry that generates wealth rapidly, compared to the total economic volume of the entire planet, the market size of around 2 trillion still requires more new money to flow in to strengthen the connection between the digital world and the physical world, thus promoting the digital and encrypted transformation of human economy, society, culture, and more.

Therefore, to some extent, in the current Web2 world where "996 is already a thing of the past, and 007 is the norm," for some ordinary people, diving into Web3, which has not yet reached the red sea stage, might be a better choice.

If you truly understand what you want, after doing proper risk control, feel free to try, improve your cognition, and earn wealth.

Below, I will specifically elaborate on 10 directions for making money in Web3, for reference only, not investment advice, and certainly not life advice, purely sharing:

1. Primary investment

Whether choosing to join a Web3 company, organization, or institution and grow with it* (of course, it may also be swept into the dust of history)*, or from an investment perspective, making a primary buy, this is a path with relatively high thresholds but also relatively high returns.

2. Secondary trading

Buying low and selling high is the unerring way to profit, just as the saying goes, "buy when no one cares, sell when the crowd is roaring." Although it is difficult, or rare, and tests cognition and practical skills, it is the best path to quick wealth. Of course, a friendly reminder: ensure you don't leave the table, manage your profit-taking and stop-loss points, and avoid leveraging beyond what you can afford.

3. Capital entrepreneurship

This path may be a more common "script" for some Web2 personnel or most people, known as "2VC-style entrepreneurship," but the products and businesses created are aimed at the public or so-called "crypto-native" groups.

4. Creating products

Whether creating a data tool product, a social product, or a game product, the PLG (Product-Led Growth) model has always been and will increasingly be important; if Web2 product managers can quickly shift their mindset and overcome the pains of transformation, they will find that Web3 is still the realm of "PMs." (Refer to https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/dmHXfD4yvHuBZyImz3g7Gw)

5. Building communities

From a small interest community to a medium-sized project community, or a large commercial community, regardless of scale, nature, or field, finding like-minded individuals while enhancing your cognition and creating more material wealth is something everyone can and should try to achieve.

6. Intermediary brokerage

Although the Web3 world calls for "disintermediated economy," as long as human communication relies on language and text rather than consciousness exchange, the role of intermediaries may remain a constant demand—whether introducing buyers and sellers or facilitating cooperation between different roles in the industry chain, there is a strong need.

7. KOL transformation

In the Web3 world, the opportunity to become a KOL is increasingly being granted to everyone; Andy Warhol once said, "In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes," and this will happen more frequently, even for longer durations, because Web3 calls for a rich and diverse ecosystem, and different ecosystems create different circles. Different types of KOLs, whether large or small, will find their own, and belong to their own, one or more circles. Remember: Attention is always a scarce resource; better to have more than less.

8. Tool monetization

Creating various tools is also one way to make money in Web3; unlike the complexity and high investment costs of products, the tools mentioned here are more like "micro-innovation products." You only need to do a little more or think a step further or optimize a bit more in a certain link to earn more. A simple example is Linktree, which aggregates and displays multiple platforms and sites (for both individuals and organizations), which seems unremarkable but is actually a very profitable "tool."

9. Online and offline

Although the digital world is developing rapidly, the demand for offline socializing or physical life scenarios will always exist; it may just shift into the digital world in the future. Currently, this is a direction that Web3 can change, whether it is organizing social activities for Web3-related personnel, offline events for NFT communities, or various possibilities arising from Online and Offline, Web3 will open up more possibilities for people, such as offline business transformations, like the "Wudaokou Metaverse Bar" I learned about.

In the process of transitioning from Web2 to Web3, each of us can enjoy this wonderful journey.

Finally, here are my 5 insights about making money:

• 1. Making money is simple; just buy low and sell high; making money is difficult; how to find low prices, how to sell high, and when to buy and sell are all complex problems in a complex system;
• 2. Different people have different "paths"; some are suited for community building and can make money; others are suited for solo operations and agile tactics; the key is to find the "DAO" that suits you best through different experiences;
• 3. Information is the primary productive force; mastering the quality and quantity of information, timing, and the space you are in determines how a person can utilize information to create value and how much value and influence can be created;
• 4. The logic of making money shares commonalities with the logic of investment, entrepreneurship, and career choices; you need to face choices and decisions, confront significant uncertainties, but this also stimulates a person's potential to find breakthroughs and leverage their innovative abilities to change the status quo and achieve better answers.
• 5. Execution is always the top priority; as long as you don't make mistakes, even if you only make a little effective attempt every day, over time, it will create highlights in your life, reaching heights and levels that ordinary people find hard to achieve. Don't fear not understanding; fear not learning when you don't understand, not practicing after learning, and not reviewing after practicing.

Finally, in conclusion#

Many people regard Masayoshi Son's "Time Machine Investment Principle" as a guideline but overlook the opportunities that appear before them in the real world.

You can close your eyes and imagine, if you were familiar with the past, and now given a chance to return to 2002, what would you do? Can you ensure that you seize every opportunity of the era? Can you accompany the true internet giants step by step to their previous peak? Can you become a trendsetter who rides every wave of era dividends and trends?

Now, open your eyes, look out the window, and in the dark night, what hides is a quiet waiting, ready to bloom with brilliance in the future.

The Web3 world of 2022 shines brightly, just like the internet world of 2002 or even earlier; the secular world is full of prejudice and misunderstanding towards it, but everyone within knows: they possess a bright and beautiful future, provided that they do not scare or defeat themselves.

Join me in surfing the Web3 world!

PS: People often ask similar questions—when will Web3 arrive? When can I make money? When will NFTs start minting? When will projects take off? When is the best time to enter the crypto field?

To be honest, I don't have the answers to these questions, so I often ponder them myself.

So, actually, this is the meaning behind my ID: WenSer—When, Ser? (When, sir?)

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