Web3 Is Coming For You — And That’s Not a Bad Thing

It’s easy to dismiss Web3 as just another internet buzzword — something for Silicon Valley, crypto bros, or overhyped startups. You may see the fancy 3D graphics with slightly dystopian themes or the terminology which can range from words you might see in a computer science dissertation to cult terms like “rug pull” or “hodler”. But here’s the truth, and I have come to really believe this: Web3 is not a trend. It’s infrastructure. And like it or not, it’s coming for everyone.

Now in reading that last sentence you might be thinking, “$hit!, an alien invasion, quick, grab the keys to grandma’s fallout shelter (hoping that the 65-year old Spam and beans she left in there will help you subsist until normalcy resumes).

Fear not my friend, if you are over 40, you probably lived through the first time this happened. Remember the early internet? Most people didn’t “get” it. It felt like a hobby for nerds. Is Yahoo a real word? But then came email, Amazon, streaming video, social media — and suddenly, the whole world had changed. What was called a fad is now core to our lives.

We’re in that same moment again. Only this time, the shift is quieter, faster, and deeper. It’s called Web3 and its impact could be the biggest social and economic shift since the Industrial Revolution.

What Is Web3, Really?

At its core, Web3 is about ownership. It’s the idea that instead of logging into websites with someone else’s password system, storing your data in someone else’s cloud, or building your audience on someone else’s platform — you own your digital life.

Ownership might sound abstract… until it isn’t.  Here are a few examples of why ownership matters:

These are the kind of power imbalances Web3 is trying to fix–ownership matters.

With Web3, your data, content, identity, and assets live in a wallet you control — not behind a username and password owned by a giant company.

It’s not about ideology. It’s about resilience. About not losing what you’ve created or earned because someone changed the rules or shut the door.

That ownership is made possible by a new kind of technology — blockchains — which let people:

• Control their identity

• Hold their own digital assets (like money, memberships, media)

• Interact with apps and platforms without a middleman

You don’t need to believe in cryptocurrency or understand smart contracts to be impacted by this. The changes are already happening.

The Quiet Takeover Is Already Underway

Web3 isn’t something that’s “coming someday.” It’s already happening — though not always in the ways people expected.

Sure, some big-name projects have struggled. Starbucks’ Odyssey loyalty program — once hyped as a Web3 game-changer — quietly shut down in early 2024. Others, like Meta’s NFT integration for Instagram, never found product-market fit.

But that doesn’t mean Web3 is failing. It means it’s maturing.

At the same time, other brands are quietly succeeding:

• Reddit launched NFT avatars that onboarded over 10 million users — many of whom didn’t even realize they were using blockchain.

• Nike’s .Swoosh platform has continued to build a dedicated Web3-native customer base, tying digital sneaker drops to real-world perks and experiences. They have already sold over $180 million in digital sneakers.

• Azuki and Pudgy Penguins, once seen as “silly JPEGs,” have evolved into full consumer brands, toy lines, games, and IRL events — with active communities and revenue.

• Ticketmaster is experimenting with NFT-based tickets that verify entry and offer post-event perks.

These aren’t just tech experiments. They’re the early infrastructure for a more connected, owned, and interoperable digital world. It’s about how companies are rebuilding loyalty, identity, and ownership using Web3 tools — because they’re more efficient, transparent, and portable.

Why This Matters to You

Let’s imagine a near-future scenario:

• Your driver’s license is a token in your phone — instantly verifiable anywhere.

• Your loyalty points from your favorite coffee shop live in a wallet you control — and they’re usable across multiple brands.

• You attend a concert, and your NFT ticket becomes a collectible that gets you access to future events.

• Your college diploma, your professional certificates, your work portfolio — all verifiable online, owned by you, not LinkedIn or a third-party site.

• You start to use apps that you log into with your wallet — no passwords, no Facebook or Google ID required.

Sound futuristic? Most of this already exists. It’s just not evenly distributed yet.

Whether You Like It or Not…

You don’t have to love it. You don’t even have to use it — yet. But the systems and tools built on Web3 principles are gaining ground every day. When Visa and PayPal are integrating stablecoins, and brands like Adidas and Disney are launching token-based experiences, it’s not “fringe” anymore. This is real.

This is a once-in-a-generation transformation in how we interact with technology. If Web1 was about accessing information, and Web2 was about creating and sharing it, Web3 is about owning it.

And here’s the good news:

1) You don’t need to be technical to get started.

2) You just need to be curious.

3) Aliens are not coming, so there is no need for a fallout shelter or grandma’s 65-year old Spam (even though it probably hasn’t reached its expiration date).

Barriers and Bottlenecks

As promising as the Web3 model of work is, it’s far from frictionless. A major challenge is regulatory uncertainty—most governments still don’t know how to classify DAOs, tokenized compensation, or decentralized work relationships, making legal compliance murky for both contributors and organizations.

Security is another concern: while smart contracts enable automation and trustless collaboration, they are vulnerable to bugs, exploits, and governance attacks that can lead to financial or reputational damage.

Then there’s the onboarding problem—newcomers often find DAO structures opaque, with no clear entry points or guarantees of payment, especially without strong social ties or previous Web3 experience.

Lastly, access inequality looms large. Not everyone has the technical fluency, financial literacy, or internet infrastructure to participate, and unless education and onboarding improve, the space risks becoming a niche reserved for early adopters and technologists rather than a truly inclusive global workforce.

Coming Next Week:

“DeFi and the Future of Money”
Your bank account is changing — and Web3 might be the reason. We’ll show you what that means, and how to explore safely

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Other Articles In This Issue:

• I Didn’t Believe in Web3 — Until I Saw This

• CHECK OUT OUR PREVIOUS EDITIONS