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WordPress & Web3 - disruption, challenges and opportunities
- 2. Dave Lockie Formerly CEO at Pragmatic, now Web3 Lead at Automattic. 15 years in WordPress, 5 in crypto/blockchain/Web3. @divydovy most places.
- 3. Contents 01 02 03 04 05 06 What is Web3? Disruption Challenges Opportunities Dreaming Go play
- 5. 5
- 9. 9
- 10. We believe in democratising publishing and the freedoms that come with open source. — https://en-gb.wordpress.org/about/
- 11. What is Web3? 01
- 12. BLOCKCHAINS & BRIDGES ● Underlying decentralised architecture ● Layer 1 protocols e.g. Bitcoin, Ethereum ● Layer 2 scaling solutions ● Layer 0 - cross-chain/bridges ● Tokens, coins, smart contracts, addresses ● Decentralised storage (& compute) ACCESS ● Wallets ● Aggregators ● Web2 integrations ● dApps USE CASES ● NFTs ● DeFi ● Content, commerce & community ● Gaming, 3D, metaverse INFRASTRUCTURE ● Identity, governance, communication ● Transactions ● Compute, storage ● Data availability, analytics Web3 cycle Creates new primitives Combine to create Made available through Interact with the state of (directly and/or through Infrastructure)
- 13. Decentralised digital technologies that give people new ways to organise and collaborate.
- 14. 02 Disruption
- 15. Source: https://dune.com/queries/201766/376834 NFT Weekly Unique Wallets Past year, all platforms 260k (!)
- 18. Challenges 03
- 22. 04 Opportunities
- 27. Token-gating is fast-becoming a Web3 mega-trend
- 28. A more trusted web is a better web
- 29. Dreaming 05
- 30. Wallet-first = Ecommerce + publishing + community + loyalty + fandom + patronage
- 32. What else can we do together?
- 33. 06 Go play
- 36. Get started with Web3 Follow along at web3wp.com Apply to join Kernel: https://bit.ly/WPKB7 - use before Jun 15! Do Your Own Research (DYOR!) Learn to earn at rabbithole.gg 1 2 3 4
- 37. Get a Galito WCEU Porto 2022 POAP! Submit this form within a week to claim yours for free! https://bit.ly/WCEU22POAP
- 38. Obrigado
Editor's Notes
- I’m Dave Lockie Today I’m going to talk about WordPress & Web3 About how it could be disruptive and what opportunities & challenges that disruption presents Watch saying ‘I’m going to talk about it quickly’ - switch up to: ‘there’s a lot more to it’ or ‘brief intro’
- I’ve been a freelancer, agency owner, entrepreneur, marketer in the WP space, co-chair at BIMA blockchain council, now Web3 Lead at Automattic There’s no way I can cover all of Web3, no one can be an expert on all of it So today I want to inspire These are my personal views only! Keen to hear from folks in the ecosystem Find me @divydovy NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE!!
- Here’s what this talk will cover
- But first, I want to talk about the broader context, about why Web3 matters to me
- When you ask people what it means to be human, many people will include language in their answer. That speaking, or writing, is what differentiates us from other animals. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prehistoric_Rock_Paintings_(24219407646).jpg VERIFIED CREATIVE COMMONS
- But Money precedes written language - we know this because the earliest forms of writing are ledgers (like this one) that record transactions. Carl Sagan said “A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.” By the end of this talk, I hope to have convinced you that money is just as profound as language And that language and money intertwine deeply Source: https://cdn2.picryl.com/photo/2017/05/21/cuneiform-tablet-receipt-of-oxen-for-rituals-630724-1024.jpg VERIFIED CREATIVE COMMONS
- One might even say that to trade is to be human These are snail shells used as money e.g. these from 75k years ago It’s the origin of the term “Shelling out” Scale trust and coordination to larger groups but also over time Money has evolved along with people, a very durable technology Right through to the modern day with fintech, CDOs, etc Pea-sized snail Nassarius kraussianus, South Africa, 75,000 B.P. Read more: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/shelling-out/ Source: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=image&album=702&pic=64072 VERIFIED CREATIVE COMMONS
- Whilst other human technologies are now unrecognizable compared to 75k years ago Money is not unrecognizable A Euro coin is just a more durable, standardised snail shell. Even today we can go into a store, and using our metallic snail shells, buy arbitrary goods or services. Perhaps the most profound technology of all is the internet But money is notably absent as a protocol on the web Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Falcon_Heavy_Side_Boosters_landing_on_LZ1_and_LZ2_-_2018_%2825254688767%29.jpg VERIFIED CREATIVE COMMONS
- That’s left the web at the mercy of ‘bolt on’ business models, especially advertising that often rely on sophisticated mass collection and use of data This has proven problematic and variously leads to manipulation of politics, polarisation of public debate, increasing power by authoritative regimes and the risk censorship and reduced freedoms Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DC_Capitol_Storming_IMG_7965.jpg VERIFIED CREATIVE COMMONS
- This increasing control, polarisation and censorship seems at odds with WordPress’ mission of democratising online tools I believe that Web3 can help Freedom to transact, tools for borderless coordination TIME CHECK: 7:30
- So what is Web3?
- First a quick overview and some jargon busting Top left - blockchains - a shared ledger that anyone can read and write to, run by a decentralised network of nodes, antifragile through financial incentives, more profitable to strengthen than attack. Tokens are the Web3 version of snail shells! Top right - infrastructure - the new technology primitives that these networks create/enable Bottom right - use cases - how the primitives can be composed in order to be useful Bottom left - access - the ways in which people experience Web3 and change the state -> meaning e.g. speaking instead of listening, writing instead of reading RECAP Open source is the recipe, open state is the cake. Anyone can download open source software and run it, but the results are not necessarily canonical - different computers have different environments and configurations. Open state means we can watch the open source software run and output a single, canonical result. That’s critical when it comes to coordination. Web3 adds or uses the ability to transact to the web as a native protocol like email or FTP Meaning as a state-change Find out more: https://blog.coinbase.com/a-simple-guide-to-the-web3-stack-785240e557f0 USAGE: my own creation
- Shared public ledgers give us a way to collaboratively scale transactions and meaning in the same way books and the web gave us the ability to scale ideas
- Dave, you’re saying all these words but what does this mean in terms of disruption? Let’s look at examples to help imagine what a new digital freedom to trade might look like.
- Web3 is a fast-growth trend Money at internet scale and speed is a disruptive phenomenon Source: https://dune.com/queries/201766/376834 IMAGE USE: Believe this is acceptable use per: "When information obtained through the use of the Service is shared, presented or utilized in any way outside of the Service, the user is required to reference Dune Analytics as it’s source and include a direct link to the relevant query/queries and/or dashboard/dashboards.Dune Analytics reserves the right to at any time determine whether a use of the Service is in violation of its requirements for acceptable use." https://dune.com/terms
- Let’s look at an actual Web3 user journey This is a screen recording of me using the MetaMask app Wallets are a gateway to many Web3 experiences Not dissimilar to a Chinese-style super app in terms of UX Identity & data are portable -> Bring Your Own Data Multiple identities across multiple chains Decentralised financial interactions are integrated directly without recourse to a bank -> Freedom to transact Lots of work to do eg MetaMask relies on Infura which is not decentralised! USAGE: MY OWN SCREEN RECORDING
- But Web3 is not just about finance but also coordination, community, content, networks The current economic system only seems to optimise for GDP and profit But what about environmental degradation? Climate change? Social justice? Web3 gives people new collaboration tools to work on things that they care about. It allows people to form communities defined by software that can manage access, raise and control capital and make progress towards goals E.g. KLIMADAO, ReFi - KLIMADAO allows people to buy and ‘lock up’ carbon credits, driving up the price of carbon on the open market. This puts pressure on carbon emitters to reduce their carbon emissions rather than simply buying offsets. What change would you like to see in the world? What’s stopping you from enacting it? Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7955505@N05/3368020181 VERIFIED CREATIVE COMMONS
- What challenges are presented by these disruptive ideas? In summary, we’ve looked at: Wallet-aware experiences Identity and data portability Freedom to transact New coordination tools The speed at which new business models can emerge
- First, the wider digital ecosystem is adopting NFTs, and fast Here’s an example of an how an upcoming release of ‘digital collectibles’ by Instagram might look They could roll this out to 2.9B people NFTs implies digital wallets, payments, exchange -> MetaPay Source: https://about.fb.com/news/2022/05/introducing-digital-collectibles-to-showcase-nfts-instagram/ IMAGE: This has been used in press e.g. https://techcrunch-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/techcrunch.com/2022/05/09/instagram-testing-nfts-select-creators/amp/ so it just needs a source credit which is included
- What happens when all apps and browsers have digital wallets baked in like Brave? We’ve all been frustrated by using the web today Can Web3 (e.g. Brave) help create purer/better web experiences by setting global preferences? Only essential cookies No newsletter sign ups please Micropayments > ads and subscriptions Block trackers Better experience for many web users but definitely challenges for website owners IMAGE USAGE: SCREENSHOT TIME CHECK: 15
- Other platforms are offering users the ability to participate in this new economy Source: https://www.shopify.com/nft FAIR USAGE: SCREENSHOT TAKEN BY ME
- Web3 is also enabling direct competitors to innovate This is Mirror and it’s a reimagination of a content publishing site in Web3 Freedom to publish but also the freedom to derive income and protect your rights Things to note: Once signed into MM there’s no need to enter a password to connect - it’s a self-sovereign authentication via private key You can have any number of networks (e.g. Ethereum, etc) and any number of accounts / addresses / wallets within each Not only is your account your identity but it also contains your crypto assets and history… SOURCE: MY OWN SCREEN RECORDING
- Only have time to scratch the surface here. Going to look at: Quickly at Payments Spend a bunch of time on NFTs because they shine a light onto many aspects of Web3
- This isn’t a price chart, it’s usage - the average daily usage of BTC and ETH, as averaged out over 7 days These are big numbers Let’s let people pay with crypto Freedom to transact Source: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/data/on-chain-metrics/comparison-bitcoin-ethereum/adjusted-on-chain-volume-daily IMAGE USAGE: believe to be fair use according to their terms
- OpenSea screenshot - an NFT marketplace NFTs are popularly art but can also represent anything you want to be scarce/non-fungible. On this screen are represented: Art - which could be static or generative Membership of a private members’ club Completion of an educational course Metaverse-ready / 3D objects Charitable donations Patronage of creators Rewards for completing tasks within a dApp All can be bought/sold/interacted with - you can see all this on the public blockchain but only I can control them. USAGE: SCREENSHOT
- One thing I love about Web3 is that it enables creators to be financially resilient - contrast here of NFT sales for a musician being more than 9m plays on Spotify How can we better support creators that use WP? Royalties - give creators (and platforms) a cut of every sale of their NFT, not just the first one Direct, ongoing connection between creators and fans Source: https://twitter.com/rac/status/1516578113634725890?s=12&t=sFrDIrWqTuLezld4RbULrg USAGE: SCREENSHOT TAKEN BY ME
- But what about the physical world? Imagine you're the trainer designer - you love your design - how many do you manufacture? PAUSE NFTs allow you to pre-sell your trainers so you know how many to manufacture But they also introduce the idea of Phygitals Digital representations of physical goods Buy goods in a metaverse/3D setting and get digital instantly, physical later Proof of purchase/warranty Get ongoing royalties Act as a key to loyalty activities through something called ‘token gating’ SOURCE: Provided by Boson Protocol, have email confirming permission.
- Token-gating is also sometimes referred to as wallet-aware / wallet-first 1st or 3rd party tokens Allows people to unlock token-gated experiences and commerce both in real life and online by connecting a web3 wallet Exclusivity Pre-sales Discounts Personalisation Prevent ‘botting’ Build communities of trust, enabled by tokens IMAGE SOURCE: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turnstile_in_Terminal_1_of_Shuangliu_International_Airport_Station.jpg VERIFIED CC
- So by adding economics to the web, we can add ‘meaning’ by ascribing financial value E.g. https://wordproof.com/ allows merchants to demonstrate trust by transparently version-controlling their terms and conditions SOURCE: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FDHvvylXMAUs8G_?format=jpg&name=4096x4096 I have received permission to use this image.
- TIME CHECK: 22:30
- For folks using WordPress and WooCommerce we can start to think about the opportunity that this convergence and composability create Empowers creators and communities to play and work together with freedom from 3rd parties Human transactions become digitally native -> an explosion of innovation and value creation Tied together by decentralised cryptographic identity USAGE: SCREENSHOT TAKEN BY ME
- I also think Web3 creates opportunities to address the tragedy of the commons Open source (including WordPress) and the open web are public goods Web3 gives us better tools for coordination allows users of WP to be more resilient and successful Does it add a 5th freedom? To transact on an opt-in, shared state basis? Freedoms protected not by a national constitution but by native economic incentives that extend globally? To publish, to transact. Source: https://wordpress.org/about/ VERIFIED GPL
- It gives us the opportunity to reinforce our digital freedoms and to extend WP’s reach and influence in the world. So I challenge us all to think: what more can we do together, beyond software? Tools to transact freely and at internet speed and scale - can we help mend division and censorship, coordinate on global scale challenges
- If you’ve been interested by today’s ideas, here’s how you can go and find out more
- But first, a note of guidance and caution This is the Cynefin framework and it asserts that different situations require different approaches Most WordPress work now falls into Simple, Complicated or occasionally Complex realms - we either know exactly what to do, roughly what to do or have a good sense of where to start Web3 spends a lot of time in the Chaos realm where you need to be more experimental, exploratory and aware of risk Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin_framework VERIFIED CREATIVE COMMONS
- You could go mint a WP Wapuu First in a series of experiments looking at the Web3/WordPress crossover What could these unlock in the future? Source: https://web3wp.com/wapuus/ VERIFIED GPL: https://web3wp.com/wapuus/
- Sign up to Kernel Block 7 before Jun 15th Just participate and read widely, make up your own mind Rabbithole will help you get started with a digital wallet etc
- POAPs are Proof of Attendance Protocol - like an event sticker Wouldn’t it be cool not to lose your Wapuus every time you upgrade your laptop? Enter your contact details and I’ll send you a link to claim your own! IMAGE USE: WAPUUS ARE GPL https://europe.wordcamp.org/2022/galito-wapuu/
- Disclaimer: These are not my ideas, it’s not my work, I just want to shine a light on what’s happening. Web3 risky. Nothing I’ve said today is financial advice. It’s not for everyone but I believe a better world lies ahead of us and I hope our incredible ecosystem will join me in exploring it and I’m excited to go on this journey together Only skimmed the surface I want to hear from you! Thank you! Obrigado! TIME CHECK: 30 Q&A Why does decentralization matter? Always have full and direct control and access - reduces risk of shutdown/outage/censorship Very resilient, no single point of failure Transparency - verifiable trust Open access What about the environmental impact? The impact really comes from proof of work which is ONE WAY to allow a decentralised network to achieve consensus - to agree on the state of the network Many blockchains use proof of stake or other non-energy-intensive consensus algorithms It’s not good to use dirty energy sources for anything, including mining The work done with the energy is useful, it’s not just a waste It’s not a simple issue The fact we still have dirty energy sources is a big part of the problem and that is something I believe crypto can help address