What Changes with the Arrival of the Web3.0 Era? New Business Styles Emerging from the Transformation of Digital Society

Recently, "Web3.0" has been gaining intense attention as a keyword defining our era. It is said to hold the potential to cause tectonic shifts not only in the digital society but across various fields. If an era of decentralized internet based on blockchain technology arrives, the marketing field will likely demand unprecedented approaches. This article poses the question: "Will Web3.0 bring a paradigm shift to the world of marketing?" and explores the essence of Web3.0 and its impact on business.

A tidal wave of change called "Web3.0" is now upon us

While "The era is Web3.0!" is frequently proclaimed, many may still find it difficult to grasp exactly how things will change from before or how it relates to their own work. Therefore, let's first look back at the history of the internet and trace the evolution from Web1.0 to Web3.0.

Web 1.0: One-Way Communication
Web 1.0 refers to the late 1990s, when the internet rapidly gained widespread adoption. In 1992, Japan's first internet service provider launched its service. This paved the way for an environment where anyone in Japan could access information online.
However, in Web 1.0, users could only view information; they couldn't freely edit or publish content themselves. In other words, Web 1.0 was one-way communication, and users' roles were limited to passively gathering information.

Web 2.0: Two-Way Communication
From the 2000s onward, the internet became utilized in a much broader range of scenarios. A particularly significant change was the emergence of blogs and SNS. The purpose of the internet shifted from "viewing" to "participating," enabling two-way communication between senders and receivers.
Concurrently, the influence of giant platform companies—operating global search engines and e-commerce sites—grew significantly, marking an era of centralized internet environments.

Web3.0: Toward an Era of Decentralized Management
Web3.0 aims to break free from the centralized structure of Web2.0 and reconstruct the very nature of the internet. It represents a movement where, enabled by new technologies like blockchain, users connect directly with each other without intermediaries, creating new economic ecosystems.

In the current Web 2.0 era, "platform dependency" is a major concern. Users must rely on some form of platform to send or receive information, meaning their personal data and content are constantly under the platform's control.

Under this structure, various risks and anxieties persist, such as personal information leaks due to cyberattacks and privacy violations from data misuse. The more information is concentrated in specific companies, the greater the potential harm to users if core data is altered or lost. Some readers may have experienced this firsthand. This situation suggests Web 2.0 is beginning to show its limitations.

"Power resides with the individual." That is the core of Web3.0.

As the problems inherent in Web 2.0 have surfaced, a new trend called Web 3.0 has emerged as its antithesis. In Web 3.0, individuals can own and manage their own data and content without relying on giant platforms. Users can directly exchange information and money with each other without intermediaries like central administrators.

Enabling this is blockchain technology. Also known as "distributed ledger technology," this mechanism was originally developed to realize the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Blockchain divides encrypted information into units called "blocks," linking them together like a "chain" while distributing them across multiple locations. There is no central server for operation and management. Instead, all users on the network share and manage the data. This protects the data from system failures and other issues, prevents data copying or tampering, and maintains security.

Another crucial aspect in Web3.0 is "proof of value" and "guaranteed transparency." For example, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), a mechanism leveraging blockchain technology that has recently gained attention, assign a unique ID to an individual's digital data, proving its uniqueness and scarcity. This resolves the traditional challenge of distinguishing genuine from counterfeit digital data, enabling users to own digital data as assets.

Furthermore, on the blockchain, the entire history of past transactions is recorded, allowing users to track and view it. In Web3.0, these mechanisms guarantee the value and transparency of data, enabling individuals to exchange information and assets with a certain level of assurance.

In this way, Web3.0 forms a new world centered on blockchain technology, characterized by "decentralized management," "proof of value," and "transparency." By shifting and decentralizing ownership and control of information from traditional giant platforms to individuals, Web3.0 represents an era where the rights of the "individual" are respected more than in Web2.0. Recalling that the internet was originally born with the ideal of a flat, democratic world, one could argue that Web3.0 is returning to that founding ideal.

The coming new era holds the potential for seismic shifts in the business landscape.

So, what kind of paradigm shift will occur in business domains like marketing when the Web3.0 era, characterized by "decentralized management," "proof of value," and "transparency," arrives?

Web3.0 is still a developing concept, and some view it as "nothing more than a marketing slogan." However, the decentralized mindset Web3.0 proposes is already beginning to permeate various fields. Let's examine real-world examples of initiatives connected to the Web3.0 context.

Example 1: Blockchain Games via DApps
DApps (decentralized applications) are Web3.0-context applications that leverage blockchain technology to provide services and functions without relying on central servers. Blockchain games originating in Japan, powered by these DApps, are gaining significant attention. Players can own and collect NFT-based characters and items, with highly rare items potentially selling for high prices.

Example 2: NFT Art Collecting Communities
Web3.0 has also given rise to a new organizational structure called DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations). These are communities that operate without a centralized top-down command structure, instead relying on collective decision-making and management by all participants. Built on blockchain and open to anyone, DAOs are enabling unprecedented services.

For example, a well-known DAO focused on collecting NFT art has previously won bids for NFT artworks worth tens of millions of yen. The fact that the winning bidder was a collective DAO, rather than an individual, generated significant buzz. Their activities are diverse, including raising funds using acquired NFTs as collateral and selling their own created NFT art. Their future developments will continue to be closely watched.

Case 3: Web Browser with Privacy Protection and Cryptocurrency Acquisition Features
The collection of personal information through tracking and ad optimization has drawn user concern in recent years as an issue leading to privacy violations and security risks by companies. Amidst this, a web browser designed with privacy protection in mind has been developed.

This browser comes standard with features that block unwanted ad displays and the collection of personal data without user consent. Users who consent to ad viewing can earn unique points (cryptocurrency) by viewing ads, creating a mechanism that also builds a new economic ecosystem.

The three examples above are services that embody the characteristics of Web3.0: "decentralized management," "proof of value," and "transparency." Drawing inspiration from these existing services while contemplating the nature of digital initiatives for the coming era may spark innovative ideas.

For example, it may be possible to tokenize proprietary brand digital content as NFTs to create new fan experiences, or collaborate with creators producing unique works within virtual worlds. Initiatives like earning rewards for playing games within the metaverse or using NFTs as incentives are already underway. Furthermore, in an environment enabling absolute proof of value within the digital world, creators and brands are expected to transition toward true "direct sales"—trading goods and services independently of platforms.

When we transitioned from the Web 1.0 to the Web 2.0 era, marketing underwent changes unimaginable in Web 1.0—such as information dissemination via social media, promotional activities leveraging influencers and word-of-mouth, and targeted advertising. Similarly, in digital strategies for the Web 3.0 era, under the trend shifting from "control by giant platforms" to an "era valuing individual rights," bold shifts in thinking, unconstrained by existing frameworks, may be required.

Advances in technology have enriched people's lives and enhanced convenience through the internet. As Web 2.0, with its various risks and issues, approaches its limits, Web 3.0 is expected to bring radical transformations that fundamentally reshape the internet environment. From centralized platform control to decentralized management that values individual rights. Digital strategies that anticipate these shifts in the times will likely become central to considering future business and marketing.

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