Making Sense Of The Metaverse Of Madness
“The real meaning of Web3 is all about community”, says DayAway’s Waslen
[webintravel.com]
There are few conversations that don’t feel surreal in 2022, yet since the carnage in the crypto-currency market, businesses built around blockchain have had a particularly rough ride.Yet as WiT 2022 said ‘Hello Other World’ to these brave new players, Luke Clark discovers that beneath the hype, seeds of travel’s next evolution remain.
“It is very strange to be back here,” Marissa Trew told the audience from her panel moderator seat at WiT Singapore 2022.She could easily have been referring to the otherworldly feeling many at WiT had of simply being in a different country again, after so many years working out of our spare rooms.
Yet given that she lives in Singapore, Trew’s feeling of dislocation was more vocational.The last time she’d been onstage, it was as part of the WiT crew – now she was representing Web3-centred Blokhaus Inc.
Strange new realms do seem an oddly fitting note for a panel titled “Hello, Other World”, especially given the blockchain industry’s post-Armageddon feel right now – and the somewhat disconcerting notion that one of its favourite futuristic realms doesn’t yet exist.Strange times indeed.
Then again, attitudes can change within a year.
A year ago, for instance, such a panel would have seemed very ‘now’ and far less otherworldly.Then from May 2022 of course, the bottom fellow out of virtual currencies, as the likes of The New York Times scanned the wreckage, announcing ‘Cryptocurrencies Melt Down in a ‘Perfect Storm’ of Fear and Panic’.Indeed, following its highs of April 2021, the king of crypto, Bitcoin, has lost 60% of its value since January 2022, with some predicting it may fall further.
Freeze frame to October 2022, and celebrity influencer Kim Kardashian has been issued a US$1.2 million fine just for advertising EthereumMax on her Instagram page.
Suddenly, these unregulated virtual currencies seem so toxic that commentators like Gary Gensler of the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission noted : “When it comes to crypto, remember many of these are highly speculative assets.You may be wondering if it’s right for you, or even if it might be a scam.”
Behind the hype – “blockchain can solve frictions around personalisation, flexibility in loyalty programming and membership”
In fairness, those who got on the virtual bandwagon were not doing anything new.As followers of business, we place huge importance on a tenuous notion – our current feelings about the future.This ranges from the importance of business confidence as a gauge of market potential, to the belief in so-called ‘unicorn’ businesses which, despite sometimes meagre earnings, are touted due to the market’s excitement at their potential.
The fact is, neither favour nor fear is logical when it comes to the future.Perhaps in time, we should become comfortable with the notion that with some things, we simply don’t know yet.
Likewise, maybe we should also try to avoid glorifying, then demonising, technology breakthroughs: and just assess them more on their merits.
Read the full article at webintravel.com.
