How to compete with Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple using Web3
Tags: blockchain, web3, ethereum
Published: 2023-08-31 10:35:27


Spoiler alert: **You don't.**

There is a bad habit that kills 90% of web3 projects before they even launch. It's the mindset that it's a good idea to take something web2 and slap web3 on top of it. These projects are doomed to fail because they are trying to compete with the biggest companies in the world on their own turf without providing any additional value other than the perceived value of being decentralized.

Here are some wildly successful web3 projects:
- [Uniswap](https://uniswap.org/) - Easy decentralized swaps
- [IPFS](https://ipfs.io/) - Efficient decentralized file storage
- [ENS](https://ens.domains/) - Readable names for Ethereum addresses
- [MetaMask](https://metamask.io/) - A way to access web3 applications (dApps)
- [OpenSea](https://opensea.io/) - NFT marketplace
- [ChainLink](https://chain.link/) - Decentralized oracle network

Every one has one thing in common. 
**They are web3 native.** 

Instead of trying to take something that is inherently web2 and make it web3, they are taking advantage of unique properties of web3 to create something that is impossible (or nonsensical) to do in web2. Each project relies on fundamental properties of web3 to provide value to their users.

They have made it practically improbable for tech giants to compete with them because to do so would require core changes to their tech stacks, methodologies and business models. 

This is the key to competing with all varieties of the alphabet soup. 

The mindset shift is to look at the web3 space itself and the properties that it provides and ask yourself "What can I do with this? What is the next obvious step?".

This isn't to say that you can't take inspiration from web2. In fact, you should. OpenSea is a great example of taking a web2 concept and making it web3. They took the concept of a marketplace for collectibles and made it decentralized. 

However, they didn't try to make decentralize eBay, they wrapped a marketplace around an existing web3 concept (NFTs).

## A common example of how to fail

Mark is fed up with Twitter. He's tired of the censorship, the shadow bans, not knowing why his content isn't reaching his audience. 

He's tired of the centralized and dark nature of it all. He wants to build a decentralized Twitter. A Twitter killer.

He starts building. He uses blockchain for hashed data, IPFS for raw data, smart contracts for the logic, MetaMask for
logins, etc. It's a masterpiece of web3 technology.

He launches it and... nothing happens. He gets a few users, but it's not taking off. He can't figure out why. He has everything that Twitter has, but he's decentralized. Why aren't people using it?

The answer is simple. **It's just Twitter.**

The only users he will ever get are the ones with ideological alignment. The ones that care about decentralization. Though these people are passionate, they are a small minority. The vast majority of people don't care about decentralization.

What they care about is the value and functionalities that only decentralization can provide.

### Novelty is not to be ignored

First look at TikTok. It became a global phenomenon in less than a year. It didn't try to copy YouTube, or Instagram, or Twitter. It created a novel experience that was native to the platform. It was a new way to consume content, create content, interact with content and creators.

Next, look at Threads. With a huge company behind it that has experience with social networks, it still failed. Why? Because
it was just a copy of Twitter. It didn't provide any value that Twitter didn't already provide. It was just Twitter, but with the ability to log in with Instagram.

You want to replicate the success of TikTok, not the failure of Threads. You want to create something that is novel and native to web3, not just a copy of something that already exists.

## So how do we come up with a good idea?

The first step is to look at the web3 space itself. What are the properties that it provides? What are the things that are impossible (or impractical) to do in web2?

The second step is to look at web2. What are the things that people love about web2? What are the things that people hate about web2? What are the things that people want to do in web2, but can't?

Find the intersection of these two things and jot down some ideas. Test out the waters, but always be asking the question: 

> "What makes this web3 native?"

The answer to this question is what will make your project successful, not the fact that you've branded a web2 idea as web3.

### What are some web3 native concepts?

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it should give you some ideas.

- **Tokenization** - The ability to make anything tradable / ownable / sellable
- **Peer to peer payments** - Payments directly from one user to another
- **Governance** - Immutable, decentralized, community driven governance
- **Real Ownership** - Your keys, your content
- **Immutability** - No more deletions, everything is permanent
- **Transparency** - No more black box algorithms, everything is public
- **Decentralized** - Distributed by nature
- **Censorship resistant** - No more shadow bans, no more deplatforming
- **Permissionless** - No gatekeepers or walled gardens
- **Unrestricted APIs** - No way to prevent third parties from building on top of your contracts

Just looking at the list above it is much easier to come up with a web3 native social network.


## Want more thought-provoking content that will help you build a successful web3 project?

My name is Nathan James, and I'm a web3 developer, educator, and entrepreneur. 

I've been building web3 projects since 2017 and have helped hundreds of developers build web3 projects.

If you want to learn more about building successful web3 projects follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/nsjames_)
and check out the [EOS Network Documentation](https://docs.eosnetwork.com/)