via Chris Heuer, founder, Web 3.1 – Please join us in building our Web 3.1 community, and designing the organization which we will co- own together on Wednesday April 6, 2022 at Beyond Web 3.1.

A highlight of the Web 3.1 Leadership Summit was the keynote from Brian Solis, a renowned author and innovation leader at Salesforce. In his live kickoff, he spoke about where we are and where we need to be, to leave the world better off than it is.

In the speech, which you can watch below, Brian pointed out that society has been led astray so that the life we live on social media, and the life we need to be living are no longer in alignment. Sadly, this is difficult to notice until something really big goes wrong. We have created the worst version of ourselves with social media as it is nearly impossible to be present and in the moment.

With an aspirational approach to what Web3 could be, Brian points out that where we are today is nowhere near where we really need to be for mainstream adoption. That the utility, security, and foundational elements of making things work the way they should are still being formed. He shared his personal experience of trying to do a cryptocurrency transaction, which resulted in a 3-4 day hang-up in getting his funds converted to Ethereum and into his wallet to complete the transaction. His principle challenge being there is no one there to assist with the transfer. While cryptocurrencies, the blockchain, and the metaverse may not necessarily be the right thing, right now, they do lay the foundation for what could be.

Brian also discussed the current elitism of the metaverse and the negative impacts of cryptoscams. He said, “the top 9% of accounts in web3 hold 80% of the $41 billion dollar market value of NFTs, the top 2% own 95% of the $800 billion supply of bitcoin, and 0.1% of bitcoin miners are responsible for half of all mining output.” These statistics demonstrate that being in this market is currently a sign of popularity, money, and social status.Artists are losing revenue and giving up because of the effort it would take to chase down an estimated $14Billion in fake NFT’s. Additionally, cryptomining consumes more energy than some small countries, which really speaks to its lack of sustainability.

But Web3 is not supposed to be about this elitism or exclusivity. We need to decide what we are going to do differently moving forward. Web3 is supposed to be built on transparency, accountability, security, decentralization, trustless networks, and community. But in looking at the current state of where it is, it is clear we need to be more human centered, which includes treating others how they want to be treated. As Brian stated, this technology can be utilized to transform relationships with one another, our customers, stakeholders, processes, outcomes, and other technologies. We need to define how we use this technology to create the kinds of communities that we want to see and that we can easily build upon.

In speaking more about NFTs, Brian acknowledged their power to bring together a group of people with common aspirations, but expressed his concern that many NFTs today attract people because of the potential for greater value, validation, and authentication.

We want to build a more decentralized technology system, a less toxic internet, and a more equitable society for all. “We get to create the future,” as Brian said, and we want to aim for a trajectory that creates all the right things for all the right reasons. We need to start building things that are better, more meaningful, and more purposeful. Community is more than just a sense of belonging; it’s doing something together that makes belonging matter.

Watch Brian Solis’ Web 3.1 keynote now: