Howdy? So how has your week been? I hope it's been one that you have been able to manage. For me, this week has been full of new things to learn. I tried in my little way to explain two use cases of web3.0 last week. Today, I wish to expand the narration by adding two further examples; Blockchain games and the 'Metaverse'. These are closely related and will flow into each other easily.
- Blockchain Games - Blockchain based games were the earliest applications of web3. They are essentially a type of video game that lives on the blockchain and make use of such blockchain technologies as cryptocurrencies and NFTs(I will make efforts to explain the concept of NFTs in a future post). These web3.0 based activities allows players to earn more in the form of cryptocurrencies as they are able to buy, sell or or trade in-game items with other players. It is a very well clear cut example of decentralization principle where players do not need to subscribe to any central authority. For instance, players have the liberty of using their game data across different game platforms. This is not possible in the regular game environment where all your data remain say in Microsoft Xbox and cannot be carried over to Sony Playstation. Some notable examples of blockchain games include Axiel Infinity, Decentraland and Alien Worlds.
- The 'Metaverse' -In reality, the Metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection. This can be termed the poster child of web3 in some quarters and many of the web2 giants have signed up really quickly to this Metaverse bandwagon. Facebook has invested a lot of time and resources in its Metaverse project over the years. The Social media giant even went ahead to rebrand its cooperative identity as 'Meta' as if to put emphasis on this idea. Microsoft, another Tech behemoth is also involved in what it calls "Mesh for Teams". It is designed to be a platform where businesses would create their own virtual environments using Teams.
Much of the benefits of the Metaverse lie in the future as processes are still evolving. However it would be good to highlight a notable application where the Norwegian Government recently launched a tax office in the Metaverse in colloboration with Decentraland. This is billed to score many points which include 'delivering services to younger, tech-native individuals while establishing the web3 footprint'. You can read more about this here.
There are other web3 use cases that I will be touching on in passing in the coming weeks. For now, these(together with those discussed last week) happen to be where the main focus of web3.0 lie. Next week, I will touch on another aspect of this exciting, evolving technology.
Cheerio and see you then.