In the evolving Web3 landscape, there is an increasing focus on delivering tangible value to users. Industry leaders are urging a move away from speculative assets towards practical applications that improve user experiences and offer long-term benefits.
At the Proof of Talk 2024 conference in Paris a panel titled “Unlocking Real-World Value in Web3” featured Arron Goolsbey, president and chief operating officer of Mythical Games, Mickey Maher, chief business office of Project Liberty Labs, and Ingo Ruebe, founder of KILT Protocol advocated for applications that prioritize user experience and long-term value.
The panels were of the opinion that this user-centric vision is poised to transform industries, particularly gaming and social media, by leveraging the robust capabilities of blockchain technology.
Their insights collectively painted a compelling picture of the future of Web3 and its potential to create tangible value for users across various sectors.
A "hero" use case
Goolsbey expressed an optimistic "sky’s the limit” attitude, stating that it’s a “great time to be in the industry” when asked about the potential of gaming to drive the mass adoption of Web3.
“There is so much more potential for all of us to produce real value for users in a mainstream capacity - and gaming and interactive entertainment is a hero use case for making that progress.”
Maher also discussed the underutilization of Web3 technologies like blockchain and its potential in a more comparative approach.
He pointed to the trend of memecoin-centric conversations - a valid observation as new memecoins pop up on a weekly, if not daily basis that represent almost anything from various animals to political figures.
He highlighted the trend of memecoin-focused discussions, a valid observation given the emergence of new memecoins weekly, if not daily. These memecoins can represent almost anything, from various animals to political figures.
He said, “look, memecoins are fun and there's a product market fit right now for memecoins. You can't deny that people like them and they like trading them.”
However, the Chief Business Officer of Liberty Protocol remarked that this is a very niche aspect of the industry. He compared it to an iPhone, saying, "It’s like having an iPhone where the only app is social casinos. You’d be significantly underutilizing its potential."
“If you equate the iPhone or the analogy of the iPhone with the blockchain, then how do we leverage the blockchain and smart contracts to create the Ubers or the Instagrams or the Snapchats or the Telegrams of this technology, rather than just the social casino apps — because that's really where we're at right now.”
Value for users
Uber and Instagram were cited as examples due to their exponential success in delivering value to their users. Whether it’s sharing photographs with a vast, interconnected community, promoting a small business, or having a ride-share car available at a moment's notice, these apps have proven highly beneficial.
Goolsbey said the technology of the Web3 space is “amazing,” but the focus now needs to be on providing value to the end-user.
“We talk a lot about coins, we talk a lot about wallets, but we don't talk a lot about individual people like the users, the end consumers.”
He said that in the games business, those end users are the players, and they care “a great deal” about the players' experience and the value generated from their play experiences over a long period of time.
“And we think the value of the technology is that it extends the durable experience of those players on our platform for much longer periods of time,” he said, “and that's very good for the user, extremely good for the user. It is also very good for game developers and content producers and creators.”
“There's so much more that we can do if we just focus on making sure that the technology and the strategies that we employ generate more value for the people using the technology.”
The gaming industry has nearly two billion gamers actively participating in gamified economies inside high-value experiences, Goolsbey said.
However, those are mostly in a Web2 world and mostly consumption based.
“I pay, I play, and when I’m done, I walk away from that investment because there's nothing I can do with it inside of the walled garden,” the Mythical Labs COO explained.
He said this model in the Web3 space, using blockchain, can be transformed into “I can pay, I can play, I can curate.”
“Then maybe when I'm done with that game I can very easily find someone else who would equally love what I have done to these game assets and what I have learned from these game experiences and they would buy them from me in a very safe and curated what we call ‘open garden.'”
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