Web2 and Web3 are commonly depicted as technology standards in competition with one another. Web2, aka the incumbent web, is the swipeable, mobile-friendly internet we\u2019re accustomed to, controlled by a hub-and-spoke model in which data is stored on centralized servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Web3 is seen as the future: quite literally the third generation of the internet. It presents a vision for a decentralized and open internet where individuals have greater control over their data, identity and online interactions. Web3 uses foundational technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrency, whereas Web2 utilizes traditional fiat payment rails and platforms that serve as intermediaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the surface, there appears to be more that divides Web2 and Web3 than unites them. Yet for all their fundamental differences, they maintain a shared bond. Web3 couldn\u2019t exist without its predecessor. However, the synergies between the two tech standards run even deeper, as embodied by the Web3 companies buying their Web2 forerunners and bringing them along for the ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Educating the World on Web3
When Web3 gaming titan Animoca Brands bought TinyTap, a Top 10 U.S. grossing kids app, last year, it marked yet another marriage between Web3 and Web2. TinyTap\u2019s gamification of education is designed to incentivize teaching and learning, rewarding teachers for creating course content and pupils for passing it on to the next student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu explained at the time, bringing TinyTap into Web3 would provide an opportunity to \u201cleverage blockchain to make new opportunities available to educators worldwide, allowing them to generate equity from their creations while offering parents enhanced learning opportunities for their kids.\u201d Rather than radically upending TinyTap\u2019s business model, Animoca Brands sought to extend its existing capabilities, leveraging Web3 to unlock new means of monetization for creators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, it\u2019s more common for established companies to look forward, buying startups whose tech has the potential to transform tomorrow. That\u2019s the strategy favored by major brands like Meta and Nike as they\u2019ve sought exposure to Web3 through innovations such as the metaverse and NFTs. But there are also cases of the reverse occurring; four years ago, Bitcoin smart contract platform Rootstock acquired LATAM social media platform Taringa with the goal of integrating crypto-based payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Nudge Is Better Than a Shove
Perhaps the most compelling reason for injecting Web3 into existing applications is the fact that humans are hardwired to favor familiarity. Few users are going to migrate to an untried social platform just because it has better data handling or rewards content curation. But if these components can be drip-fed into Web2 applications, demanding no radical changes to user behavior, Web3 becomes a far sweeter pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Animoca Brands\u2019 acquisition of TinyTap is one example of this \u201cnudge\u201d approach. Rather than forcing its users to migrate to a pure Web3 model overnight, Animoca elected to introduce this as a complement to existing payment streams. Nevertheless, TinyTap has made it clear that Web3 is where its future lies, emphasizing the benefits of tokenizing teaching materials to imbue them with lifelong value, which will generate revenue for educators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As TinyTap CEO Yogev Shelly explained, this will allow educators to \u201cconnect with their students directly and the revenue that will be received from accessing content will go to whoever owns the content.\u201d He added: \u201cFor the students themselves, they can own a record of all their achievements throughout their lifetime, and since they actually own it, that will stay with them forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Buy Into Web2?
If Web3 is the future, why look to the past and acquire a company whose business model you\u2019re trying to displace? For one thing, users are the most valuable asset a business has, and when it comes to customers, Web2 is still king. The top Web3 platforms have only a fraction of the users their leading Web2 counterparts can claim. We\u2019re still waiting for the Uber or Airbnb of Web3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are other reasons why a Web2 takeover can occur, however, over and above user acquisition. For one thing, many platforms making use of Web2 technology can be enhanced by integrating Web3 tech such as decentralized identities, user-owned data and blockchain-borne micropayments. It\u2019s far easier to retrofit these features to an existing company than it is to create a new one from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Buy Into Web2?
If Web3 is the future, why look to the past and acquire a company whose business model you\u2019re trying to displace? For one thing, users are the most valuable asset a business has, and when it comes to customers, Web2 is still king. The top Web3 platforms have only a fraction of the users their leading Web2 counterparts can claim. We\u2019re still waiting for the Uber or Airbnb of Web3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are other reasons why a Web2 takeover can occur, however, over and above user acquisition. For one thing, many platforms making use of Web2 technology can be enhanced by integrating Web3 tech such as decentralized identities, user-owned data and blockchain-borne micropayments. It\u2019s far easier to retrofit these features to an existing company than it is to create a new one from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It may be the case that Web3 adoption follows a similar cycle: first expanding upon Web2 business models then disrupting them before eventually replacing them. We\u2019re not there yet, but if we do eventually arrive there, credit will be due to the Web3 companies with the foresight to take Web2 companies along for the ride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web2 and Web3 are commonly depicted as technology standards in competition with one another. Web2, aka the incumbent web, is the swipeable, mobile-friendly internet we\u2019re accustomed to, controlled by a hub-and-spoke model in which data is stored on centralized servers. Meanwhile, Web3 is seen as the future: quite literally the third generation of the internet. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Untitled-13.jpg",731,409,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Untitled-13.jpg",731,409,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Untitled-13.jpg",731,409,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Untitled-13-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Untitled-13-300x168.jpg",300,168,true],"large":["https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Untitled-13.jpg",731,409,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Untitled-13.jpg",731,409,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Untitled-13.jpg",731,409,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Untitled-13.jpg",731,409,false],"graptor-sq-xs":["https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Untitled-13.jpg",100,56,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Admin CG","author_link":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/author\/admin-cg\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"news<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Web2 and Web3 are commonly depicted as technology standards in competition with one another. Web2, aka the incumbent web, is the swipeable, mobile-friendly internet we\u2019re accustomed to, controlled by a hub-and-spoke model in which data is stored on centralized servers. Meanwhile, Web3 is seen as the future: quite literally the third generation of the internet.…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22423"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22426,"href":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22423\/revisions\/22426"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web3unplugged.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}