🐇🕳️ Web3: The Promise of a Denizens-Owned Internet
FemWealth Issue #37
Happy Sunday, FemWealth Friends!
“Will the digital century be a democratic century?” - Shoshana Zuboff, Prof. em. of Harvard Business School, author of "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism"
Web3, DAOs, NFTs, DeFi, Crypto Tokens, Metaverse - What’s behind the buzzwords?
Billions of dollars are pouring into building the third generation of the Internet. Web3 is a combination of the decentralized, community-governed ethos of web1 (1990-2005) with the advanced, modern functionality of web2 (2005-2020). Its vision and promise are decentralized, shared ownership and control of online platforms by users and builders, orchestrated with tokens [both non-fungible (NFTs) and fungible].
From music to arts, fashion, media, sports, and financing, business models and organizational structures are being rethought and powered by emerging technologies. Notably, this week, a group of 17,000 crypto enthusiasts, identified as ConstitionDAO [DAO stands for decentralized autonomous organization, i.e. online communities owned and operated by their members, via a token], has raised $47M in a bid to buy a rare copy of the US Constitution through crypto crowdfunding. Though they didn’t win the auction, they set a powerful example, being the largest crowdfunding initiative (in fiat or crypto) ever.
NFTs, i.e., non-fungible tokens on the blockchain that serve as certificates of authenticity and ownership, are all the rage on the Internet. Artists, celebrities, and even established institutions, like the media powerhouse The Economist or global brands such as Nike, are experimenting with minting and selling NFTs. But they come with super volatile prices and huge “gas fees,” energy usage, and environmental footprint.
VR/AR games, performances, and e-commerce in the ‘metaverse,’ i.e., three-dimensional spaces in virtual reality where users can interact with one another, are also on the rise. The recent Facebook rebrand as Meta (to repair its tarnished reputation and mark a new strategic direction) has fueled the metaverse hype.
And let’s not forget the money! DeFi (decentralized finance) aims to disrupt the banking and financial systems by providing peer-to-peer financial services on public blockchains. There are many projects out there, but not all are legit in the absence of clear regulatory frameworks.
At the heart of Web3 lays a super active community of enthusiasts, early adopters, ‘believers’ and proselytes, each trying to ‘own a piece of the Internet.’ You find them mainly on Twitter and Discord. Worth exploring if you are a tiny bit curious about Web3. Spoiler alert: it’s quite male-dominated.
Questions I’m pondering on: Will Web3 hold its democratic promise? Will it be genuinely inclusive, or will it perpetuate the problems of Web2? How quickly will blockchain technology be improved to become more efficient and secure? Will the hype continue, or is a bubble burst (just like the dot-com burst of 2000) imminent?
Over the following weeks, I’ll go down the 🐇🕳️ to find out more and report back in future editions. In the meantime, here are some resources and people to follow:
Resources:
What Is Web3 and Why Are All the Crypto People Suddenly Talking About It?
Why Web3 Matters | Future A16Z
How to Win the Future: An Agenda for the Third Generation of the Internet
Legitimacy Lost. How Creator Platforms Are Eroding Their Most Important Resource | Li Jin on the future of the creator economy
Creator Manifesto | Index Ventures
Explainer: What are NFTs? | Is the future non-fungible?
The beguiling promise of decentralised finance. And its many perils
What are DAOs? Here’s what to know about the ‘next big trend’ in crypto
BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE WORLD OF CRYPTO
For more check out this comprehensive curation of Web3 resources by Patricia Mou
Who to follow:
Investors:
Li Jin, Co-Founder at Variant Fund and Founder of Atelier Ventures
Katie Haun, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz
Gaby Goldberg, Web3 investor at TCG Crypto | Gaby's Web3 Reading List
Entrepreneurs & Creators:
Gina Bianchini, CEO & Founder Mighty Networks
Tiffany Zhongg, founder of Islands and host of the podcast probably nothing
Sari Azout, Founder at Startupy
Artists:
Emonee LaRussa, Emmy Award-Winning Motion Graphics Artist
Nyla Hayes, 12year old digital artist, TIME mag 1st Artist In Residence, creator of Long Neckie collection | Discover more artists here
DAOs & Web3 Communities:
Boss Beauties, a 10k NFT collection and global brand working to make positive change for young women everywhere
HERSTORY - an on//offline art collective dedicated to preserving and incubating the stories of marginalized crypto creators
Komorebi Collective - a DAO that funds women and non-binary crypto founders.
Disclaimer: The content is intended only for informational and entertainment purposes and does not constitute investment advice. Please always do your research!
FemWealth Favorites ❤️
🌍 This 26-year-old spoke at COP26. Here’s the crucial piece she thinks world leaders are missing.
💸 🥦 Startup Daily Harvest Reaches Unicorn Status With $1.1 Billion Valuation - The New York-based startup founded and led by Rachel Drori has recently raised $77 million in an equity funding round
💸 Stytch, an API-first passwordless startup, raises $90M Series B at $1B valuation - Julianna Lamb is Stych’s co-founder and CTO
💸 Pigment, a Paris-based planning and forecasting platform for fast-growth companies, has raised $73m in Series B funding - co-founded by Eléonore Crespo
💸 Mayo Clinic’s Marani Health Raises $7.6M in Seed Funding for its Digital Platform for Prenatal and Postpartum Care - founded and led by Ann Holder
💸 Tech Insiders Dave Morin And Brit Morin Are Back With $100 Million Venture Fund Offline Ventures - The fund will focus on investments in the health sector, including personal health, women’s health and mental health, alongside bets on web3 and crypto companies and consumer tech startups
“The world has gone from mainframes to computer labs, to personal computers, to mobile phones and stuff in our ears and on our wrists. We’re getting to the point where the human is the interface, the human is the network.” - Brit Morin
🙌 COVID-19 vaccines, Elvie’s breast pump, and Emme’s Smart Birth Control System are among Time’s 100 Best Inventions of 2021
👏 Nine Angel Voices - The Story Behind - Beata Klein of Creandum features top angel investors, incl. Yenny Cheung, Yvonne Bajela, Janneke Niessen, Deepali Nangia
💯 Why isn’t it okay for startup founders to admit when they’re failing? - Entrepreneur and investor Helena Murphy opens us about the mental and physical toll of her startup's failure
🤓 Unfriended: Frances Haugen on Her Facebook Testimony and What Comes Next
💵 Britney Spears is celebrating her financial independence. For women, money has long been intertwined with freedom. Read more here
🎶 Begin Again: Taylor Swift Is Looking For Another Win With Today's 'Red' Re-Release - The artist regains ownership of her music ecosystem, releasing her version of her 2012 album Red. This week she has 7 different albums on Billboard Top 100.
👗 In New Rebecca Minkoff Tops And Dresses, The Blockchain Is Stitched In - The fashion brand gives its sustainably-minded customers access to their garments’ journeys along the supply chain
👩🏽🎨 Frida Kahlo self-portrait sells for nearly $35 million, setting record for Latin American art
Tweets of the Week:
Things to Ponder On
We need to stop gaslighting women about money
“Imagine a country in which money is no longer a source of stress, but a source of strength, for women. Imagine a country, then, in which women have more power, stronger voices, improved health, more agency, greater equality”. - Sallie Krawcheck
“Nowadays, autocracies are run not by one bad guy, but by sophisticated networks composed of kleptocratic financial structures, security services (military, police, paramilitary groups, surveillance), and professional propagandists.” - Anne Applebaum
“The culture of abuse cultivated against Black women has to be resoundingly rejected. It’s time we reimagine the world through the eyes of those harmed, and bring about an end to the relentless commodification and exploitation of Black women’s lives for sport and for profit. To me, Meghan’s suit represents what so many of us wish we could do: fight back and win.” - Safiya Umoja Noble, Ph.D.
‘You Are Mommy Tracked to the Billionth Degree’ - ‘Women are more likely to want to work remotely. But what if it ends up working against them?’
How Misogyny and Religious Bigotry Have Influenced the Historical Portrayal of the Female Experience
“When we can understand how society judged women in the past, we can see how those forces still operate today. If women are written out, century after century, what message does that give the generations that follow?” - Lucy Jago
Thank you for reading FemWealth! 🥰 Wish you a wonderful week ahead!
Anamaria, Founder & Writer at FemWealth