Improving engagement and connections with your website visitors is a key objective for content marketing. We’re always trying to create content that appeals to each user. But up until recently, those users haven’t had much say in the experience that is presented to them. It’s been up to us, as marketers, to pull from the data we have and craft content and experiences that (hopefully) resonate.
Web 3.0, the third generation of the internet, is changing all of that. In this Web 3.0 content guide, we’ll introduce several concepts that your enterprise content team needs to know.
What Is Web 3.0?
Web 3.0 represents a huge shift in how we currently use the internet. In this future version, blockchain would be the foundation for the internet. Additionally, Web 3.0 is decentralized. That translates to how we access the internet. Now, you must do it through an intermediary — Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc. In Web 3.0, individuals would own and govern parts of the internet.
There’s no “permission” to enter the virtual world with Web 3.0, so the authorities of the internet don’t get to decide who sees what. It also won’t require “trust,” so intermediaries aren’t necessary for virtual transactions between parties. In theory, since these groups are collecting most of the data, Web 3.0 could protect user privacy better than the current version.
Watch the short video below for an explanation of Web 3.0.
Web 3.0 Features
There’s a lot of new terminology that content creators should understand related to Web. 3.0. But the biggest components, besides blockchain, central to Web 3.0 are AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning.
Here are all eight features of Web 3.0:
1.Semantic Web: The Semantic Web enables technologies to generate, share, and connect content via search and analysis to understand the sentiment of words versus just keywords or numbers.
2.AI: By combining semantic capabilities and natural language processing (NLP), computers can interpret information on a human-like level. As a result, users can get faster, more relevant results.
3.3-D Graphics: Web 3.0 uses 3-D design in websites and services. Some examples of this include ecommerce sites, computer games, and geospatial contexts.
4.Connectivity: Semantic metadata creates more connected information. With this change, the user experience evolves to new heights, leveraging all information available.
5.Ubiquity: Access to the internet is possible anywhere on any device. Much of this comes from the expansion of IoT (internet of things) devices.
6.Blockchain: A blockchain is a system that records transactions in a shared, unchangeable ledger. The improvement here is encryption and data protection.
7.Decentralized: Decentralized data networks use peer-to-peer interconnections to store data. A user has ownership of their digital assets and data. They can log into the internet securely without any tracking.
8.Edge Computing: Web 3.0 leverages edge computing, which means the processing of apps and data occurs at the network edge on devices (e.g., mobile phones, laptop computers, sensors, and other smart devices).
How Web 3.0 Will Change Content
So, what does all of this have to do with content marketing? The crux of Web 3.0 is that there is a greater meaning behind data for computers. They have learning abilities to understand what users prefer, delivering better, faster results.
Here’s an example that will give you an idea of what Web 3.0 content would look like.
A person uses a digital assistant for voice search. The search phrase is, “I want to eat Italian food and watch a comedy movie.”
The search has some specifics around the type of food and movie but no other parameters. With Web 3.0, the search engine develops a precise response, considering the user’s location and preferences, such as:
- Recommending the closest cinema to the user
- Suggesting a well-reviewed (looks at social media and other rankings) Italian restaurant near the cinema and then presenting a 3-D menu
Web 3.0 Content Opportunities
Web 3.0 will shake up how people look for, consume, and respond to content. The connection between Web 3.0 and content marketing is critical. The first iteration of the web, Web 1.0, was all about how people obtain and share content in channels like social media and virtual communities.
The peer-to-peer transactions will enable more immersive participation, which should revolutionize the customer experience. Consumers control their personal data, so it’s a big shift.
What that all means for you, as content marketers, is to start envisioning how this new relationship will unfold and how your organization can connect with audiences. Digital wallets, now typically used for cryptocurrency or other digital assets, could, in the future, hold more personal information that’s meaningful (e.g., name, email, company, city). A user can then agree to share that with a company but doesn’t have to hand over the data. They could also rescind access.
As a result of this sharing, your CRM (customer relationship management) platform would connect with wallets rather than just having static entries. With this, you have the most advanced targeting capabilities, making every content experience unique. You have the valuable data to know what that customer wants to see and hear — no more assumptions on segmenting or personalization!
However, your brand has to sustain trust to continue to have access to the digital wallet. It would make content planning more thoughtful and very defined. With personalization also comes the need to produce more content across multiple channels — paid, earned, and owned media.
Web 3.0 Content: The Future
Web 3.0 is in its infancy. Preparing now for its impact on customer experiences is a good place to start. The first step is to add it to your content strategy. It will require a new perspective on content creation. The core component is the data, which becomes more valuable every day and enables content marketing to be a more advanced business function.
Content marketing has been evolving along with the web, and this is another change. Web 1.0 was all about creating content that users could find. Web 2.0 ushered in a time to develop content that provided an experience for users. Web 3.0 raises the stakes again to help users collaborate on the experiences they want to receive.
It’s certainly a trend to watch and one that we’ll be revisiting. Don’t miss future stories by subscribing to the DivvyHQ blog, written by and for content marketers.