The internet in its current form privileges access. For users, a name and email address are the cost of admittance. And for brands, playing means paying the gatekeepers – the platforms, apps and operating systems – that hold the keys to their audiences. But the paradigm will shift with the onset of Web 3.0 or Web3. 

Decentralized and privacy-oriented, Web 3.0 or Web3 will fundamentally change the relationship between brands and consumers, according to Next in Creative, a new report from Globe Content Studio (GCS) that dives into emerging trends that represent the future of content marketing. 

The annual study from GCS – The Globe and Mail’s content marketing division – is based on proprietary insights pulled from The Globe’s AI-based content performance platform Sophi, as well as surveys with members of the Globe Insiders customer intelligence panel, third-party research and expert interviews. 

Next in Creative delves into the content marketing trends with the potential for the most long-term impact, from a shift in the development of electric vehicle infrastructure to the new laws governing social media, which stem from many of the same privacy undercurrents as the advent of Web 3.0. 

In defining the future internet trend, Jessica Robinson, GCS content lead and author of the report’s findings on Web 3.0, says it was paramount to distinguish Web3 from Web 3.0, each of which holds a vision of a gatekeeper-less internet. 

The term Web 3.0 was coined in 2006 by Tim Berners-Lee, the computer scientist credited with inventing the World Wide Web. He conceived of Web 3.0 as a decentralized version of the web that would allow users to retain ownership of their data while accessing online spaces. Data ownership, privacy and an emphasis on community over audience are cornerstones of the model. 

Web3, coined by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood in 2014, builds on the concept of Web 3.0, believing its mission can be achieved through public blockchains, the technology that underpins cryptocurrency transactions. In contrast, Web 3.0 considers blockchains, crypto and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to be tools within, rather than fundamental building blocks of, a decentralized internet. 

Robinson believes Web3 is more widely known and understood as a result of the “social savviness and public-facing nature of crypto and NFTs, particularly in the last two years.” However, a recent decline in enthusiasm for crypto and NFTs, coupled with the public implosion of crypto exchange FTX, has laid the groundwork for a shift of attention back to Web 3.0. 

For content marketers, one thing is certain: in the third era of the internet, today’s data will be in short supply. 

“By and large, there are fewer than 10 places you have to go on the internet right now to reach the majority of your audience,” Robinson says. “That’s not going to hold true if decentralization truly comes to pass.” 

In the future, internet users will sign on and access spaces using avatars, maintaining ownership of their online selves, and detaching themselves from the third parties that have traditionally held their data. 

“But we [brands and marketers] don’t have to lose access to all that data if we can continue to build a relationship and create community with the user directly,” Robinson says. 

For example, futurist Lindsay Angelo notes in the report of a shift happening from “from minimum viable product to minimum viable community.” Under the latter model, brands create communities that help inform what the product or service should be. 

Robinson believes this shift will require content marketers to rethink how they create community and reach, because scattered audiences will be the norm. “It doesn’t mean getting off social tomorrow, but it means fostering connections and creating community hubs elsewhere, too,” she says. 

Leading up to the third era of the internet, brands should consider putting greater emphasis on channels such as newsletters and RSS feeds, which are in the midst of a resurgence. They will have to experiment with emerging platforms such as Niche, which promises to “reorganize your social network into interest-based clubs owned by its members.” 

Treating these touchpoints first and foremost as community spaces to make actual connections with users will one day be imperative for brands. 

“There’s no need to be carving out a Web 3.0 budget just yet,” Robinson says, “but if you have an experimental budget as a brand, it is a space you should be poking around in.”

Next in Creative is an annual, forward-looking publication, revealing and contextualizing the emerging trends that Globe Content Studio considers the future of content marketing. Throughout, GCS offers ideas for brands on how to use these insights to drive opportunities.

Check out the full Next in Creative report here.

For more information about Globe Content Studio reach out to gcs@globeandmail.com