“What is web3?” one asks. You may give them a definitive answer that includes concepts such as digital ownership and decentralisation. Maybe the snippet below may help.

As for me though, I feel like I’ve entered a new world. A new world with new ideals and new opportunities. This is harder to explain over a simple head-on conversation so let me put this into writing.

Here, I want to give my view of web3. And it’s important to get my thoughts out now*;* as we are entering a bear market; because there seems to be a lot of uncertainty of what the future may hold, and how far we’ve come. Maybe my view, with the help of some personal anecdotes, may help some people feel more comfortable with their positions and outlook on the space.

Picture the globe. Picture Earth in its entirety. Now, clone that and shift it over to the side. Label it “Web3”.

But actually, erase all the contents of the clone so we have a blank canvas.

Now, we create a new world that we can enter at anytime from Earth but the catch is - we have to start from scratch.

In 2009, the bitcoin network came into existence. Think of this like a new country in web3. Early adopters saw the opportunities bitcoin creates so they began investing in its coin, $BTC, and began building out its infrastructure. As more and more people found value in bitcoin, the price of $BTC began to rise.

Then, came some other pioneers that took inspiration from bitcoin and created their own countries, with different ideals and different priorities. Some failed while others persisted. Solana and Ethereum are ones that are still around today.

Having an interest in technology on Earth, I naturally consumed content from some influencers in the tech field. On one December morning, I happened to see a post on social media from one of these influencers. They announced that they were launching a new marketplace. Because they already had my trust, it didn’t require much thinking for me to take quick action in joining their community. And eventually, I got my first digital asset; a digital asset in Solana.

At this point in time, I haven’t bought any of its currency, $SOL, as the asset was given to me for free. However, I wanted to participate more with my peers so I bought some $SOL and used it to buy more digital assets from smaller marketplaces that I could find. The experience wasn’t ideal; it was hard finding things I liked and navigating through the space. However, I was “faceless” and wanted to establish an identity for myself. So, I established a new “look” for myself so that I could at least be recognised by other people.

Although my introduction to Solana was friendly and fun, my interests faded rather quickly. The main reason being, the digital asset given to me gave me opportunities to buy even more things but I had no interest in them and did not feel comfortable spending my money on them. One of the reasons was that they were themed around gaming but having little to no interest in games, personally, I was just not that persuaded.

I would go back and forth from web2 and web3 during this time but I have heard of another place in web3 that I wanted to visit. Maybe Solana wasn’t the place for me. A different country may have things I can buy that better suit my interest and catch my attention. So, I began to look around for opportunities and eventually found my ticket to a beautiful place.

Ethereum fulfilled my curiosities. Its marketplaces were bustling and a lot of artworks caught my attention. Once I found something that I liked and I could afford, I bought it. I was immediately welcomed by its community. We hung out and made jokes, and celebrated when our artworks grew in price. I even got a small job for being an active member of the community. However, I had other commitments on Earth. So eventually, I had to give up the role. Every now and then, I would visit the marketplaces and find things that I liked. The ones I could afford, I would buy, others, I would just admire. Sometimes, members of the community would show off artworks from other stalls at the marketplace. Sometimes I will also buy them, sometimes I don’t feel fond of them and carry on.

Everyday I would visit the marketplaces. Some stalls got more expensive and some less so. Some new ones would pop up and some just disappeared.

The more and more I buy the things I like, the more and more people I meet that share similar interests as me. I begin interacting with these people and I begin to like being around them. So, I enjoy being in Ethereum. There is no reason for me to leave this place.

Sometimes, though, I bump into my neighbours while I show off my artworks to my friends. Some of them congratulate me on my new purchase. Some of them spread rumours to other neighbours for reasons unbeknownst to me. Some of them seem to not care. Some of them seem kind of jealous. Some of them want to pick fights. Some of them are always friendly.

But all in all, we all have a reason in being here. Even if my reason is different to my neighbours’.

I have not explored far from the city centre of Ethereum. I see some new marketplaces cropping up with different looks, different ways to pay, different customers and different stall owners. I see some new tools being built to keep track of prices and offer different ways to buy things from the marketplaces. Maybe there are more shops being built in places I have yet to visit.

Having an interest in music, I’ve always wanted to buy some music from the marketplaces. However, I’m yet to see many devices that allow me to listen to the music that’s being sold on the marketplaces. So, I hold off. Maybe someone is out there building this device under the radar.

Some people seem to be holding events on Earth and inviting people from Ethereum to hang out together in person. Maybe they want to invite some new people to visit web3 and experience Ethereum. Maybe there are more people out there organising more events like this.

Some communities have evolved into brands in Ethereum. Some artists have disappeared, some seem to be working on new collections. I see new artworks and new artists all the time. Maybe there are more artists waiting to set up a stall in the marketplaces.

I wonder what else we can do in Ethereum. I hear of lands being sold in various suburbs. None has really caught my attention. I visit web3 from Earth everyday but maybe I will buy some land one day and have a home to stay at for longer visits. Maybe there are plans to build an estate with a community that I will get along with.

Sometimes I catch some news or stories from other countries in web3. Some seem to be doing things differently to how we do it in Ethereum. I guess I can take a visit but I can’t take all my valuables with me. Maybe someone is building transport to allow me to bring along some of this stuff on my visits.

Being happy with the time I spend in Ethereum, I don’t have much interest in visiting other countries. At least, not yet. But I do hear some interesting stories and even some art collections doing well in other places. Sometimes it makes me want to buy something but I would have to do some research first; I don’t like making uneducated decisions.

The thought of making new friends also dawns on me when I think about visiting other countries. Will I be accepted? Will I even get along with those people? What are they building over there? Is it that special? Maybe one day I’ll visit. But I have no reason to; at least for now. I’m happy to read the stories and check the news from time to time. They do love to share their opinions about Ethereum, though. But they don’t know what it’s like being here! I haven’t seen them on our streets or our marketplaces. Should I believe what they say? To them, Ethereum is unknown territory. To me, everything else is unknown territory.

Unlike in web2, making decisions in web3 is transparent and democratic; anyone can see the votes, and anyone can vote if they hold a token that allows them to. This allows communities in Ethereum to make decisions fairly, where everyone has a voice and a reason to be heard. I love this. Most people in Ethereum are early participants; everyone has an opportunity to make a change or put forth an initiative. There are so many opportunities out there and so much space to be occupied. I feel like we are making history and I can’t wait to see what the city will look like in the future.

I’ve been spending more time in web3 than on Earth. So, I get most of my news while spending time in web3. They say more and more people are visiting us from Earth. Famous people buying expensive artworks, big companies buying their “namespace”, and groups with lots of money investing into our currency. Maybe only the good news reaches me. However, one thing is certain - I think more and more people are beginning to realise there is another world being created.

Some may not understand it or feel no reason to visit web3. But maybe we’re not setting a good example for ourselves. Maybe countries such as Ethereum and Solana aren’t developed enough to warrant a visit. Maybe the current state of our world, web3, does not appeal to people on Earth. I see some people in web3 mocking people on Earth that are yet to visit our world, and I’m guilty of this too. Maybe we should be more inviting and friendly to those people. Earth is watching, I must remember to behave.

When the chips are down, it’s easy to be discouraged. But it also gives me time to reflect like I’m doing here. It’s easy to get carried away in web3 because so many things are happening all the time. When our digital assets are up, everyone’s having a ball. In a “bear market”; when our assets are down, it’s important to think about why we began to explore web3 in the first place.

I hear stories of people leaving web3. I think this is a naïve way of looking at what’s happening. We are creating a new world and people are free to come and go as they please. Remember: no one truly lives in Ethereum let alone in any place in web3, yet. We are all just visiting this new world and doing the things we love, everyday. These people that left can visit us again, and they will. As long as we keep doing what we like and building bigger and better things, they’ll be watching from Earth and they will come visit us again.

So, why did you explore web3 in the first place?

The influencer on Earth did not pull my strings into web3. I was well aware of web3 much earlier and I watched from Earth and heard the stories from time to time. But it wasn’t until there was an easy way for me to take my first trip to web3 that I was able to start exploring this new world. Why am I here? My reason for being here is a story for another time but just remember this - web3 was created to solve a problem and we’re all here to help.