#36 Why does nobody care about data protection? (Click here to find out..)

Welcome to?Edition #36 of 'This Week in Web3' - an all-in-one source for the most interesting Blockchain, Web3 and Metaverse content on LinkedIn, as curated by me ! If you didn't catch these awesome posts, here's a quick recap...

?? Privacy-enhancing Technology: The 2nd Most Important Thing You Should Care About

The World Economic Forum just dropped their Top 10 technologies for 2024, and guess what appeared at Number 2?...

Privacy-enhancing technologies!

Reading reports like this are essential, as it expands your worldview beyond maybe the 1 or 2 technologies that you'd typically get to focus on (in my case, Blockchain). But imagine my surprise when the second domain on the list overlaps exactly with Midnight - the project I work for, and a critical champion for building better apps with zero-knowledge proofs.

'Privacy' is not about hiding from governments, or shady deals on the dark web. Privacy is about shielding sensitive personal or commercial data from others while collaborating or transacting on the internet.

There are a multitude of new business models that Web3 can enable, where shared incentives, programmable data protection and autonomous apps can change the way data is used. Regulatory regimes can be programmed into apps that literally can't be evil because of the way they are coded.

Definitely worth reading up on Privacy and Data Protection here, as well as the other 9 predictions, including:

- AI for scientific discovery

- Privacy-enhancing technologies

- Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces

- High altitude platform stations

- Integrated sensing and communication

- Immersive technology for the built world

- Elastocalorics

- Carbon-capturing microbes

- Alternative livestock feeds

- Genomics for transplants

Definitely worth a scan, given each section is around 2-3 pages. Check out the full report here .

?? Does Crypto Need A Re-brand?

What's in a name? Is the incessant abbreviation of terms hindering Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and Web3 adoption?...

Just days ago, I was talking to a lawyer working for a Blockchain project that was actively trying to remove the word 'cryptocurrency' from any of its current or upcoming content, for fear of the US SEC...

Then we have common colloquialisms like 'I work in Crypto' or 'Crypto Twitter'...

Whereas Midnight has the 'Crypto Squad' which is a dedicated engineering team focused on CRYPTOGRAPHY as part of our wider engineering efforts in building out our Blockchain technology.

So it's easy to imagine that non-Web3 'insiders' may struggle when presented with the term 'crypto' and immediately assuming it relates to:

- Magical internet money...

- Scammy rug-pull ponzi schemes...

or at best, obscure technology projects that are hard to relate to, and without memorable use cases or applications that they can engage with...

So, does the term 'Crypto' need a rebrand? At least this week's Friday Poll suggests it means something very different to most of you. Check out the full post and community comments here .

?? A Basic Intro to Enterprise Blockchain

Blockchain has been used by the Fortune 500 since 2015. But why? This report helps to explain everything...

Shout to my former colleagues at Deloitte for a comprehensive and easy to read primer on why enterprises (and governments in many cases) are looking at Blockchain, DApps and the decentralised internet to transform their businesses.

Haters are gonna hate, and while 10 years may seem like a long time for Web3 to have taken hold, the reality is we're still very much on the early adoption curve with much of what is being developed. The tech is 'mature' but enterprise enablers like SaaS and increasing the availability of enterprise-ready apps (rather than infrastructure) remains an important requirement for adoption.

This report covers:

- What is Web3?

- Example use cases

- Why the skepticism toward Web3?

- What are some challenges to Web3 adoption?

- What’s ready now?

- How to get started?

Definitely an easy read to get you up the curve on the motivations, business case and issues surrounding Web3. Check out the full report here .

?? Why Are The Polkadot Community So Angry About Marketing?

SUNDAY RANT: Why the Polkadot community is losing their sh!t. Why 'Marketing' ≠ 'Growth', and why you shouldn't decentralise everything...

'We just spent $36m on crypto shillers, race cars and football shirts, and NO ONE ADOPTED OUR TECHNOLOGY'...

Oh, really?... There's an important difference between growth strategy and marketing...

- Growth strategy is the complex, interconnected series of choices you make to scale your ecosystem of developers, capital investors, partners and users (Web3 growth is more complex than simple 'product' growth - and involves SEVERAL distinct groups each requiring their own approach).

- Marketing is the ability to identify and prioritise segments from that growth strategy, deliver timely and meaningful messages to them (in the channels they prefer) to help change behaviour and foster relationships.

And it rarely involves sponsoring the TRAINING KIT of a Miami-based soccer team for SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS, that likely doesn't have many developers in its fan-base...

I could easily run out of characters in this rant before making all the points I want to make about how the current version of decentralised governance is bringing out the worst in everyone, and wasting A LOT of money. So i'll try to be brief. Here's some key observations:

1. Being clear on target audiences before spending is critical. Do we really need to target crypto 'HODLers' vs. B2B2C app builders?
2. Hiring KOLs and shillers 'may' get you a short-term token pump, but will NEVER drive any sustainable growth of any kind. Ever.
3. 'Wen Marketing' should be replaced with 'Wen Ecosystem Growth'
4. 'Wen Ecosystem Growth' should be immediately followed by 'How Ecosystem Growth' - if you can't answer this, you shouldn't be asking
5. Polkadot isn't going to run out of funding. But I hope it DOES learn to nuance or better qualify who gets to propose and vote on growth topics
6. Scammers still gonna scam. Treasuries are soft targets today.
7. It's OK to waste money as long as you learn. And if not, it's still OK.
8. Have patience. The entire industry is testing out community managements of budgets most corporates don't have, and they're doing it over Twitter!

And also remember that Web3 doesn't have a monopoly on stupid either. Companies are still spending $233,333 a SECOND on SuperBowl commercials. Advertising and sponsorships can be a giant black hole for tossing away money. This is not all that is 'Marketing', and Marketing is not all that is 'Growth'Let's hope for some bigger brain thinking from the degens over the coming months. Or some better frameworks to help contain their intellectual shortcuts...

Check out the full Sunday Rant and the community responses here .

????♂? Why Did I Join Midnight ?

Check out why I joined the Midnight team, and why this is technology you need to stay close to...

"The right project at the right time"...

Blockchains cannot keep a secret.

Put differently, whether you're an individual, an enterprise or a government, MUCH more data and metadata about your on-chain transactions and interactions is published than most people realise.

I've been helping enterprises engage with Blockchain tech since 2017, and the inability to shield sensitive data and IP is the EXACT reason companies have shied away from the decentralised web. Or worse, created 'semi-decentralised' private networks that typically failed to deliver.

If you're interested in building applications that make use of automation and security through smart contracts, and that can shield transaction data, protect intellectual property, and keep data where it belongs: in the hands of the OWNER... You should join us .

?? Space AI, Inc : Blockchain, IoT & AI... In Space! w. Diego Favarolo on the Blockchain Won't Save the World Podcast

SpaceAI is a project that might just blow your mind! We've seen a range of DePIN projects capture the imagination, but not that have a full-stack offering that works both in Space and on Earth...

DePIN projects typically offer one of compute, connectivity or storage. Few do all at once. And it's even less likely to find a project with literal space-age hardware that works as well on satellites as it does buried underground.

Welcome to SpaceAI. The coolest DePIN project you've never heard of. The SpaceAI team is already working with governments, energy providers, telcos, satellite operators and many others. So this is technology that is being used TODAY. Not for when Elon starts terraforming Mars...

In this LinkedIn Live, Diego shares the origins of SpaceAI, along with:

- Why the Space Economy needs Blockchain technology

- The role of hardware and IoT for enabling DePIN

- Use cases for Space AI's hardware and DLT

- How to build Web3 tech on existing open standards

- The next steps for use of Space tech (in Space and on Earth)

Watch back the original video here before it goes to podcast.

?? Gnosis : Building a Global Blockchain Ecosystem w. Dr. Friederike Ernst

Have you been sleeping on Gnosis and one of the most mature decentralised governance communities in Web3? Fear not...

This episode of the Blockchain Won't Save the World Podcast features Dr. Friederike Ernst , Co-Founder of Gnosis, who talks about what it takes to grow a global, multi-product Blockchain ecosystem. There's more to it than you think...

On this episode we cover:

- Friederike’s journey as a co-founder of Gnosis

- The overall Gnosis Ecosystem (Chain, Pay, DAO, Studios, Capital)

- How Gnosis Chain differs from other L1s

- How Gnosis Pay is transforming payments

- The importance of decentralised governance, and how Gnosis DAO works in practice- What more is needed to see wider use of Web3 tech

?? More Unshielded: the new podcast from Midnight featuring Eran Barak

In this episode of Unshielded: A Blockchain & Data Podcast by Midnight, we discuss Midnight’s mission and the fundamental need for data protection, shine a light on the importance of zero-knowledge proofs and unpack how Midnight addresses blockchain’s five main frictions.

Check out the video episode here , and check out the wider Unshielded podcast page here .

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Blockchain Won't Save the World Podcast

Unshielded Podcast

RightClickSaveTheWorld Podcast with Diego Borgo ??

5-Hour Blockchain Growth Training with Blockchain Training Alliance

30-Min Short Course: Getting a Job in Web3 with LinkedIn Learning

And if you're wondering where I got the idea for seeing where I got the idea to analyse where we could fit the whole TWIW3 community each week...