Web3 isn't inherently a scam, it all depends on the purpose, community and goal of the project.In this TED Talks he gives us guidelines on how to make good project judgements without falling for scams.

Is Web3 a Scam?

There are various opinions and definitions on what Web3 is, let's have a look to a few mentioned:<ul><li>"A decentralized online ecosystem based on blockchain." - Gavin Woods</li><li>"An internet without Amazon, Google, and Microsoft." - Michael del Castillo, Forbes</li><li>"More a marketing buzzword than reality." - Elon Musk</li><li>"Something new and exciting which somehow involves blockchain."</li></ul>

What is Web3?

Blockchains are extremely painful to use for various reasons:<ul><li>Limited transactions</li><li>Congestion</li><li>Cost</li><li>Limited compute</li><li>Limited storage</li></ul>But despite that it has three features which make it absolutely unique:<ul><li>Trustless event ordering</li><li>Transparency</li><li>Immutability</li></ul>"Blockchain makes sense to use when trustless event ordering, transparency and immutability are absolutely essential."

Blockchain Use

Let's have a look to different situations where Trustlessness and transparency really matter:<ul><li>International borders</li><li>Powerful monopolies</li><li>War, disagreement, instability, mistrust</li><li>Employees and customers scattered around the world</li><li>Absence of courts and police</li><li>Corruptions, theft</li></ul>

Where/when do Trustlessness and Transparency Matter?

"The more of these attributes come together, the more of a compelling blockchain and web3 usecase there probably is."

In this last examples let's imagine this scenario: Artist/Programmer/Refugees living in 18 countries want to start a company/collective/organization. The following doubts arise:<ul><li>Which currency is the special one?</li><li>Which country is the special one?</li><li>Open bank accounts is 18 countries?</li><li>How to govern company?</li><li>Audit the books - employees, local tax authorities...</li><li>Blockchain makes all of these transparent.</li></ul>

3rd Practical Examples on Web3 Use

Even with overwhelming rationale for blockchain, still need to deal with:<ul><li>Scaling</li><li>Compute</li><li>Storage</li><li>Transaction/s</li><li>Congestion</li><li>Cost (inverse unit economics)</li><li>Carbon Footprint</li></ul>

Blockhain: Painful but Beatiful

"Summarizing, if someone comes to you and promises you a lot of cash quickly and easily that's not really a web3 project.Instead what we're looking for are a combination of attributes that are forcing that project to use decentralized systems despite all their problems."

In this case we have a Unicef project which aims to support internet access accross South America and Africa. And it operates as follows:<ul><li>Smart contract disperses funds only to schools with a working internet connection.</li><li>Donors watch funds flow in real time to connected schools.</li><li>Blokchain allows having a transparent record system.</li></ul>

2nd Practical Examples on Web3 Use

Let's say you spot a project which offers a 18% guaranteed returns using web3.Now you should ask yourself:<ul><li>What do high guaranteed returns have to do with trustlesness, immutability, and transparency?</li></ul>Nothing... In this case we see a lack of basic connection.

1st Practical Examples on Web3 Use

"Smart contract built on a decentralized system which connects real world events to the flow of money begins to make a lot of sense."

In this brief but intense TEDxTalks Jan Liphardt gives us guidelines and tools to detect scams on the now famous Web3.

I provide a framework and tools to assess how #web3 provides value and how to separate fact from fiction in the web3 space. Blockchains can be painful but beautiful - this means that sustainable opportunities where a web3 solution makes sense are nuanced. Jan is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University and a Professor in Residence at StartX. For his Ph.D. work at Cambridge University, he used computers, information theory, and statistics, such as stochastic context free grammars, to find patterns in genomes. He was a physics professor at UC Berkeley until 2013, when he moved to Stanford. In 2016, he worked with Joe Biden’s cancer moonshot initiative and a social network to help patients share sensitive medical data. Jan cofounded Enya in 2018 as a way to reframe how sensitive information flows through the internet and how data analytics can be better balanced with privacy. Jan is a Sloan Research Fellow and a Searle Scholar. At Stanford, Jan focuses on privacy preserving digital health and he teaches a blockchain / distributed systems class. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

crypto

Cryptocurrency

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

I provide a framework and tools to assess how #web3 provides value and how to separate fact from fiction in the web3 space.  Blockchains can be painful but beautiful - this means that sustainable opportunities where a web3 solution makes sense are nuanced.   

Jan is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University and a Professor in Residence at StartX. For his Ph.D. work at Cambridge University, he used computers, information theory, and statistics, such as stochastic context free grammars, to find patterns in genomes. He was a physics professor at UC Berkeley until 2013, when he moved to Stanford.

In 2016, he worked with Joe Biden’s cancer moonshot initiative and a social network to help patients share sensitive medical data. Jan cofounded Enya in 2018 as a way to reframe how sensitive information flows through the internet and how data analytics can be better balanced with privacy.

Jan is a Sloan Research Fellow and a Searle Scholar. At Stanford, Jan focuses on privacy preserving digital health and he teaches a blockchain / distributed systems class. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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