The problem with catch-all phrases is that they can mean anything to anyone. Imagine my excitement seeing this headline on TechCrunch this morning: “Disney launches web3 experience to celebrate 100 years of Disney music.”
I couldn’t wait to click the link. What did I find? A solidly Web2, overly artsy, nice (if you like this sort of thing), clunky-to-navigate, custom graphical user interface designed to “Disneyize” an online recorded music store… without the benefit of Disney’s Imagineering Team.
If a normal person told me this was a Web3 site, I’d let it go. At best, this is a virtual store, which is exactly what Disney called it, asking us to “step foot into Disney Music Emporium’s new Virtual Store.”
TechCrunch should know better; everything with graphics and some pseudo-3D is not Web3 or the metaverse. Definitions matter. Since these words have no agreed-upon definitions, you should avoid using them without defining them for your purposes. Otherwise, everyone will bring their own definitions to your idea, which never yields the desired outcome.
Sorry for the rant – I was really excited about this… until I wasn’t.
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.