What You Need to Know About the Convergence of Web Innovations to Stay Relevant

The Web has produced three successful innovations, and I’ve had the privilege of witnessing their transformative power. The first was online marketplaces. I remember the early days when digital stores allowed people to buy products from creators and retailers, primarily from their desktop computers. Now, we can do it from our phones. Businesses sell goods, track sales, and make profits. Customers find the products they want, receive recommendations, and place their orders. Amazon, the company that made the most of the opportunity, is now a trillion-dollar business.

Social media platforms came next. I’ve seen how they let people share ideas, engage in spirited debates, and exchange memes. While there’s often a fair share of arguments, social media’s most remarkable feature is its ability to bring like-minded people together, forming communities. These communities can revolve around anything from the Marvel universe to niche hobbies like knitting, and of course, they can discuss politics, reinforcing and sometimes challenging viewpoints. Facebook and X, the platform that used to be known as Twitter, still dominate.

The third innovation, blockchain, is more recent and has fascinated me. Initially intended to underpin a decentralized global currency, it has evolved into something far more versatile than just supporting Bitcoin. The development of smart contracts means that the movement of any digital item–and even any physical item linked to a digital token–can be tracked and recorded. Video game assets can be built and transferred from one game to another. Digital art can now be bought, collected, and sold. Artists can make a living off of creating works that never leave screens.

You Can Buy, Talk, or Collect … Choose One

While these innovations have transformed the digital landscape in their unique ways, they have largely remained in their separate domains. Buyers can leave reviews on online marketplaces but typically can’t engage in the kind of interactive discussions with other customers and swap tips in the way they do on community platforms.

Social media plays a vital role in marketing, but it hasn’t yet become the primary platform for direct sales. And NFT art is usually sold on marketplaces before remaining in digital wallets seen only by their owners. It’s a missed opportunity because the Internet’s true potential shines when it combines commerce with community.

I’ve observed that contributors to online photography groups, for example, don’t just discuss the cameras and lenses they’ve bought. They also teach each other photography techniques and share images that inspire them. 

And it’s not just the fans who benefit. The most active online communities also help creators gain a better idea of what their customers love the most. They help them design better products to be enjoyed even more.

Those community benefits are available to anyone: photographers looking for better lighting advice, gardeners trying to get more out of their seeds, and fans of digital art such as AI-generated works and NFTs. 

But the NFT fans, too, have struggled to build communities. Owners of Bored Apes might get together occasionally for some impressive partying but other owners of digital and blockchain-based art usually have to make do with showing their friends their collections on their screens. Digital art doesn’t have gallery openings with wine and canapés where admirers can rub shoulders with artists, and there’s little opportunity for fans of a particular collection to get together and talk with each other, let alone with creators.

Uncut Connects Marketplaces, Social Media, and Digital Art 

That’s now starting to change as the three innovations come together. A prime example is Uncut, a social media platform for creators and collectors of AI-generated art. It’s a place where fans of a particular style or collection can see other’s pieces and interact with the people who designed them using platforms like Midjourney. 

Collectors can see more of the art they love, and artists can generate feedback that helps them produce better, more popular work. And the community is growing. Uncut is now teaming up with the WAX blockchain. It’s a big shift. WAX is a leading blockchain platform for digital collectibles. Brands the platform works with include Funko, Mattel, and NASCAR.

By integrating WAX’s Cloud Wallet with Uncut, the same sense of community that users of Uncut already enjoy is being extended to builders of NFT collections. Digital wallets that were once private spaces for buying, selling, and enjoying digital art turn into public spaces where friends can interact and chat about each other’s collections and finds. And no less importantly, they can also discuss their collections with the artists themselves, encouraging new designs and inspiring new collections.

It’s undeniable that the convergence of marketplaces, social media, and blockchain represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of the Web. This transformation is not merely a convergence of technologies but a gateway to new possibilities. As you embrace this digital era, don’t limit your thinking to conventional models. New opportunities may lie where these technologies intersect.