Web 3.0 Is Coming: Getting Ready to Navigate the Next Digital Frontier

by Tom Snyder on Aug 22, 2024

For nearly three decades, Trivera has been a pioneer in embracing and leveraging new marketing technologies. We’ve watched trends arrive, some of which have dramatically reshaped the landscape, while others have faded into obscurity. What separates the lasting innovations from the fleeting fads? Those that endure typically offer genuine value, adaptability, and scalability—qualities that align with long-term consumer behavior and business goals. As we stand on the brink of yet another potential revolution—Web 3.0—we continue to serve as the voice of optimism, opportunity, and necessary caution for our clients.

Trends That Last: What We’ve Learned from 28 Years of Innovation

Over the decades, we’ve seen numerous trends emerge in the digital marketing space. Some, like email marketing, mobile technology, and social media, have become indispensable pillars of modern marketing. Their success can be attributed to their ability to evolve and integrate seamlessly into daily life, offering tangible benefits to both consumers and businesses. Mobile technology, for instance, didn’t just provide another platform—it transformed how we connect, communicate, and shop, giving rise to entirely new industries and behaviors. Social media followed a similar trajectory, fundamentally changing the way brands interact with their audiences by fostering direct, real-time engagement on a massive scale.

On the other hand, some trends haven’t stood the test of time. Google+, Flash-based websites, early forms of augmented reality (AR), and platforms like Foursquare are prime examples. Each of these technologies generated significant buzz when they first emerged, but they ultimately failed to maintain their momentum. The common thread among these trends was their inability to adapt to changing user needs and technological advancements. Google+ couldn’t overcome its lack of user adoption, Flash became obsolete in the mobile era, and early AR applications often delivered poor user experiences. Similarly, Foursquare, once hailed as a groundbreaking tool for location-based marketing, struggled to find a lasting foothold. I even wrote an e-book on the platform to help businesses leverage it for marketing, but despite the initial excitement, it ultimately couldn't achieve permanent success due to evolving consumer behaviors and the rapid pace of technological change .

What all these trends had in common was a disconnect between initial hype and long-term value. They either didn’t provide enough genuine utility, failed to scale with the broader technological shifts happening around them, were unable to provide a path to ROI—or all of the above. These examples serve as reminders that for a trend to endure, it must not only be innovative but also deliver sustained, practical value that evolves with the market and consumer expectations.

Web 3.0: The New Frontier

Web 3.0 represents the next phase in the evolution of the internet, and like mobile and social media before it, it holds the potential to reshape how we approach digital marketing. Built on blockchain technology, Web 3.0 envisions a decentralized, user-centric internet where data privacy is paramount, and individuals have greater control over their digital identities. For marketers, this could mean more transparent, trust-based relationships with customers, where personalized marketing efforts are both welcomed and more effective.

Yet, as we’ve learned from past innovations, the shift from introduction to widespread adoption doesn’t happen overnight. Take mobile technology, for example: it took nearly a decade from the introduction of the first Kyocera Smartphone (for which we developed a mobile website for Mitchell AIrport) to reach the point where mobile browsing overtook desktop use. Social media, too, took several years from its early days of Friendster and MySpace to become the powerful marketing tool it is today. Web 3.0 is likely to follow a similar path, requiring time for its infrastructure to mature, for user adoption to reach critical mass, and for businesses to fully understand how to harness its potential.

Proceeding with Caution: Watching and Learning

At Trivera, we’ve always approached emerging technologies with a mix of enthusiasm and caution. Currently, we are actively exploring pilot programs and small-scale implementations in the realm of the previous "next big thing": artificial intelligence. Web 3.0 is still in its infancy. Just like other technologies in their early stages, it still has limitations that hinder its immediate potential. Whether it’s a lack of user-friendly applications, insufficient infrastructure, or simply a lack of consumer awareness, these early-stage challenges are why we watch and learn before diving in.

We believe in being early adopters, but only when the time is right. Our strategy has always been to monitor the progress of these technologies closely, learning from the early successes and failures within the industry. Once a new technology has begun to show proven success—once it has moved beyond the novelty stage and into the realm of practical, scalable applications—we then use these successes as our roadmap for integrating it into our clients’ digital strategies.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Web 3.0 in Digital Marketing

So, when can our clients expect to see Web 3.0 elements incorporated into their digital marketing plans? The answer remains the same as it always has been: when it aligns with the goals of our clients, and the technology is ready to be integrated into a strategic digital marketing plan that provides measurable return on investment. At Trivera, we’re committed to staying informed about the latest developments in Web 3.0, but we won’t rush into adopting it until we’re confident it will bring real value.

For now, our "new technology focus" remains on things like AI, which are already beginning to show significant returns. Web 3.0 is next on the horizon, and as always, Trivera will be here to guide you through its complexities. Whether it’s through education, pilot programs, or full-scale integration, we’ll help you navigate this new frontier—just as we’ve done for the past 28 years.
 

About Tom Snyder

Tom Snyder, founder, president and CEO of Trivera, a 28-year-old strategic digital marketing firm based in suburban Milwaukee. Tom has been blogging since 1998, sharing the insight gained from helping businesses and organizations reinforce their brands by taking full advantage of digital and web technology as powerful tactics.

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