Blog:
Newconomics 2023 - Meet our Speakers: James Kirkham
Are you coming to the Newconomics event in Lisbon? If so, you can look forward to the insights of a range of inspiring guests. James Kirkham, founder of cultural marketing agency ICONIC will be joining us. As a look ahead to the event, here’s a taster of his views around Web3 and the future of work.
“I’ve a distinct perspective on Web3. Web3 should mean the seamless transition between digital and physical, from virtual to real life. Web3 in the guise of Zuckerberg’s Metaverse does not exist. There are currently fewer people there than on Myspace. But we all already live in Web3.
There is now a ubiquitous global acceptance of a crypto ledger-based digital currency.
We view exhibitions in multiple realities, augmented through our smartphones, virtual in video game environments. We buy art as tokens.
Gaming serves as a prime example of both a significant influence on Web3 and a domain where its underlying concepts have flourished for some time. From games like EAFC, formerly known as FIFA, to open-world formats, digital currency transactions have become the standard, especially among younger audiences.
Younger people are buying virtual clothes to achieve cooler and more distinct identities, trading stock and exchanging virtual goods. There are a great deal more processes that brands and individuals can manage using these technologies, from digital door policies in virtual festivals, to having your avatar influenced by your physical prowess in the real world. All of this is thanks to its development over the years in gaming.
I’m excited by the idea of decentralised and egalitarian systems replacing the pillars of current society. There are fresh ways for this to work in so many sectors, from media businesses and broadcasters, to finance and insurance providers. There is an opportunity to remove the confines and the book ends of a ‘way’ of doing things and replace these with a smarter, fairer world which is accessible to all.
While language and terminology remain obstacles, the core of Web3 is fueled by a vibrant community pushing ideas, mechanics, and various initiatives. But with all micro-communities, there is a risk that people talk to themselves and not cut through to wider culture enough. The heat and noise in this space is undeniable, but it is vital the best of Web3 now transcends the bubble and moves to the streets and enters wider spaces like teenage playground conversations to Reddit and Whatsapp groups. We need to see Web3 moments in common vernacular, used in everyday parlance, not confined to the techy few.
Technology should always mean the removal of tedious, mind-numbing tasks and enabling us to be more human. This is technology at its best, where it initially removes a job, in order to elevate our true potential and make more important work for us to do.
The creation of Network Public Service Media is an interesting part of the future of work. It has implications for a new kind of emerging economic, organisational and cultural architecture.
Right now, creators make content to grow audiences and then sustain their work by extracting value from fans. NFT sales have become a new tool in this monetisation mix too. Without a balancing force, the current model encourages a profiteering culture that inspires a toxic mix of clickbait and an increasing concentration of wealth and power. Network Public Service Media is a new way of looking at this and I think it could provide better ways for creators and fans to interact in fair ways.”
Find out more about the new economics of Web3 and how it can change the way we work together at the Newconomics event in Lisbon. Full details and registration can be found on the website.
