Web3 and the metaverse are being adopted increasingly, and with their adoption, their impact on all industries also grows. Media is one of the sectors that is already being transformed from traditional social media into qualitatively superior platforms operating in a decentralized environment.
Constantin Kogan, GamesPad co-founder, and Rachel Wolfson, Senior Cointelegraph reporter, are discussing the possible developments in this sector in the episode of GamesHUB “How Will Web3 Reshape News Media?” Let’s explore more on this topic together with them.
As Rachel mentioned, Web3 not only delivers many benefits to content creators but also provides them with a decentralized environment where they can publish content without limitations imposed by traditional social media companies. The content is going to be moderated by the community, and rewards will also be assigned by the community.
It is going to democratize the digital media industry by reducing the constraints of censorship and offering content creators an opportunity to express themselves in a way they believe is right.
There are already platforms that ensure transparency, content ownership, and compensation for content creators. Specific monetization mechanisms are developed to allow content creators to monetize their digital content through non-fungible tokens that represent digital ownership or fungible digital assets that can be exchanged for fiat and, thus, used for everyday needs.
This, in turn, will motivate content creators to develop and share quality content and contribute to the creation of future media concepts.
The digital media journey in Web3 and metaverse is just starting, but the perspectives are very promising. Even though it is difficult to tell for sure how the media industry is going to evolve, some trends are already seen. Here are the most fascinating of them.
There are already changes in how people consume media. Popular streaming channels and streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu are replacing traditional television, and such social media platforms and apps as TikTok produce accessible video content that is already more popular than text. Rachel hopes that in some time, Cointelegraph will have a physical location in one of the metaverses, and users will be able to come there to get some merch, watch news clips, and experience everything on their own.
Communication professionals forecast that in the future, the means of visual communication will continue developing, and the popularity of online video platforms will be growing.
Traditional news outlets will learn to benefit from the emerging technologies and might even establish virtual offices or newsrooms in the metaverse, offering more immersive interactive digital experiences to their audience.
Digital advertising is expected to benefit from its presence in virtual worlds greatly. The current industry professionals are already making the first steps in the metaverse, and the results are impressive.
Communication specialists and marketers can effectively communicate with their existing and potential audiences and collect key insights on users’ wishes and expectations.
Further, the received data is analyzed and used to provide key insights on what is important to users. The data analytics results will be further applied to create effective outreach campaigns and provide users with relevant and less intrusive advertising.
Brands can open their departments in a virtual world and thus enable direct communication with their clients and interested persons.
For now, famous fashion brands have started growing their presence in virtual spaces to provide users with unique experiences. As an example, it is possible to use your own avatars to try on branded clothes, drive a new car, and similar.
The application of the mobile-first strategy will expand the target audience by including also those users who don’t have access to computers and will turn mobile video marketing into a major advertising channel.
Journalism hasn’t changed much throughout the ages – all until virtual reality and augmented reality stepped in. With the application of specific software and hardware, VR recreates environments, and AR enhances physical images. VR can bring viewers closer to the event location and provide immersive experiences.
Constantin reminds us that there are practices of performing interviews in the metaverse. Even though these occurrences aren’t frequent, but in the future, we are going to see more of them. It won’t be uncommon to see the avatars of famous people in studios and to interact with them.
New developments will help print media integrate virtual reality and augmented reality to introduce new exciting communication methods and deliver users an incomparably better user experience.
Combined, Web3 and the metaverse are shaping the future of social media. A social media platform that benefits from the newest technologies can collect all the information on user behavior and such crucial data analysis metrics as engagement, conversions, and reach.
Social media uses the incorporated insights gleaned from such data to predict news cycles, improve PR tactics, and create more effective outreach campaigns, thus shaping their own future and changing the job market.
As data analytics technologies advance, it will be possible to collect and analyze massive data volumes to improve the online communication degree between media and customers.
The digital media industry continues evolving, and there is no doubt that the metaverse offers social media giants immense resources. However, the mainstream introduction and adoption of new technologies by social media platforms stumbles over several challenges.
Privacy is one of the main benefits that customers want to enjoy in a metaverse, and indeed, users will have more control over their virtual identities, the information they provide, or the content they create.
It is a challenge for digital media managers and marketers because they rely on data provided by users to create a specific advertising campaign.
Accessibility is another challenge that has to be handled in the near future.
For now, only tech-savvy audience is able to navigate confidently the complexities of Web3 and the metaverse.
However, people are willing to learn new technologies if their benefits are clear, and thus, overcoming this challenge is just a matter of time.
As soon as the presence of online media grows in the virtual world, and it becomes available from mobile devices, people will willingly switch to new social media channels even though it may require some learning. And with the development of more user-friendly interfaces, social media in the metaverse may become mainstream.
Finally, users would like to participate in decision-making processes in the metaverse.
It may be the main challenge for social media managers because, in the modern world, social media is managed mainly by a couple of social media giants, and it is unlikely that they would give up control easily.
They determine the current and future media concepts driving the market, the ways of digital advertising, social media messages that shall be communicated to the public, and other aspects of the media world. It is needed to find viable ways to transfer this control over content to users while preserving its quality.
Web3 offers effective solutions to some issues.
So, decentralized governance may solve the problem of users’ participation in determining how the virtual versions of media platforms will develop and the type of content they will provide. Decentralized storage will allow storing content without any possibility of data alteration , and content creators will become also content owners.
Decentralization, one of the main characteristics of Web3, can contribute greatly to the promotion of free speech and democratizing access to information. It, in turn, can lead to the development of a more equitable and open media landscape.
The metaverse could offer new avenues for audience engagement. Constantin again mentioned Cointelegraph as an example, and Rachel speculated what direction the development of this media platform could take.
It can make media consumption more interactive by applying augmented reality and virtual reality and allowing users to participate in news online, discussions in real-time mode, interacting with brands, and similar.
Platforms will use real-time data to provide the most updated information to users, and the application of mobile video will ensure enhanced user engagement.
Rachel believes that Web3 and the metaverse have potential real-world applications that go beyond the current hype. These technologies are going to change the way companies interact with the public and, eventually, will modify the entire industry.
Indeed, these technologies have already impacted traditional communication professions by shifting the focus on creating relationships with customers instead of just informing users. Content creation (particularly video creation) will be decentralized and rely on customers for rewards.
Web3 and the metaverse are evolving and impacting all industries, with media being influenced by these new developments heavily. It is still difficult to forecast what direction this development is going to take, but for sure, there will be many obstacles and challenges. For now, we can work to handle those challenges and to make media more accessible and reliable.
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