Dirt: Are we post-platform?

Enthusiasts of web3 emphasize that it is migratory in nature.

The “right to leave” is the hallmark of the post-platform era.

If our primary urge when we go online is to avoid remaining static, why should our content be siloed within the enclosed walls of a proprietary platform?

The ability to exit with your data intact is a core tenant of web3; web3 turns your data into your personal, programmable property.

platforms have risen to become the monolithic, centrally-managed household names that we are so familiar with—where we comfortably upload our memories and fantasies, our arguments and aspirations.

Every new advent of the web is baffling at first. Each comes with its own set of skeuomorphs, utopian aspirations, doubts, and healthy doses of skepticism.

Enter: web3, where participants use a wallet application like MetaMask, or Rainbow, to interact directly with the blockchain. Rather than logging into each individual website with an email and password, only to upload your files over again, your wallet acts as your login.

In web2, basically anyone who posts any form of content surrenders it to a continuous feedback loop wherein the platform not only owns and controls your data—it also earns a vast majority of the revenue from what you’ve created.

Nothing about the Internet is fixed, permanent, or inevitable. It is malleable, shape-shifting, and constantly evolving.