Minimally Extractive Meta

So it needs to create a model in which it takes a smaller piece of a larger pie in order to do what it does best: aggregate and monetize attention and commerce.

I think that Facebook’s hard pivot into Meta is a good thing for us citizens of the internet, not because Meta is good -- this isn’t a value judgment piece -- but because the entire system is moving in a direction such that being a good actor is the value-maximizing strategy for Meta, and we could use its vast centralized resources to solve a lot o... See more

In a world in which people are more used to ownership of their digital assets and identity, and how it makes money, Meta’s best strategy will be to operate more like a Minimally Extractive Coordinator than an extractive platform. To reach its full potential, Meta needs to disrupt Facebook by turning itself into something that behaves more like a pr... See more

Importantly, Apple likely cannot create a similar model. Apple isn’t a big interoperability fan.

It’s hard to imagine Meta as good for us if you just look at Facebook today, statically. Taking Facebook and making it 3D and immersive would blow. Imagine living inside this hellhole

Interoperability and ownership increase the value of digital assets. An NFT of a pair of sneakers should be more valuable than a pair of sneakers you buy in Fortnite, because you can use the NFT sneakers in many more places and because they have resale value.

Platforms and marketplaces have a place in web3 -- OpenSea is a multi-billion dollar company -- but it charges only 2.5% fees on transactions. More value accrues to the creator and the consumer. Web 2.0 platforms and marketplaces charge a lot more than 2.5%. Airbnb takes roughly ~15% from both sides combined. eBay, which is apparently like an OpenS... See more

But there’s an equally important force, the one that keeps OpenSea in line: competition combined with portability of assets. If OpenSea were to start charging 5% or 10% or certainly 30% to sit in between sellers and buyers, people would move their business to another platform immediately. For decentralized protocols, which are open source by defaul... See more

The more valuable the digital economy becomes, the more valuable advertising within digital worlds becomes. Businesses can afford to pay more to acquire a customer if they know they’re going to spend more. And Meta primarily makes money through ads.