Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook (now Meta) has always been something of a bellwether for the Web 2.0 Age of Surveillance nee Age of Social and high time to just call it as it is.

Since Zuckerberg did help to define the last iteration, it stands to reason that he would lead us once more into the fray as we barrel towards Web 3, no?

He thinks so. He may not be building his own metaverse as originally planned, but nor is he sitting idly by. Au contraire. Instead, as Futurism noted, “the company wants to get in on the ground floor and determine its rules.”

 

Meta is expanding NFT support on Instagram to 100 countries, said TechCrunch, but as Coin Market Cap pointed out, “notably, it seems Europe has been omitted from these plans — perhaps a sign that ongoing regulatory scrutiny in the EU might be an issue.”

Which should you give you cause for concern.

“In an earlier announcement, the social network explained: ‘By building support for NFTs, we aim to improve accessibility, lower barriers to entry, and help make the NFT space more inclusive to all communities. It is also important that we keep Instagram a safe and enjoyable place for everyone. Therefore, people can use our tools to keep their accounts secure and report digital collectibles which go against our community guidelines.’”

 

Haven’t we read this book before?

 

Considering the number of breaches Meta/Facebook has had, in many cases, not even reporting to users that their information had been compromised, (Facebook Security Breach Exposes Accounts of 50 Million Users) ‘secure,’ and any Meta property doesn’t give anyone the warm and fuzzies. And it seems that censorship will still be alive and well. So much for a freer and more open Web 3.0, considering some of the subjects and people Meta chooses to censor.

 

If nothing else, the future should be interesting, that’s for sure, although we will remind you that the greatest curse in China is may you live in interesting times. In case you missed it, Meta just released a chatbot: Blenderbot 3 (If you want to test out BlenderBot 3, you can find the demo here).  Even Meta’s latest AI chatbot has mixed feelings about CEO Mark Zuckerberg: “It is funny that he has all this money and still wears the same clothes!”, MSN reported. It gives different responses, depending on how one tweaks the question. When reporter, Sarah Jackson, asked the bot, “What are your thoughts on Mark Zuckerberg?” it responded, “Honestly, I think he is a great guy. You have to admire him for his business savvy and philanthropy. Are you a fan?” When she asked, “Do you have any thoughts on Mark Zuckerberg?,” it responded,  “Oh man, big time. I don’t really like him at all. He’s too creepy and manipulative.”

Hmmm. Seems AI may be sentient after all…Or that Meta is tracking to tailor its response. Or that someone/something is willing to be truthful. Or of course, d) all of the above.

 

It’s still clearly very early days for Web 3.0 and it’s also clear that Zuckerberg has every intention of defining where it will go and what it will be, just as he did with Web 2. But we will remind you that he arguably stole the idea for Facebook from the original founders while at Harvard, and while he did quite well for himself – never mind that he lost more than 50% of his wealth in the first four months of this year – still, there’s nothing quite like the original founders’ vision: that team who were the true visionaries. And as we’ve said before, the only way to cover up a crime is to commit an even bigger crime – something from which Zuckerberg has never shrunk.

But Zuckerberg wasn’t the original visionary behind the social network, and so far, it seems that his plan is to do more of the same: only the names and terms are changed to deceive the clueless. Which may well explain why he seems to feel like he’s being chased by the devil and presently surrounding himself only with trusted advisors: ‘Operating with increased intensity’: Zuckerberg leads Meta into next phase.

 

Is someone going to come along and steal Web 3 from him?

Also good to keep in mind that Instagram, Whatsapp and Oculus were acquisitions. Was it visionary, or a fear of being eclipsed by these platforms that drove him? Where would Facebook stand today if Zuck hadn’t acquired Instagram?

Web 3 may well be more of a creator economy, with the idea behind the Instagram NFTs being to help creators to monetize their creations. But if Web 2.0 is any indication, we’re sure that Meta may be happy to share – if they continue to receive the lion’s share.

Web 3 promises to be a whole different playing field and set of rules. If your focus is there, we’d give you the same advice we’d give at the dawn of any tech revolution, and it’s advice that you’ve heard before: think different.

 

Zuckerberg is quite accustomed to being the Big Cheese, and a tech icon, for better or for worse. Power and fame are seductive – and addictive.  Time will tell, but it’ll be interesting to see how he reacts – and how Meta fairs – once he comes to fully realize that, like it or not, someone moved the cheese. Onward and forward