I have been reflecting a lot on the presence of social media in our lives, the hold that Meta’s algorithms have over us. I’ve been feeling discouraged by their use of Dark UX to manipulate us into using the apps for their profits over our best interest as creators, small businesses, and users.
Luckily, social media is part of what we call the “Web2” era and we are peering into the eye of the storm. We are at the dawn of “Web3”.
Now don’t close the email just yet - this isn’t going to be some crackpot complicated email mansplaining crypto to you (trust me, the tech bros are great at this). But rather, a hopeful gaze into the future of what these mysterious “NFT” beings could actually do for us, as creators and small business owners.
The philosophy of web3
In “Web 1” era, we were reading blogs and articles that companies created. We were consumers of content but weren’t actively creating on the internet.
In the “Web 2” era, when social media came around, using the internet was no longer just consuming content but co-creating it on message boards, tumblr, reddit, facebook and instagram. This was amazing for launching the creator economy and finally empowering anyone to create their art online. Whether that is coaching, teaching, digital artwork, design, writing, you name it.
The problem is that we are consuming-creating for free while the social media giants benefit from our ability to attract attention, by selling ads and making profits off of our backs. Instagram wants you to create for free so that they can have more users, so that they can sell more ads.
Social media as we know it is patriarchal and top-down.
It’s time for a new system that is de-centralized, empowering and built for creators.
In the “Web3” era, currently being built on the backbone of blockchain technology (and subsequently crypto and NFTs) we are looking at a whole new system where we own and benefit from the content we create.
We won’t need to be dependent on social algorithms
We won’t need to succumb to big tech giants’ profit-driven interests
We won’t need to endlessly create and consume for free in the hopes that one day our abundance is unlocked.
Even when it comes to collaborating and contracts with folks we meet on the internet, DAOs are very promising for decentralizing organizations and removing the patriarchal power structures that exist in the social media spheres right now.
I know it all sounds confusing. The bells and whistles of how it works + what NFTs even are, are still a mystery to me too.
I know crypto feels like astrology for cis het white bros.
But I choose to be hopeful about it and continue to research it because I am so done with social media.
The foggy mysterious nature of NFTs will become clearer as Instagram continues to disintegrate.
My intention is to give you a spark of hope too. Don’t worry so much about the details, look rather at the big picture - web3 is a promising future.
For now, what we can do is think about using more evergreen strategies for our businesses with tools that act as search engines rather than social algorithms like Pinterest + Youtube, and having great SEO on our websites.
If you are interested in web3, NFTs, blockchain, DAOs, or crypto please reach out to me as I would love to start a small community to learn about it together and share resources. Heck I haven’t even opened a wallet and don’t own 1 cent of cryptocurrency but it is a big goal for me in 2022!
Announcements
Shanat Martin, my business coach, has opened up the doors to her membership community Happiness Sisterhood. It’s a french-speaking community for women entrepreneurs in the wellness industry. It’s the perfect place to connect with other soulpreneurs in Quebec and France. I am one of two resident experts in the sisterhood. I host a monthly Tech Q&A session to teach about various topics (like SEO, Pinterest, email list building, website tips, and more). If you have any questions please respond to this email I would be happy to help! Or reach out to Shanat directly.
My podcast interview with Jaime Moar is out! We had a great chat about human design, and my journey to fully embracing my identity as the website witch. Lots of little nuggets of wisdom in there I am sure you will find amusing!
You can also listen on Apple by clicking above or on Spotify here!
Reyna Collective, a project I have had the pleasure of co-creating with Nicole Benisch, is launching next Tuesday with a free meditation event for the Winter Solstice. Expect a guided meditation by Nicole to meet the spirit of Myrrh and to be held by the powerful community she has curated thus far. The website will be launching very soon and dare I say it is one of the designs I am most proud of in 2021.
My Intro to SEO workshop is still up at the discounted rate of 44$ (+ tax if you are in Canada). I will be re-recording it and transferring to Teachable over the holidays. If you have already purchased it or purchase before December 21, you will have access to Teachable AND get a discount on the Part 2 which will be available in January!
Other fun projects that have launched recently:
Desiree Ruiz’s website for supporting women to find the freedom and guilt-free confidence to put themselves first and remember what sparks them joy, so that they can live a life with no regret.
A mini re-design of Librairie St Henri’s website
I designed my first print and online ads for CIRAIG’s special feature in Le Devoir
Our cabin blog Dans le nord has reached 1400 followers on Tiktok!!!