ian Profile picture
Aug 31, 2018 12 tweets 3 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
1/ For years, people have been waiting and hoping for crypto's "Netscape" moment. The gateway to the web that brought the internet to the main stream.

IMHO, looking for the Netscape for the #crypto space is not a relevant or applicable analogy. Here's why...
2/ The way people imagine crypto's "Netscape moment" is very literal: as a window, gateway, or browser (just like Netscape) to easily acquire, save, and use crypto and access the decentralized web.
3/ But that sounds a lot like a wallet and exchange, which already exists. And yet, even with these onramps and "browsers" into crypto, we haven't had that "Netscape moment" people are hoping for in terms of mass adoption.
4/ So I'd suggest that there is a different way to define the internet's "Netscape moment"...
5/ ...I'd define it as the moment when everyday, non-technical people could easily interact with web-based services, and there was a "hero moment" and realization that it enabled them to now do things they previously couldn't. It was in that moment that their lives were changed.
6/ I had a similar experience in 2007 when I finally tried an iPhone for the first time and realized I could search maps, browse the internet, text message, and email on my phone. I immediately thought, "OMG how can I go back and live without this?" (as I looked @ my Blackberry)
7/ Using this lens, crypto-based services are not easy for non-technical people to interact with today. And secondly, many of them are not yet enabling people to do things they previously could not (or at least at a level of any significance relative to existing alternatives).
8/ So IMHO, crypto's "Netscape moment" is not an interface or browser. It is a specific service or ecosystem of services that enable people to do and experience substantially new and better things that they previously could not today, with existing centralized services.
9/ And that's the problem. We're not there yet because aside from trading, not enough crypto services are enabling people to do or experience something truly different. We'll get there, but people need to think about how to mainstream the tech differently.
10/ We are still in an infrastructure building phase, but we @ideocolab have high conviction that there are several verticals, such as gaming, that will bring crypto to the mainstream sooner and in different ways than people think. If you want to learn more, DM me.
11/ So in summary, when looking for crypto's "Netscape", don't just think about:

- interfaces
- browsers
- onramps
- buying, trading, using
- etc
12/ Think about:

- new to world user experiences
- jobs that cannot be done today
- user friendly interactions
- non-technical usability
- "hero moments"
- things people after experiencing it feel like they cannot live without

{end}

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More from @ianDAOs

Aug 28, 2018
Proud to be among a growing list of @UCBerkeley @BerkeleyHaas leaders in #blockchain & #crypto. Pls add others! Go Bears!

@dawnsongtweets (Oasis)
@adamludwin (Chain)
@veradittakit (Pantera)
@MaxFangX (B@B, Dekrypt)
@ronenkirsh (B@B, Dekrypt)
@AshleyLannquist (MOBI, WEF)
...?
@adambsterling (UCB Law)
@douggalen (RippleWorks)
@kristykim1015 (Kinetic)
@chartouche (BitPesa)
Read 4 tweets
Aug 27, 2018
1/ In the early 2000s, @ideo pioneered a process for venture development referred to as the "3 Circles" of Desirability, Viability & Feasibility (ideou.com/blogs/inspirat…). #crypto has a long way to go across all, but right now it is really struggling with the first: Desirability.
2/ Desirability is the question of "Do people want it?" and asks, what is the unique value proposition? How do people hear about, learn, try, buy, use, love, and share it? What are its functional but also emotional benefits? How is it 10x better than the current user experience?
3/ Iterating to product-market fit requires testing & ultimately proving at each stage of development that all three are true (it's desirable, feasible & viable) and work together. In the early stages of a venture, this means building evidence that they will be true in the future
Read 13 tweets
Aug 14, 2018
1/ Should we be that surprised with what's going on right now with #ETH and ICOs generally? This is what happens when you have $10B+ raised via ICOs in the last 12 months, no treasury management, no product (or users), and liquid/publicly traded market caps and "shares" (tokens).
2/ #crypto is great for the digital world, but for now (and some time), teams and their employees need fiat to pay for real, non-digital things like rent, food, services, transportation, etc.
3/ I expect this decline to last for another 3-6 months as a growing pipeline of teams both (A) have their non-fiat runways cut by 60-80%, which, if they raised enough for 2 years, is now only 4-9 months, and (B) need to extend their fiat runways by another 12-24 months to ship.
Read 10 tweets
Aug 6, 2018
There is a lot of excitement in “money tokens” and “privacy coins”, and while I agree that those are useful and valuable (to a point), my question is: how many different money and privacy coins does the world *actually* want and need? It’s greater than 1, but less than thousands.
2/ By comparison, today there are ~180 fiat currencies recognized by the U.N. representing ~$90 trillion, ~92% of which is digital.
3/ I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts, but I only see a few scenarios where we have more than 180 money tokens...
Read 9 tweets
Aug 3, 2018
1/ I believe the reason we are not seeing any movement in the price of #bitcoin from today's mega announcement from @NYSE @Starbucks @Microsoft @BCG is because #crypto now values delivery (scarce) over talk (abundant) fortune.com/longform/nyse-…
2/ In traditional markets, public announcements are often made only after material results and impact are delivered, whereas in the crypto markets, public announcements have been used as a means to raise money (to start to build, execute, and deliver)
3/ Crypto markets and investors have become so desensitized to public announcements and press releases about the intent to deliver future products and code, that announcements (even ones as significant as this one today) are bucketed into the "huh, that will be cool" category
Read 8 tweets
Aug 1, 2018
1/ Protocols, funds, and large #crypto companies are either thinking about or are in the process of launching their own incubators and startup accelerators. Some will be protocol specific; others will be agnostic. Here's the case for why and when this will/won't make sense.
2/ First off, while this is a new trend, history rhymes, and we may have seen this movie (or at least a similar one) before: the rise, fall, and refactoring of corporate innovation labs and corporate accelerator programs over the last 10 years.
3/ While #crypto is certainly different and its properties as a open platform will enable new types of opportunities, specifically around collaboration, interoperability, and cross-chain asset exchange, there are still many learnings we can draw from corporate labs/accelerators.
Read 34 tweets

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