Web2 runs on ads

Web3 runs on incentives

Incentives are just ads in disguise

Stay Curious // iixii // Head of Crypto at https://www.lazertechnologies.com/  // Prev: CoinDesk, Roc Nation // based @basedevo

Ads get a bad rap, but they work

Most people won’t pay upfront, so attention or data becomes the currency

Incentives just repackage this same trade: “Do this and we’ll reward you”

Whether it’s a token, a badge, or a boost, it’s still buying behavior

Crypto isn’t ad-free, it’s ads rebranded as incentives

I think the difference is, with ads, you won’t use a product if you don’t like it. But with incentives, people often use it just for the rewards. Once the incentives stop, the churn is higher than with traditional web2 ad-driven acquisition.

great point 

incentives can blur and mask the actual demand for a product or service 

this has created a lot of mirage revenue for chains/protocols that are really just creative ways to sell or distribute a token