From Web2 to Web3: Rethinking Your Favorite Apps and Services

What a time to be alive! If you're a millennial like me and lived through the internet boom, followed by the social media explosion, you can only be excited about Web3. And if you aren't, you probably don't know enough about it.

With Web3, we have an opportunity - according to the Ethereum Foundation, "most of the Web that people know and use today relies on trusting a handful of private companies to act in the public's best interests. At its core, Web3 uses blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs to give power back to the users in the form of ownership."

As an active proponent of the movement and a traveler who has attended several conferences, meet-ups, and events around Europe and Switzerland, I have had the immense pleasure of getting to meet companies who are doing something radical - reimagining some of our favorite Web2 apps and services in a decentralized way.

I want to share with you the ones I find to be most interesting, from social media to email to messaging to banking - let's take a closer look at how all of these are being rebuilt in a Web3-ready way!

1. Social Media Alternative - Appics

APPICS turns the traditional social media hierarchy around by giving its users the opportunity to receive financial compensation directly from their content and engagement, earning real revenue from receiving “likes” directly via blockchain technology.

"APPICS is a reward-based social media app that introduces a new ecosystem which merges lifestyle, passion, and user-generated income inside a single mobile application. Unlike any other popular social media site, where 100% of the platform’s value and revenue goes to the corporate shareholders, APPICS enables all users to earn a fair share of the overall revenue, as well as creative influence within the network, through their reward-token 'APX.'" - APPICS.

I met one of the co-founders as the company is based in Switzerland, where I live, and it seems really cool! This is what we all want to see - content creators getting rewarded rather than corporates like Facebook!

2. Messaging Alternative - SendingMe

Decentralized, private and secure, SendingMe is the Web3 native community chat app you need to engage, transact with and reward your community. Let your community members message, and manage digital assets all in one place while maintaining full ownership of their interactions.

SendingMe has incorporated some pretty amazing features which we would all love to see in a messaging app, including fully decentralized and encrypted group chats, allowing users to truly own their data, and the opportunity to swap coins, tokens, or NFTs. I cannot wait to try it out and think it is such a good use of blockchain tech - I would love to be able to interact with others on another level, being able to send crypto via the app.

I met someone from their team last year and am happy to say that I will soon be trying it out for myself.

3. Email Alternative - EtherMail

EtherMail is the first email solution setting the standard for anonymous and encrypted wallet-to-wallet communication.EtherMail allows fully anonymous and encrypted P2P communication and rewards its users for reading relevant content in their inbox.

I personally think this is one service we all use on a daily basis and which truly does need to be revisited and brought into Web3. There are so many concerns surrounding phishing attacks, spamming, and privacy concerns, and Web3 can fix all of them.

Ethermail offers an electronic folder backed by on-chain events where emails are received and held by a Web3 user. Blockchain synced real-time information directly into your inbox - all sounds very promising, and they are growing super fast! Met their team at NFC Lisbon 23 and found them to be really cool.

4. Notion Alternative - AnyType

Notion is a single space where you can think, write, and plan. Capture thoughts, manage projects, or even run an entire company — and do it exactly the way you want. AnyType is a Web3 alternative where "your very own set of tools to build and explore the new internet. From private notes to decentralized communities."

So, the wonderful thing here is that with AnyType you can access a ton of great features (such as blogging, task managers, and a community page) all in a truly decentralized way, which allows you to really own your content.

As they write in their mission statement, "When each of us creates an article, a post, or a tweet, the whole system creates much more value than just the sum of its parts. This is how we get powerful search engines, great maps, recommendations, and our social graph. That is why the biggest software companies are worth trillions of dollars and are more powerful than most of the states — they own this positive sum that we, the people, created. It doesn’t have to be this way. We have the technologies to build a different world, free of borders and big tech. A world built on the principles of freedom, sustainability, co-creation, and trust."

5. Banking Alternative - Fiat24

Fiat24 is your global payment app. Using the Arbitrum (Ethereum Layer 2) network, Fiat24 lets you transfer money instantly, unlocking new ways to pay, get paid and convert your money. No need to download any app, Fiat24 is an decentralised app (dApp) and can be accessed in any browser or your favorite crypto wallet.

Finally, we have a banking alternative - traditional banks store all client data on a single and centralized server. This means that backend databases are exposed to a single point of failure. Fiat24 has reimagined "banking," enabling clients to connect via their preferred crypto wallets and use an NFT to identify themselves.

This offers a unique connection between TradFi and DeFi, bridging the gap between self-custody and traditional payment handling via bank wire transfers and a Visa debit card. A cool approach to next-generation payments.

Endless Use Cases

These are just 5 examples, but Web3 and Blockchain technology has so many use cases that we are probably only just skimming the surface right now!

I continue to work in the space, meet awesome new people, and get more enthralled by where all of this amazing building is taking us. Because I, for one, don't want to hand over all my data and power to the hands of the few. I want to be a part of the generation working hard to put ownership and control back in the hands of the people.

Watch this space!