Aug 29, 2019 · 15m · a16z
Social Networking in 2030: How Could Crypto Change Things?
0:00 / 0:00
▶ Watch on YouTube →
gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this presentation at the a16z Crypto Regulatory Summit, Chris Dixon argues that blockchain technology and token economics will fundamentally transform social networking by 2030, shifting control and financial ownership from centralized tech monopolies back to users and open-source communities.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The host as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.0 Guest disagreement 0.2 The host pushing back 0.0
speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:10 Rejection of closed platform developer ecosystems
Dixon forcefully dismisses the idea that venture capitalists would fund tools for Twitter or Facebook, explaining how centralized platforms expropriate third-party developer value.
Hardest push from the host ▶ 6:09 Audience member prompts platform breakdownAn audience member provides the episode's only direct prompt by asking 'Why?', forcing Dixon to clarify why closed networks destroy external business models.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 2:15 Dixon dissects modern corporate security modelsDixon educates listeners on the systemic flaw of modern security by comparing it to building walls around a village's gold and hoping doors stay shut.
The host holds their own ▶ 5:30 Dixon details Postini and open protocol historyDixon demonstrates deep venture and technical domain knowledge by detailing how Gmail's anti-spam tech originated from Postini on open email protocols.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The host as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The host pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What We Thought Social Networking Would Be | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chris Dixon delivers a solo presentation introducing the history of Web 1 and Web 2 social networking while outlining current issues like de-platforming and privacy failures. Because this is a monologue presentation without a host speaking, all host-related metrics and combativeness scores remain at zero. | |
| Problems With Ownership and Incentives | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Dixon compares Web 2 economic lock-in with open protocols like SMTP, answering a brief one-word question from an audience member regarding platform incentives. Host participation is non-existent during this monologue segment, keeping host scores at zero. | |
| Where Crypto Fits In: Aligning User Economics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dixon explains how crypto protocols align economic interests and solve the cold-start bootstrap problem for startup networks using token rewards. As a host-less monologue, host pushback and expertise metrics are strictly zero. | |
| Solves Governance Issues: Community Control | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dixon details decentralized governance models and argues for competitive market-based content moderation over centralized company product managers. The host is not present in the dialogue, resulting in zero host scores. | |
| Beyond Social Networking: Future Web3 Applications | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dixon outlines future Web3 applications beyond social media, including game streaming and AI data marketplaces, before concluding his talk. With no host interaction throughout the segment, host scores remain zero. |
Statements from this episode (12)
Dixon: Crypto will transform social networking by 2030
“This transformation will take a while, ah, we're the sort of, we're in the early stages, and so that's why I put 20, 30 in the title. But, ah, but I think all the pieces are in place, and we're on a clear path to get there over the next, next decade.”
Dixon: The internet is entering Web3, driven primarily by crypto
“A lot of people like me think we're now entering web three, which is primarily around sort of things like crypto.”
Dixon: Centralized perimeter data security models are failing
“This model that we've had for the last 20 years of sort of putting, the way I describe it as putting the gold in the village, and then building a big wall around the village, and hoping nobody leaves the door open, is basically the security model of the modern…”
Dixon: Venture model denies upside to early network contributors
“The model for these business models for these companies is essentially baked around, you know, advertising and transaction fees, and they're, you know, sort of traditional companies that are funded by people like us, like venture capitalists and entrepreneurs,…”
Dixon: AI automation will exacerbate digital platform economic inequality
“You know, I think it's very likely on the current path, these issues will get probably exacerbated. New technologies like artificial intelligence are likely to automate a lot of jobs, and I think these issues and the issues in the prior slide, you'll, I think …”
Dixon: VCs will not fund third-party tools for closed platforms
“You will not see any VC. We have not funded. No one will fund an anti-spam solution for Twitter or Facebook.”
Dixon: Crypto combines Web1 open protocols with economic incentives
“One way to think about crypto is it's like those open protocols of the first year of the web, but then it adds a whole bunch of interesting, new, very powerful features.”
Dixon: Traditional payment systems cannot operationally replicate token incentive mechanisms
“You couldn't do this with a credit card or something like this. It just wouldn't, it wouldn't work operationally. It wouldn't work financially. This is a new thing that didn't exist until recently.”
Dixon: Token incentives will become a powerful go-to-market strategy
“This promises hopefully to be a very powerful new kind of go-to-market tool for entrepreneurs.”
Dixon: Crypto will reinvent Airbnb, WhatsApp, and Lyft by 2030
“Hospitality, services like Airbnb, messaging, things like WhatsApp, ride sharing, services like Lyft, you know, I think all of these, I believe we'll see over the next decade, all of these things kind of reinvented.”
Dixon: PewDiePie joined a crypto streaming platform for community ownership
“One of the top game streamers recently moved over to a crypto version of game streaming, precisely because this guy named PewDiePie, most popular person on YouTube because, precisely because he can be part of, for the reasons I articulated here, that he moved …”