Social Networking in 2030: How Could Crypto Change Things?

One of the most popular applications on the internet is social media, for better… and for worse. So if we were to imagine how crypto and blockchains could transform social networking in the future, how might that look? It’s still early days yet, so no one knows for sure, but there are several indicators today, and some interesting examples with email too.

So in this talk, general partner Chris Dixon — and close observer as well as entrepreneur during internet 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 — imagines social networking “in 2030”: How does decentralization change things, from business models to governance to all kinds of stakeholders and users? And how can this work beyond social networking to other applications?

This talk was originally delivered at the inaugural a16z Crypto Regulatory Summit 2019, which brings together leading crypto experts and builders, other technologists, academics, industry executives, and government officials — along with forward-thinking regulators — to foster collaboration and the exchange of ideas around this important emerging industry.

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