1. What is a true web3 project?
The biggest problem with current web3 projects is that the central content of all projects is built on web2 infrastructure. Imagine if the platform server goes down, the project could disappear. Would decentralization exist? You would lose control all at once. When platforms in various countries face force majeure cases, they have no choice but to provide data, regardless of user privacy protection clauses. If the platform's database is set up with a backdoor or attacked by external hackers, there is also a risk that all data could be destroyed immediately. Imagine if the WeChat history or Instagram history of the past 20 years were to disappear. All our memories would vanish. Therefore, we need to explore true web3. An environment where data cannot be accessed without an access key, and data that no one else can access besides oneself, has a very strong advantage. Replacing all web3 project infrastructure with web3 architecture will become the core trend.
2. So, who will succeed in true web3 storage architecture? Arweave, Filecoin, or Greenfield?
Currently, there are many projects building true web3, starting with Filecoin. However, the winner will not be Filecoin but Binance's Greenfield. Delving into the essence of Filecoin, we find that the stored data is invalid data. There is valid data and invalid data. Looking at which projects have stored valid data on Filecoin, it becomes clear that valid data does not exist. They have simply forced the construction of an ecosystem. Projects will not relocate to FVM for decentralized storage. Even if they do, the cost of operating a multi-chain is very high, and the risks are too great. This can be seen from the series of incidents with Steph's BSC and Solana multi-chain in the past. Current BSC projects can swap to Greenfield using cross-chain bridges, making it not only time-saving but also very attractive for projects that want to use it long-term at a lower price.
3. So, why does Filecoin still remain the leader in storage?
First, Filecoin is ahead in the storage space due to its technical superiority, and people have started to invest in its concept. However, due to the complexity of the storage space, even if Filecoin holds an advantage, it will ultimately remain in a pioneer position. Large companies like Huawei Technologies and Google have thousands of researchers developing and maintaining massive storage networks every year. This is not something that small and medium-sized enterprises can sustain in the long term. Secondly, while Filecoin appears to be developing applications, actual revenue is obtained through the DeFi model. There are not many teams in the blockchain industry that have actually uploaded content to Filecoin. Most people rely on Web 2.0 suppliers. Not everyone can make money through application development. Instead, they open nodes and increase token prices. In the blockchain industry, value is judged by token prices. However, price increases come with risks.
Taking the public chain battle as an example, before the rise of the current BSC, there was a period when fake DeFi projects were rampant. As BSC grows, all projects will migrate from Huobi Chain and OKEx Smart Chain to BSC. Let's analyze why new public chains find it difficult to succeed. Lack of price: New public chains do not have mainnet prices, and since BNB has a price, people will try to build applications on the BNB chain. With initial incentives, everyone can profit. BNB being the only payment currency for Greenfield: Since BNB will be the only payment currency for Greenfield, people can profit there. Stability issues: Other chains are not as stable as the BNB chain or Binance. Furthermore, some chains have experienced significant bugs a month before release. Data storage: Since all data from ongoing projects on BSC must be stored in Greenfield, the current massive user base also becomes an attractive point.
In the public chain war, why is it said that only exchanges can win? It is because a good technological framework exists first, followed by applications, rather than applications existing first and then a more optimized technological framework. Let's take Web 2.0 cloud services as an example. Currently, the market has Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, AWS Cloud, Tencent Cloud, etc. These large companies already have their own massive demand and do not share profits from this part with outsiders. Due to various needs for data, there is a need to place nodes around the world. Small and medium-sized enterprises find it difficult to handle such matters, so only large companies can execute them. Therefore, Binance, the world's largest exchange, is in the most advantageous position in this storage field.
4. Now, let's talk about why almost all manufacturers were 脱 IOE (脱 IOE means to break away from IBM, Oracle, and EMC) ten years ago.
IOE stands for IBM, ORACLE, and EMC. IBM manufactures operating systems, computers, and minicomputers, while ORACLE creates databases. You can imagine Greenfield as a database. EMC handles file storage business.
In the past, IOE was a comprehensive brand, so small and medium-sized enterprises were built under the entire IOE system, but after these SMEs grew, IOE could no longer meet all their demands. SMEs needed industry-specific services. Furthermore, IOE's services and equipment were very expensive. In the past, when teams were small, they could rent a small office for 5,000 won per person. However, when the team size reached thousands, it became cheaper to build a building than to pay per person. Therefore, large companies began to build buildings directly and develop their own cloud services.
Ultimately, all current cloud services are the result of surpassing IOE. Strictly speaking, it is not about eliminating IOE but rather reworking it at a lower level. Cloud services use their own operating systems, their own databases, and their own storage systems. In fact, it is the same as using IOE standards. They simply do not use the IOE brand. The reason why de-IOE is more important is the need for personal information protection.
5. If personal information protection issues are the core issue of public service use in web2 companies, how does web3 solve this core issue of web2?
If a small or medium-sized enterprise creates files on another web2 cloud server and extracts them from the platform, it means that the SME's ideas have been stolen. The core issue of web2 is that all companies claim to be safe while making official announcements that user personal information is stolen, yet they cannot keep that promise. This is because their code is not open, and their company mechanisms are also not disclosed. It is like a black box.
Protecting the intellectual property rights and information of startups is the most important issue. For example, suppose a company rents a small room in this building at the time of its founding. It does not matter whether they use IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) or SaaS (Software as a Service). (Here, IaaS means renting a data center, installing its own operating system, and installing its own file storage server, while SaaS means using Google Docs over the internet.) Whether using IaaS or SaaS, as long as one uses someone else's resources, everything is under someone else's supervision and completely transparent from the moment a new document is created. Users do not know what such a platform will do. Google's "Don't be evil" is an image created by advertising costs. However, due to the nature of web2 companies, it is impossible to disclose all code, and one cannot know the operational mechanisms of those companies.
What if all metadata related to content is protected by smart contracts? Access rights, usage rights, and reference rights would all be regulated by smart contracts. And when such smart contracts can be open-sourced and reviewed, true code is law will be formed.
Web3's smart contracts have broken the wall of code disclosure. There is a saying in English, "Don't do evil, cannot do evil." Why is there controversy over stock collateral loans while ICOs do not have major issues? It is because of smart contracts. The rules are transparent and can be examined. When Web3 introduces smart contracts into the storage field, the SaaS standard protocol for storage services will be open-sourced, allowing users to see inside Web3 applications and verify whether the application's authority operations over content are reasonable. This will solve the problem of user content being misused by applications and truly protect user personal information. Web3 storage services provide storage services that successfully protect personal information for SMEs starting businesses. All Web3 storage service protocols are public and can be reviewed. For others to access one's files, they must go through an access key, and without the access key, no one can access one's files. It is not impossible for others to try to access one's files. It is simply a matter of paying a certain fee based on a premise recognized by everyone.
This will truly protect user personal information and invigorate all content creation industries. The most feared thing in content creation is plagiarism. To access someone else's files, one must pay a fee and BNB. This will invigorate everything, including the music industry, gaming industry, and NFTs. Additionally, the problem of others stealing chat accounts and using chat content can also be resolved through web3 storage services. To use one's chat content, one only needs to pay a fee to obtain an access key from oneself, which can also be used for advertising.
Web3 storage is a massive market, and all industries related to storage in Web2 can be innovated anew. Data sovereignty will finally return to the hands of users, and even Greenfield cannot take it away.
6. If users regain the right to operate their own data and benefit from it, will the explosively developed AI be able to provide better services to humans?
AI consists of two main parts: one is algorithms, and the other is content. Content and algorithms combine to form AI. Essentially, all algorithms are almost the same. So, is there anything special about the current training methods? Actually, there isn't. What matters is data, and those who have data are strong. The reason Chinese AI technology excels is that there are many Chinese people, resulting in a large amount of data.
What is the essence of AI? It is large-scale models and training data. To obtain training data, large companies are competing to seize data. For example, if user data is stored with Tencent, it is the user's data, not Tencent's data.
Therefore, this is a misunderstanding of AI investment. Why is it wrong for institutions to be interested in AI? The key to AI's success lies in user rights and encouraging users to provide content, but this is impossible without web3 storage services. If data usage is not regulated by smart contracts, user data will be used for free, but why should users provide free content? The platform can use the photos uploaded by users as it wishes, but the users do not get paid. Such a business model will not last long. In the future, if the web3 storage structure is introduced, all data rights will return to users. When users upload photos, they will have to pay to view the photos, pay to use the photos, and also pay for AI recognition or AI adoption. If anyone wants to use the user's photos for their model training, they will have to pay. Since the platform has its own value, it will earn 10% of the revenue, while users will earn 90%. The platform cannot use user data for free. Furthermore, acts such as infringement of portrait rights or police requests for footage will only be possible through the user's access key. In the future, authority management may become an industry in itself, helping users manage authority across various platforms and handle operations such as receiving money.
Looking back, we viewed Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter superficially. We thought the acquisition of Twitter was a significant loss, but now we realize there was bias. Now, everything can be seen on Twitter, and it is a space for information. We are told that humanity is merely the bootloader for AI. All AIGC content from AI is based on language development that is controllable content generation and revenue distribution by us (the web3 storage platform), and UGC (user-generated content) will truly become the incubator for AIGC. And it will be protected by smart contracts, allowing humanity to earn revenue in the long term.
In fact, many companies have already realized this.
There are always opportunities to make money, but it depends on whether people can dig them out.
Therefore, storage, web3 storage, will not only change the web3 industry but also transform the entire technology industry. The foundation of AI is content, and the only way AI can control how to obtain content is through Web3-level access control and economic models. Only AI controlled by humans can be truly useful to humans. Therefore, this is truly a great opportunity that transcends the times.