🍨The Social Turbo-Booster of the Web3 Universe is here!

After two looong weeks, we’re back with a new edition of The Geral. Yet another eventful period of time in web3, which notably saw Ripple “win” its case against the SEC. Yes, it is nice to see your crypto wallet slightly go back up with this news, but the best part? Definitely seeing Gary take his first L in a court of law. Looks like the SEC will have a busy off-season, with some obvious trades to make…

Anyway, if you’re reading The Geral, you’re definitely not one of those tech bros who pivoted from unemployment to crypto, then from crypto to AI, to ultimately pivot back to crypto. So let’s dive into the core events that unfolded in the world of Web3 communities.

Coverage:

• The Web3 Social Scene is Exploding with Lens Leading the Charge

• The EU Holds its Ground - Staying True to Its Web3 Regulatory Strategy

• Mastercard's Web3 Accelerator Hits the High Notes in the Music World!

• Why you should ditch Discourse for a better alternative

The social layer of web3 is booming with Lens

If you’re in Paris at ETHCC, you’ve probably heard of it. If you’re not there, no need to envy those who could make it, we brought the news directly to your desk. One big (maybe the single biggest) thing web3 brings to the table is a different relationship between users and their data. With that deeply in mind, DeFi giant Aave just unveiled the latest version of Lens: Lens V2.

Lens is a technology stack built on Polygon that allows developers to build web3 social apps. Leaving all the jargon aside, Lens allows builders and creators to own and take their personal data with them across different apps. Think about it, all the LinkedIn credentials you worked hard to feature on your profile and even your foodp*rn Instagram story highlights are all owned by these giant platforms. The day they decide to close your account, you lose it all. And that’s what Lens is here to solve.

What’s new about Lens V2 is the capacity to bring external smart contracts, a bunch of improvements to profiles and monetization functionalities. The goal is to help the emergence of new web3 social apps that won’t have to take the near-impossible battle of snatching customers from existing apps. Since users will be able to freely move across platforms, carrying their data with them, it looks like a totally new landscape in tech is about to emerge.

Are we noticing the initial indications of the decline of web2 social media giants?

EU stays in line with its web3 regulatory strategy

Creating a comprehensive framework for web3 regulations is a challenge that all jurisdictions are facing. Some are just doing better than others…

And the European Union is not lagging behind. After revealing its Market in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, the European Commission took the lead and introduced regulations around Metaverse developments.

It is estimated by the organization that the Metaverse will be a market exceeding $800 billion (yes, only that) by 2030 and the motivation behind this framework is to prevent big tech companies from monopolizing the new value creation. To do so, 23 recommendations were framed to support societal progress and virtual public services brought by web3 and the Metaverse. Always good to see regulators take a head start and try to actually understand the tech, right?

Mastercard’s web3 accelerator gets into the music industry

Web3’s benefits for creators are endless, from the creation of new revenue streams to the ability to interact with fans with more transparency and many more.

The Mastercard Artist accelerator, which was announced earlier this year, just released 5 new singles as NFTs to mark the potential transition of the music industry to a decentralized world. The best part about this? More than 100,000 people minted the initial Mastercard Music NFT Pass already. A marketplace for these digital assets will also be made available by the company, allowing for the free trading of those NFTs. Seems like one of the rare instances where customers, artists and mega-corporations are all winning, isn’t it?

Best practices for your web3 community

Many of us have grown up using forums on a regular basis. Truly one of the first tools that enabled people to feel part of an online community and one of the longest-lasting trends.

But here is some general advice if you’re in web3: you should totally avoid using web2 tool and just try to “make it work” when a native alternative is presented to you. And that’s also applicable to forums. Ditch Discourse and similar platforms for CharmVerse, which has an embedded token-gated forum just for your community with better media capabilities. It’s way cooler and easier so seems like a no-brainer to us…

Cool Stuff Seen on CharmVerse

If you’ve been following The Geral since the first editions, you already know about this and if you haven’t… it just shows why you should subscribe.

A couple of months back, we told you about BitDAO, the largest DAO in terms of treasury who launched Mantle, a supercharged and flexible L2 blockchain, not later than a week ago. The project looks as solid as it can be and is already worth over $1 billion in terms of market cap valuation. But that’s not why we are here. CharmVerse just launched on Mantle Mainnet, which means that Mantle users can now access the all-in-one platform for onboarding and engaging community members, while benefiting from Mantle Network’s high performances.

Memes of the month

After all the mental gymnastics that The Geral provokes thanks to its unmatched insights on web3 communities, it’s only fair to relax with some of the finest memes found on the net.

Serious question first: does anyone know where we really are in this cycle?

Let’s remember about a year ago exactly, when everyone was like:

At least, it’s working out for some of us…

The type of sources people get trade advice from:

And that’s a wrap for this banging newsletter! See you in a couple weeks for more web3 community news, fire memes and best practices.