Thread by @ianjohnlee

1/ For years, people have been waiting and hoping for crypto's "Netscape" moment. The gateway to the web that brought the internet to the main stream.

IMHO, looking for the Netscape for the #crypto space is not a relevant or applicable analogy. Here's why...

2/ The way people imagine crypto's "Netscape moment" is very literal: as a window, gateway, or browser (just like Netscape) to easily acquire, save, and use crypto and access the decentralized web.

3/ But that sounds a lot like a wallet and exchange, which already exists. And yet, even with these onramps and "browsers" into crypto, we haven't had that "Netscape moment" people are hoping for in terms of mass adoption.

4/ So I'd suggest that there is a different way to define the internet's "Netscape moment"...

5/ ...I'd define it as the moment when everyday, non-technical people could easily interact with web-based services, and there was a "hero moment" and realization that it enabled them to now do things they previously couldn't. It was in that moment that their lives were changed.

6/ I had a similar experience in 2007 when I finally tried an iPhone for the first time and realized I could search maps, browse the internet, text message, and email on my phone. I immediately thought, "OMG how can I go back and live without this?" (as I looked @ my Blackberry)

7/ Using this lens, crypto-based services are not easy for non-technical people to interact with today. And secondly, many of them are not yet enabling people to do things they previously could not (or at least at a level of any significance relative to existing alternatives).

8/ So IMHO, crypto's "Netscape moment" is not an interface or browser. It is a specific service or ecosystem of services that enable people to do and experience substantially new and better things that they previously could not today, with existing centralized services.

9/ And that's the problem. We're not there yet because aside from trading, not enough crypto services are enabling people to do or experience something truly different. We'll get there, but people need to think about how to mainstream the tech differently.

10/ We are still in an infrastructure building phase, but we @ideocolab have high conviction that there are several verticals, such as gaming, that will bring crypto to the mainstream sooner and in different ways than people think. If you want to learn more, DM me.

11/ So in summary, when looking for crypto's "Netscape", don't just think about:

- interfaces
- browsers
- onramps
- buying, trading, using
- etc

12/ Think about:

- new to world user experiences
- jobs that cannot be done today
- user friendly interactions
- non-technical usability
- "hero moments"
- things people after experiencing it feel like they cannot live without

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