New Tech New Game: How Sport Can Harness the Full Potential of Web3

The potential of web3 heralds a fundamental change in how we engage, much too how the emergence of social media, fueled by the proliferation of smartphones, altered our digital experiences 20 years ago.

Reporter John Markoff of The New York Times first used the term "Web 3.0" in 2006. It is a brand-new evolution of the Web that combines particular technologies and behaviors. This version of the Internet is indeed referred to as the read-write-execute version. The primary goal of Web 3.0 is to deliver good user utility and anonymity. Seven key characteristics characterize Web 3.0. Blockchain, Artificial intelligence, Semantic Web, 3D Graphics, Ubiquitous connections, Edge Computing.

MKTG Sports + Entertainment surveyed industry professionals from brands, agencies, and rights holders working in more than 30 countries to better understand the state of the game. It discovered one industry that was having trouble integrating with another and released its results along with a best practice guide for web3 collaborations to assist close the gap. Sandra Greer, the head of insight at MKTG, stated: "Sports organizations are testing the market for web3 and very few are ruling it out. There are obstacles and difficulties to overcome, such as a lack of information and competence as well as understanding how to value, and clearly define benefits, and legal ramifications.

The study indicated that while nearly one-third of brand marketers (29%) claimed to have "no expertise at all" in this domain, 50% of the sector is worried about bad press linked to relationships with web3 companies like crypto exchanges, fan tokens, or establishing NFTs.

Even though web 3.0 and Metaverse technology are still in their infancy and have not yet reached their full potential. Sports organizations are, however, already looking into how they can use their resources and communities to their advantage to boost fan involvement and engagement with new technologies. We recently held a Careers Symposium with the Loughborough University London Sports Business Institute, and one of the topics we covered was the growing interest among sports organizations in developing virtual environments and using avatars to create immersive experiences in virtual worlds.

Decentralization is at the core of the web 3.0 movement, hence a key trend of web 3.0 will revolve around the decentralization of data ownership and the transfer of power back to content creators from large platforms, like Facebook or YouTube. Athlete data is one illustration of how this might apply to the sports sector. Web 2.0 is being questioned more and more as more athletes lose control over their data and how it is used. For instance, when optical tracking is now employed in sports, tracking technology companies collect and analyze athlete data without the participants' knowledge. The premise of web 3.0, on the other hand, is that you take control of your content. This suggests that power will once again revert to athletes, who will be able to actively use and benefit from their data.