How Writers Can Make Money with Web3 and the Metaverse

Web3 and the Metaverse are set to revolutionize the digital world, and by taking advantage of these new technologies, content writers can make some money.

When the internet first came out, the vast majority of people didn’t realize how much their daily lives would change.

Aside from a few tech-minded people in the computer programming world, hardly anybody imagined that only a few decades later, our entire lives would be more or less digital. Now, we again stand on the precipice.

Web3 is set to be rolled out in the coming years and is sure to be standardized by the end of this decade.

Our world is about to change again, and this time the change will be even bigger than when the internet was first invented.

A host of technologies are evolving alongside the Web3 framework and are sure to play a major role in the transformation we are about to see.

These technologies include virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and cryptocurrencies, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

If this is the first time that you’re hearing about Web3, VR, AR, or NFTs, then today is a big day for you.

Do you remember the first time you heard the terms web browser, email, or Google?

You probably had no idea what those things meant, but now they are all a major part of your daily life.

In much the same way, the vocabulary mentioned above will play a major role in your life only a few short years from now.

In this article, we’re going to break down what all of these new technologies are, what these abbreviations mean, and how they will transform your life in the coming years. But this article isn’t solely dedicated to explaining Web3 and the terms associated with it. We are also going to look at what this all means for writers and content creators.

To be sure, there are fortunes to be made with Web3.

Just as mega-companies like Google and Amazon made their fortunes with Web1 and tech giants such as Facebook (Meta) and YouTube amassed unbelievable amounts of wealth with Web2, so too will the companies of tomorrow rise on the shoulders of Web3, and writers will no doubt be at the forefront when they do.

What is Web 3.0?

To understand what Web3 or Web3.0 really is, we first need to take a brief trip back in time to when the internet first came out.

On August 6^th, 1991, the internet became public.

Prior to this computer scientists had been working on the development of internet-like-esque-ish systems, such as node-to-node communication networks, that allowed early computers to communicate micro amounts of data between each other on a network, but these early systems were nothing akin to what we now know as the internet.

It was only on that pivotal day in the summer of ‘91 that the world was, for the first time, truly connected – when the world went ‘online.’

The internet that existed at this time is now known as Web1, or Web1.0.

What was Web1 like?

There can be no debate about it; Web1 changed the world in a way that no other technology ever has in human history.

The scope and scale of the ramifications of what the internet means to humanity is something we are still trying to figure out, but it’s clear that the internet is, with the possible exception of electricity, the most significant achievement ever accomplished by human beings.

The printing press, radio, television, internal combustion engine, all of these things transformed the world dramatically, but none so much as the internet.

But when the internet was first released, something very odd happened – nobody cared. At least, nobody seemed to be excited about it.

This was partially because the vast majority of people didn’t understand what it was, partially because home computers were still in their infancy and were incredibly cost-prohibitive, and partially because Web1 as a whole was pretty terrible.

It wasn’t user-friendly at all, it was entirely text-based, and download speeds were painstakingly slow, think single-digit kilobits (kb/s). So, for the average person, the internet was something that would cost them thousands of dollars and had no real-world application in their lives.

But Web1 was actually a very big deal, and it didn’t take too long for the world to catch on.

Web1 is now characterized as the first time the world saw a “web browser” that allowed people to search for information without needing to buy an encyclopedia. As such, a number of “search engines” rose to prominence; the big three were Altavista, Yahoo, and Google.

By typing something into one of these engines’ users could actually find answers to real-world problems, and for the first time, humans had within their hands the collective knowledge of humanity.

Web1 was very different from its successor Web2, the main difference being that Web1 didn’t allow for user-entered data, meaning that only people who knew how to code, which was virtually nobody in those early days, could create a web page, and even then, those webpages could only display text, and not even styled text, but just plain boring black and white text.

When cascading style sheets (CSS) were invented, the text online could be altered to feature different colors and fonts, and this period can be thought of as something akin to Web1.5. But it wasn’t until users were able to interact with the internet that it started to become what we know today, which is Web2.

What is Web2?

Web2.0 can be thought of in simple terms as the internet we know today.

The defining characteristic of Web2 is that users can actually input data themselves without needing to know how to code. Data in this regard doesn’t only mean text; with Web2, users could upload media for the first time.

In the early days of Web2, applications such as Napster allowed people to upload mp3 files and share music that was formerly only available on CD, or cassette, which transformed the way that people consumed audio. Shortly thereafter, YouTube came along and allowed people to upload and share video files.

A few short years later, social media was invented, which transformed the way that people connect, network, and interact with each other, which bridged the divide between people in different countries, allowing them to communicate instantly.

Early social media platforms, such as MSN messenger, were primarily chat-based but soon evolved into the networks we know today, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on.

We are now 20 years into Web2, and almost every aspect of our lives is impacted daily by the internet. Everything from how we shop to how we work, communicate with each other, and entertain ourselves is done digitally.

But Web3 is something else entirely. Web3 will, in many regards, put us inside the internet in a way that few people can fathom right now.

The Basics of Web3

Web3 is the biggest leap forward in technology the world has ever seen. Instead of interacting with the internet using devices, such as computers, smartphones, and tablets, the internet of Web3 is one whereby people’s daily lives overlap directly with the internet.

Meaning that what we see and do will have a digital layer superimposed on top of it that we see and interact with at all times.

To be clear, there will still be devices we use to connect with Web3, but those devices will be integrated into our biology, at first artificially, such as with glasses, but soon directly, with chips and implants.

We are now in a very early stage of Web3.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say we are entering an early phase of Web3, something akin to web 2.5, where the hallmark technologies that will define Web3 are still in their infancy and still being interacted with via handheld devices.

To understand the potential of Web3, let’s look at some of these technologies as they exist today.

Namely, let’s look at Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), as these two technologies exist already and are gradually being rolled out as we transition from Web2 to Web3. We will then look at how writers can make money by leveraging each of these technologies.

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is not a new term, nor is it a new technology.

The concept of virtual reality has been around for a long time, and the very first virtual reality headsets were released to the public in the mid-1990s in the consumer video game market.

Those early VR devices failed horribly, which should have come as no surprise to the manufacturers because they failed in their premise.

For those who have never heard of virtual reality, it’s basically when you put on a headset and can see and interact with an entirely different environment from the one in which you are currently physically located.

So, in the mid-’90s, you could put on a headset and see a terribly pixelated (16-bit) video game world. With the help of a controller, you could walk around in that environment.

Still, because the graphics were so abysmal, it didn’t feel real, gave many people headaches, and was generally speaking, not so much a virtual reality as it was a virtual graphics interface.

The second (modern) generation of VR devices came out in the early 2010s and was much better than its 90’s predecessors, both in terms of graphics and usability.

Devices such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Sony Playstation VR headsets allowed people to enter virtual worlds that resembled the real world, transporting them to distant places from the comfort of their own homes, and these devices allow people to look around freely without needing to maneuver a joystick to change their viewpoint.

But the VR of Web3 is on an entirely different level.

By having graphics and video overlays that are nearly on par with the native resolution of the human eye, Web3 VR devices will mirror real-life so that if you didn’t know you were wearing a headset, you would genuinely believe you were somewhere else.

To be sure, the need for a headset will soon be replaced by glasses, and eventually, optical contact lenses so that you can visit different places and worlds without ever needing to hold anything in your hands at all.

This, in tandem with augmented reality, will allow users to enter the internet in a real and tangible way that has never before been possible.

How Writers Can Make Money from Virtual Reality

The potential of virtual reality cannot be overstated. In all likelihood, virtual reality will be the defining characteristic of the 21^st century and will alter the way that people interact with the world forever thereafter.

So, how does this apply to writers and the business of writing? We can only speculate for the time being, but let’s look at a few scenarios that are already in development.

VR Libraries

If you want to read a book right now, you have three options.

The first option is to purchase a physical book, which will occupy actual space in your house.

Of course, the downside to this is that your physical space is limited, and you only have so much space on your bookshelves.

Physical books are also cumbersome and require you to manually search for content, which is time-consuming and inefficient. Plus, physical books are easily damaged by water, fire, and wear and tear, making them a liability and something of a relic.

The second option, which was made available by Web2 technology, is to read a digital book or E-book.

E-books are not physical and, as such, don’t require any physical space and cannot be lost or damaged.

By using an E-reader such as a KOBO or Amazon Kindle device, you can store and access thousands of books, allowing you to take your entire library with you wherever you go, which is a dramatic improvement over physical books.

The final option is to download and listen to a book in audio format, using a service such as Amazon’s Audible.

Although this isn’t really reading per se, you are still gaining access to all of the content inside the book, and the end result of listening to an audiobook is no different than having read the book yourself.

With Web3 and VR technology, you’ll be able to have what resembles a physical library in your home or wherever else you are, stocked with all of your favourite e-books.

Imagine having a virtual bookshelf in your home that isn’t actually there physically, but looks as though it is there when you use your VR device.

You can walk over to your bookshelf, ‘pick up’ what looks like an actual physical book, and flip through it like you would a physical book, but this is neither a physical book nor an e-book; it’s a virtual book.

Writing virtual books and submitting them to virtual libraries that people can access from anywhere will be the endgame of libraries.

Imagine having every book in your home.

Being able to actually pick up and flip through a physical book while walking through your virtual library halls and still being able to search for specific information by voice, without any of this occupying a single inch in your home.

Welcome to the world of Web3 and VR literature.

Writing About VR

Another way writers will be able to make money from VR is by actually writing about VR itself.

As Web3 and the Metaverse are rolled out, there will be a huge demand for knowledge about these technologies, and so by writing about them, you’ll be able to cash in as these industries evolve, establishing yourself as an expert, and capitalizing on people’s general interest.

Imagine writing about how to use the internet in 1994 when home computers were becoming widespread, or how to make money online today, when more and more people are working from home.

By writing about how to use and navigate VR in the coming years, you’ll be in the exact same, highly profitable position.

Writing Content for VR Applications

Finally, the main application of VR will be virtual experiences, such as travel, gaming, and social connectivity.

By writing content that VR companies can use inside these experiences, you’ll be able to cash in on an emerging technology that will be in demand until the end of the century and beyond.

Writing scripts, dialogue, and virtual signage are only a few of the avenues that will open to writers as these technologies penetrate the landscape of consumer thought and are sure to be highly lucrative writing jobs in short supply and high demand.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Virtual reality is a key component of Web3 and the Metaverse, but VR is only one half of the equation; the other half is known as augmented reality, or AR. Virtual reality and augmented reality are similar in function but very different in practice.

VR essentially transports you to another place entirely with completely different surroundings. AR, on the other hand, overlaps with your existing environment.

So, imagine putting on a pair of glasses and being able to dim the sunlight or change the colour of your walls.

You haven’t left your current environment, but you are able to change your surroundings dramatically. AR technologies are already being rolled out rapidly.

So, for example, there is an IKEA app that lets you see furniture in your home before you purchase it, meaning that you can actually see it right there in 3D in your living room, as opposed to just seeing a picture of it.

Google also has new AR features. One such feature is for getting directions.

Basically, you open Google Maps on your smartphone and allow Google to access your camera.

Google will then superimpose directional arrows over the actual environment so that you know which direction to head in to arrive at your destination.

The possibilities with AR are nearly endless, and the ways in which AR and VR in conjunction with Web3 and the Metaverse will transform the way we live, shop, and interact with each other are seemingly infinite.

What’s clear is that the world is set to change in unimaginable ways, hopefully for the better.

How Writers Can Make Money from Augmented Reality

Like with VR, writers, and content creators will be in high demand with respect to the emerging AR technologies.

There are a number of different ways that writers will be able to make money by leveraging new AR platforms, and each of which is a potential new revenue stream.

Let’s look at a few of the ways writers can and will be able to generate income with AR tech.

Writing AR Copy

The ad industry will be transformed by AR technology in a way that even Web2 hasn’t managed to attain.

Picture walking down the street and having coupons pop up in your field of view for the stores you’re walking past.

“Come inside for 15% off.”

Being able to view menus for the restaurants you’re near is another obvious example.

Simply put, every company in the world will want AR advertisements, and those ads will require copywriters.

This is going to be huge for everyone, especially writers and graphic designers.

AR Lead Generation

Just as consumers will want to see relevant AR ads for the stores and vendors near them, so too will those vendors want to attract the people outside their shops using AR lead generation.

If somebody is walking past your store and they stop to look in the window, you’ll want to instantly capture that information so that you can send a targeted AR offer to them.

Again, this is all writing, and this form of lead generation is poised to replace traditional email marketing as Web3 rolls out.

AR / VR Scriptwriting

One of the main components of the Metaverse is your digital/virtual avatar.

When people view you in The Metaverse, they will actually see your avatar, which is a virtual version of yourself, and when you are interacting in AR and VR, you will be able to see and interact with the avatars of others.

Having preprogrammed scripts for avatars will become a widespread way to advertise.

Mascots, animals, aliens, anything you can imagine.

People will be able to physically see these creations right in front of their eyes on the street, in their homes, or in your shop, and all of these virtual characters, whether employees or otherwise, will require writers to create their voice and vision.

Of course, like with VR writing about the subject of augmented reality will itself be a profitable and in-demand niche, likely for many years to come, so by learning about these technologies as they are released, you’ll be able to generate an interested following and create new income streams from those efforts.

Blockchain Technology

It’s very likely that Web3 transactions will be handled with blockchain technology as opposed to traditional methods of payment such as cash or credit cards.

Being able to shop for products online by using your credit cards and subsequently having products delivered to your home was one of the biggest advents of Web2, and this created the richest company in human history: Amazon.

In much the same way, Web3 transactions will use decentralized cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as the main payment methods, which have a number of significant advantages over credit cards, debit cards, and traditional methods of payment.

To understand these emerging currencies, let’s go over what these terms mean and why these payment methods are garnering so much traction internationally.

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is being adopted all over the world by individuals who prefer to manage and control their own spending rather than having regulations imposed on them by financial institutions and governments.

Cryptocurrency is a decentralized payment method, meaning that the creation and distribution of crypto is not regulated by a central bank, such as the IMF or by any national mint.

As such, governments have no control over the distribution of cryptocurrency, which makes it a much more secure asset than cash in a government-regulated bank account.

There are various cryptocurrencies in use right now, but the big ones are Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC).

To be clear, there is a finite amount of these currencies that can theoretically exist, but they will not be exhausted until late in the 22^nd century, and only then will their final value be approximated.

For the time being, crypto is a volatile asset, but due to the security of crypto transactions and the fact that individuals, rather than governments, are determining their value, it’s likely that many Web3 vendors will accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

NFT stands for ‘non-fungible token.’ NFTs are unique digital assets, meaning that every NFT is a ‘one-of-a-kind’ item.

NFTs are transferred from person to person using blockchain technology, which essentially creates a digital paper trail that verifies the transaction, encoding unique ownership rights to the new owner of the NFT.

You can think of an NFT as being a unique asset such as a piece of art, for example.

The NFT, in tandem with blockchain technology, essentially replaces the certificates of ownership that you would receive if you were to buy a physical piece of fine art or some other unique collectible at auction.

NFTs can also leverage blockchain technology to generate digital ownership certificates for physical assets, but presently this is not widespread.

How Writers Can Make Money from NFTs

Recently, a marketplace opened up that allows independent digital authors to sell their books via NFTs, which is great news for authors and bad news for greedy publishing house executives and massive online retailers. The way it works is beautiful and really quite simple.

So, authors who publish traditionally typically receive only 10-15% of the income generated from their book, and the rest goes to the publishing house, which is hardly fair.

When Amazon launched its Kindle Direct Publishing program back in 2010, it allowed independent authors to sell their books, both physically and digitally online, while also letting the authors keep up to 70% of the income, which was great news for authors.

The problem is that Amazon KDP requires authors to give exclusive rights to Amazon so that they cannot sell their work elsewhere.

However, with NFTs, authors essentially sell their books via a token, whereby the owner of the token actually owns the book and can resell it at any time, and when they do resell it, the author receives a percentage of that revenue again.

This means that authors can not only get 100% of the income from their book, but they can potentially receive more than 100% as they will also generate revenue every time the owner resells the token for that book.

What is the Metaverse?

So, now that we’ve looked at Web3, virtual reality, augmented reality, cryptocurrency, and non-fungible tokens, we have the prerequisite knowledge in place to understand the Metaverse.

The Metaverse is basically the next iteration of the internet, whereby all of these technologies converge to create a digital world that coincides with the physical world. This means that the internet is no longer something external to our daily lives but is directly entangled with the world around us.

Just as we have a physical body, so too will we have a virtual avatar that functions as an extension of ourselves in the digital space.

This avatar is, for all intents and purposes us. It’s the version of us that exists not only online but on the internet.

While interacting with the Metaverse, we will be able to be in multiple places simultaneously by having a presence in virtual worlds and having virtual worlds present in the physical world around us.

It’s impossible to determine the manyfold ways that the Metaverse will alter our daily lives, but certainly, it will impact every aspect of what it means to be alive in the world of tomorrow.

This new iteration of the internet will make possible what would have been beyond the scope of science fiction only a few short years ago and will enable us to connect with each other, our interests, our work, and our hobbies in a much more imminent and readily apparent way.

How Writers Can Make Money with The Metaverse

As we’ve seen, the emerging technologies contributing to the building of the Metaverse are all largely based on content consumption, which means that the demand for writers will only continue to increase as this space evolves.

From virtual books to AR ad copy, from Metaverse lead generation to VR script and application writing, there will be more potential new streams of income available to writers than have ever existed before.

For authors interested in writing traditional books, being able to sell their work via NFTs will unlock a massive increase in earning potential that will allow them to keep 100% of the cover price and possibly even more as the book gets read and resold.

So that if a single copy of one book sells for, say, $20, the author can potentially earn hundreds or even thousands of dollars from that copy of their book.

All of this is built into the blockchain in the form of digital contracts and agreements so that authors can spend more time writing and less time negotiating with publishers or reading the latest updates to KDP’s amended terms and conditions.

Putting Things in Perspective

As things stand right now, people still rely on handheld devices to interact with the internet and purchase, access and read literature.

This will no doubt continue to be the case for some years to come.

When the internet was first released to the public in 1991, very few people, less than 1% of households, had a computer.

A period of lag occurs wherein old technology prevails and is gradually replaced as the new technology becomes more widely available, more affordable, and better understood.

This is true for almost all inventions in human history.

For the time being, self-publishing via Amazon KDP is still a great option and allows independent authors and content creators to retain a large percentage of royalties while gaining access to the world’s leading online marketplace.

Amazon Kindle devices still dominate the market and will likely continue to for some time into the future.

However, the technologies that will power Web3 are already being built, and some of them are already in place, which means that we are now the 99% of people without a home computer.

It’s only a matter of time before virtual technologies replace these physical devices, and so by starting to think and learn about these subjects now, writers can be prepared for the huge leap forward, which will, no doubt, be the norm by 2030.

Looking Forward to the Metaverse

So, what can we make of all this information in 2022?

How can writers make money with Web3 and the Metaverse?

Well, it’s hard to say.

That’s like asking somebody in 1990 how to make money online.

We don’t yet fully understand the Metaverse, what it will look like, how we will interact with it, or how it will affect our daily lives.

What’s clear is that it’s coming, it will change the world, and that there will be a huge demand for writers and content creators.

We can definitely speculate about some of the ways that writers will be able to make money with the Metaverse.

It’s clear that virtual books are the logical successor to e-Books, and so there can be little doubt that there will continue to be a demand for digital literature.

Although the format will likely change, the actual process of writing words will forever remain unchanged.

It’s also clear that the virtual worlds of the Metaverse will need content, and that content will include audio, video, and of course, text.

Therefore, it’s safe to say that there will continue to be a huge demand for scriptwriters, copywriters, and especially writers who specialize in drafting digital ads, as the advertising industry is set to grow in an unprecedented way.

Also, it’s safe to say that writing about any one of the individual components of Web3 and the Metaverse we’ve been looking at in this article will be likely to garner interest as these are all emerging niches about which little is known and much more information is needed.

As these technologies continue to roll out, much more information will become known about them, and so covering these niches will almost certainly be a solid and profitable sector for those writers who are so inclined.

Summary

The world is about to undergo a radical transformation that will see our lives integrated with the internet in ways we are only just beginning to imagine.

Web3 is poised to change everything about how we work, interact with each other, and consume content, including literature.

Virtual reality and augmented reality are akin to the computers of the ’90s and the smartphones of the early 2000s.

We know this is huge, but we have no idea just how big it really is.

We know that there will always be a need for writers and that these emerging technologies will only increase the demand for new content, whether that’s in the form of some virtual asset, an AR capacity, or otherwise remains to be seen.

But there are large fortunes waiting to be made with Web3 and the Metaverse, and many of those fortunes will be made by writers.