IBC Insights: Unveiling Our Uniquely Different Approach to Web 3.0

Another year and another IBC, so what was hot and what was not?

After the influx of attendees last year due to COVID this years’ IBC was soberly different. For those like Vodworks who planned meetings in advance of the show this really was a good event to showcase as footfall (as mentioned) was down this year.

There was an anticipation that AI would feature highly in the media world, as it has done in many other verticals, but surprisingly it was simply business as usual. Lots of the same names and familiar faces peddling their wares still trying to figure out the next new thing.

In some camps there were the odd one or two vendors who had gone ‘all out’ on technologies like Web 3.0 with end-to-end workflows or simply looking at new revenue streams. Certainly going ‘all out’ in a space that many in the industry consider as a dark art (thanks to its associations with crypto), the sceptics in the industry (and there are many) will find this tech and approach hard to embrace. For me, the approach to Web 3.0 by many companies was either a very bold move or a highly naïve one.

At Vodworks we took a different tact this year at IBC with a mission that was beyond our traditional remit of software development. The aim was to get buy-in and feedback on how our new pipeline technologies that embrace Web 3.0 can really make a difference in the market. I have to say those meetings were both enlightening and encouraging too.

So why is our approach to Web 3.0 different?

Well for a start we did some serious homework and with over 3+ years' experience in the crypto market (and even launching our own currency) where we experienced the highs and lows of this very new world, we believe that we are in a great position to make a marked change. What was clear however, is that unless you are in the thick of it, this whole new world seems like a dark art to a lay person shrouded in mystery and often associated with all the bad things that businesses want to disassociate from. So, from that perspective, why would you expect your clients to see it any differently, especially when the status quo solutions fulfil the rights holders’ requests?

There are however good things with this tech, like provenance, security, ownership, etc. It is these elements of Web 3.0 that we saw as having the potential to make a positive change to the industry.

Rather than boil the ocean, we took the approach of talking to rights holders, operators and broadcasters so we could identify the pain-points and see if we could address these real-world issues facing streaming media and breaking each area down into different work streams.

We also considered the topic of how to onboard (not easy with cryptos past as explained). We have taken the approach of not removing but simply enhancing the existing technology in each solution developed which, for those sceptics of Web 3.0, is a far easier pill to swallow and also an ideal precursor to embracing other areas that Web 3.0 can assist with like new revenue streams, brand loyalty, royalty tracking and many more.

After a very packed IBC our task now is to follow up on those conversations and update our solutions based on what we heard.

The Vodworks train has left for another year, but if you are an operator, rights holder or part of the technology stack that makes all this happen come along and join the ride! It will, I promise not only be an interesting one, but it could change the way we do things in the future without throwing the baby out of the pram 😊