Can pay-to-use blockchains develop in Vietnam?
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Web3 may be more modern than web2 in technology and can help people ensure more security than Web2. However, what some Web3 applications applying blockchain technology cannot do compared to web2 is that we are required to pay to use them.
Can such types of blockchain apps develop market share in Vietnam? Let's find the answer with FinFan in the following article.
Looking back at the history of the formation of giants in the Web2 world in Vietnam
Yahoo empire
The first social network that appeared, called Yahoo Messenger, did not require users to pay and could create multiple accounts at the same time as long as the desktop computer was connected to the internet.
At this time, the most likely way to make money for the social messaging network giant at that time was probably only from Yahoo News when users could easily use Yahoo accounts to access Yahoo's news site.
By early 1998, Yahoo had added email, shopping, classifieds, personals, games, travel, weather, maps, people search, celebrity chat, and an online magazine to its search page.
On this news site, as well as on electronic newspapers now, Yahoo charges businesses who want to widely advertise their brands with advertising posts accompanying their news sites.
Although this way of exploiting users seems simple, it is called the "Just build it and then they come" model, which means the big guys' job is to build very large websites, attract a lot of traffic then make money from that traffic in different forms.
However, it is the guideline for all subsequent monetization models of social network giants such as Facebook, and Google and is still applied to this day.
The birth and long-term dominance of Google and Facebook
The glorious years of Yahoo were also the time when Google was born with its initial positioning as a search engine that supported the giant Yahoo at a time when this giant could not meet the search needs of users.
Because at that time, as mentioned above, Yahoo was just a simple news website and the search could not expand outside the scope of this website.
Grasp the needs of users when they cannot access only one Yahoo website at a time without visiting other pages. Google has focused on developing its developer tool and constantly improving it to integrate websites from many different industries into this tool. From there, users can select knowledge as well as evaluate and follow websites that are suitable for them.
Google's form of monetization is not like Yahoo (only one site), they don't even have their own website but are only replaced by question-and-answer or FAQs (frequently asked questions) pages related to their services.
However, the idea that knowledge can be selected from many different websites of the world's current No. 1 search engine has opened a new era of Search Engine Optimization or more broadly search marketing services, which generates the most revenue for Google.
Not targeting the search engine market like Google and Yahoo, although Facebook was born late in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, this technology giant chose a niche that Yahoo itself once dominated, which is social networks.
However, this giant's strength is based on not stopping just being a messaging social network, Facebook creates a playground for users to freely share all their emotions and images on their own personal page which will be displayed in different modes depending on their decision such as public, private, or friends.
This helps users have a more enjoyable experience when they can freely express their personal interests and thoughts without affecting or bothering anyone.
Later, such special tools helped them expand their services so that sellers could share their items for sale and the next step would be to advertise that item on Facebook. This opens a new era for strong e-commerce websites and has developed till today.
The common point that creates the success of the above three platforms in the Web2 era
Although the initial purposes of creation are different and were created at different stages, all three platforms above aim at a common goal for users, which is an interesting and completely free experience based on their own strengths that they can bring to users.
Then, their goal of making money will come after businessmen see the benefits they bring and start pouring money into them to run ads or place articles on their sites.
This “Just build it and then they come” model, although old, is still very useful for technology platforms in today's Web2 world. Even later, TikTok also applied this model to its own users.
The notable point of this model comes from wanting to build a large number of users, requiring a huge amount of initial capital to raise and continue to develop them until the platform can support itself.
Return to the pay-to-use model of blockchain applications in today's newly developed Web3 world.
While Vietnamese users are familiar with applications that do not require payment, and in Vietnam, personal information security is not urgent or too popular or the big players in the Web2 industry have tried every way to cover up the truth about stealing user information from the data centralization mechanism they built.
That leads users not really willing to pay for the newly launched service that is advertised to secure your own information as well as support a number of other special features such as no need for cash, can quickly transfer money,...
At this point, they will think to themselves: "Isn't MoMo also free? It also helps me transfer money quickly and with money type that I can use every day."
Furthermore, more than 90% of blockchain or more specifically cryptocurrency users today know about these projects through airdrop payments as well as daily trading on cryptocurrency exchanges.
It is impossible for a blockchain application to force buyers to buy its product before they receive any benefit.
Which direction will be suitable for blockchain applications?
- Freemium model
This model is also very popular for technology companies that provide software solutions for individuals or businesses to manage or manipulate something.
For example, Canva is completely free to use, but if you want to use a beautifully designed template with some necessary eye-catching icons, you must pay to use, or some English learning apps for users are free for about 30-60 days, the following days will be charged monthly fees, etc.
The predecessor of this model is also pay-to-use, however, users can still experience the benefits of the product or service for free for a short time to have the most objective view of the product and service before paying.
- Buy now pay later model
Buy now pay later is a form that has become very popular in the fintech world with Web2. They create many financial traps with installment services to help customers feel like they don't have to spend too much money to buy an item.