Antonio García Martínez says attribution will define Web 3 monetization
This article discusses the critical role of attribution in internet monetization, highlighting how its disruption led to significant revenue challenges for major digital advertisers like Meta and Snap. It posits that effective attribution is essential for Web 3's success, suggesting blockchain technology could provide a suitable infrastructure for this function. The author argues that without proper attribution, Web 3 economies, particularly for NFTs and virtual goods, will struggle to move beyond speculative markets.
Key Takeaways
- Meta said Apple’s ATT changes contributed to a projected $10 billion revenue hole and a 25% share-price drop in February, according to the post.
- Snap lost about half its value after Evan Spiegel warned of revenue headwinds and slower hiring, with the article pointing to attribution issues after Apple’s privacy moves.
- The post argues Google takes last-touch credit for conversions, even when a Tweet, TikTok video, search, and app install all contributed to the purchase.
- Branch Metrics and Meta’s internal systems are described as distributed ledgers of online events shared among players who do not fully trust each other.
- Antonio García Martínez says NFTs and other virtual goods need native on-chain attribution or they will remain mostly speculative markets.
Why It Matters
The immediate implication is that attribution is not a back-end detail; in this framing, it is the mechanism that determines whether media and app monetization can be measured at all. The broader ecosystem angle is that Apple’s ATT changes have already hit Meta and Snap, while the author argues blockchain is a more natural fit for shared, selective event tracking than today’s Web 2 stacks like Branch Metrics or Facebook’s internal systems. What to watch next is whether Spindl’s follow-on pitch for Web 3 ads and on-chain attribution moves from essay form into product detail, especially around NFTs and virtual goods.
Read full article at blog.spindl.xyz