Insider and Outsider Cultures in Web3: Data Ownership, Transparency and Privacy

Visions of the future of the internet beyond Web 2.0 are proliferating, as immersion and augmentation of social practices through the metaverse begin to define a new frontier of sociality and our digital lives. Questions of privacy, transparency, consent, data ownership, data governance, digital property and sustainability are being refreshed and re-visioned, with many Web3 proponents actively advocating in these spaces.

Alexia Maddox provides a critical sociological study of insider-outsider tensions that influence the adoption of blockchain technologies and impact the Web3 ecosystem; the tensions between the Web3 community, the platforms and the users. Using relevant case studies to illustrate insider-outsider dynamics, the book explores how these dynamics interact with broader social forces. The case studies provide in-depth examples that represent both sides of the coin in each chapter.

Insider and Outsider Cultures in Web3 strikes a balance between the promise and critique of the technology and its social context.

Alexia Maddox is Director of Digital Education and Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy and Education Futures in the School of Education, La Trobe University, Australia. Maddox has a background in the sociology of technology and specialises in researching digital frontiers and socio-technical transformation and is a passionate educator and practices research outreach through community and media engagement.