“Originally posted on Twitter June 28th 2022”
ENS Search Engine - SEO on the Blockchain
One of the hardest tasks at the moment, in the ENS space, is to actually find names believe or not; both good names to register, and more importantly on the secondary market.
1/19
That sentiment seems to clash with the exuberance displayed on ENS’ CT, where every post raves about record sales. Be that as it may, finding one of these names is hard, specially if it not your first pick.
It denotes a lack of interest on behalf of the marketplaces of choice. Perhaps, because ‘pfp’ collections have been way more profitable and far easier to present in a coherent way to the end user.
As a user, you are not suggested alternatives, there’s no categories of names you can pick from nor a simply way to browse through them. In short, the tools on the big marketplaces are generic and lack selection criteria. That’s about to change.
However, the main topic I want touch on with this post is how marketplaces have a stronghold on what we see.
[#ENS] at present, is being traded mainly on the basis of its perceived value as the standard in web3 identity; I hope I am not being charitable with my assessment😅.
Nevertheless, ENS advocates like myself see a future where your domain is your key to web3.
A tool individuals can wield without signing their live away. An example I am particularly interested in is dweb (decentralised websites).
Websites hosted in a decentralised manner, where an individual can interact without forsaking one’s sovereignty. In such a future, how would I go about searching through potentially millions of dwebs?
Who is or will create the “google” of web3?
Nowadays, visualisation tools try to efficiently translate relationships, content and activity in your wallet into a simplified picture.
Unfortunately, many of these take their cues from Opensea and alike.
In other words, they simply use the curated content from a centralised source or they curate the content accordingly to their stated mission. I imagine any potential search engine will have the same ability to “hide” or curate at will.
Effectively bringing the web2 SEO business model to web3. I know people will pushback by saying you cannot curate the blockchain. And that is true, but what I am getting at is the possibility of such a tool to gain majority market share and put that strategy in practice.
If that becomes true, rankings and searches will be monetized and potentially censorable.
Identities acquired in good faith might be pushed into the darkness of the blockchain. Whilst brands push wherever identities they could acquire into the spotlight.
Thus mitigating the lack of a governing body in web3 such as ICANN and resolution mechanisms such as UDRP.
The only solution I fathom, is for other market participants with a more web3 ethos to take center stage. That being said, not all marketplaces are created equal. And I say marketplaces, because I see them as the ideal platforms from where to springboard a search engine from.
[ENS.Vision] for instance, has been at the forefront of innovation besides having won the hearts and minds of all us in the #ENS community for their herculean efforts.
You cannot fault them!
ENS.Vision is an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) bulk search and register tool. Easily find and register .eth names available for registration or purchase on secondary market.(http://ens.vision/)
Back in April, they were prescient and in a matter of minutes shared, for free, the [@10kClubOfficial] dictionary. And since then, kept churning more and more categories and building added functionality to their website.
All of these, whilst rocking a web3 only ethos - which I am very much aligned with.
All in all, I remain confident the builders in the [#ENS] community have the first move advantage in their endeavours to realise the first strictly ENS marketplaces.
And that in turn, will allow them to capitalise on the opportunity to bring forth a web3 search engine with the right ethos.
Summary:
Is hard to find ENS names and mainstream marketplaces haven’t been interested in changing that.
Nevertheless, volume is still in opensea and alike.
As a result, I argue that the centralisation of user attention can lead to a creation of web3 search engines; but paradoxically, as a result of decentralisation of content through ENS dwebs.
Finally, i praise and hope #ens community builders such as [@domainplug_io] and [@ensvision], come out winners in this race because they embody web3 ethos of decentralisation.
Ps. As i scroll thru twitter, i see my fears being realized.