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We’re on the brink of a new era of the internet, Web3, with fashion industry heavyweights (Nike, Gucci) already adapting to this new online world.

Though it may be a scary prospect, Web3 technologies like NFTs and the metaverse offer endless possibilities for brands and creatives. In this four-part series, we'll break down the Web3 basics, and how you can hone your craft in this brave new world. 

Web3 is the next version of the internet. It’s still being developed, so we can’t say for sure what it will look like, but most agree that it hinges on some key principles: decentralisation, freedom, privacy, and an increased blurring with the real world.

Web3 uses technologies like crypto and blockchain. These allow users to build their own spaces and own their data, shifting ownership away from centralised tech giants like Meta and Google, to individuals. Meanwhile, augmented reality, virtual reality, machine learning and AI are bringing our real lives into the metaverse, and technology into the real world.

Web 1.0 refers to the internet as it was between 1991 and 2004: Websites were static, "read-only" pages with limited interactivity (like a Wikipedia page). Internet users went online only to consume information.

With Web 2.0, that changed: In the early 2000’s, webpages became more interactive, letting users create and share content, communicate with peers, and access online services, while tech companies like Google and Meta collected user data to tailor user experiences and offer targeted advertising.

Time for a revolution: Data scandals like Cambridge Analytica and increasing mistrust in centralised tech companies led to the development of Web3 technologies like NFTs and the metaverse, ushering in a new era for the internet. Through Web3, anybody can create their space and have more autonomy and ownership over the content they put online.

For a full dictionary, head to TheTilt.

An NFT is any data kept on a blockchain network that guarantees an item to be unique and unchangeable. They can be in various media formats, such as images, artwork, videos, GIFs, sound files, or text.

Though another user may buy an NFT you've created, they don't have access to any copies of the original file. These are held only by the owner so that they can present proof of ownership via copyright. An NFT's value is tied to the work's uniqueness and rarity.

ETH is the most widely used form of cryptocurrency in Web3. Think of Ethereum as the digital version of dollars or pounds (except you can only use Ethereum in the blockchain space for now in most countries).

You'll need Ethereum to pay for the fees involved in creating an NFT. When your file is sold to someone else, the royalties or commissions you'll receive will be paid in Ethereum. To buy Ethereum, you'll have to convert fiat currency (USD, GBP, EUR, etc.) to the ETH cryptocurrency by using a crypto exchange service such as Binance, Kraken, or Coinbase.

Unlike a standard wallet, which can hold real cash, crypto wallets don't store your crypto assets, such as currencies or NFTs. These holdings live on the blockchain network, but they can only be accessed using a private key. Your crypto wallet keeps all your private keys.

These keys are the passwords that give you access to your cryptocurrencies. They provide proof of ownership of your digital money, allowing you to make transactions. If you lose your private keys, you lose access to your assets, so you must keep your wallet keys safe and accessible.

The two most commonly used types of wallets are hardware wallets like Ledger (which are USB's containing the passwords and authentications) and software wallets like MetaMask or Coinbase.

You'll need a wallet to access your ETH funds and sign up to either an NFT marketplace, such as OpenSea or Rarible, or a Web3 app through which you can create and trade your NFTs.

This video will tell you more about using crypto-wallets.

A Web3 application turns large-scale information into factual, easy-to-understand content for users. It uses artificial intelligence, 3D graphics, and greater connectivity to improve how applications work and offer services online.

Today, some of the biggest Web3 apps include Wolfram Alpha, a search engine that uses Web3 technology to provide expert-level answers, and Apple's Siri.

Minting an NFT is the process of converting a digital file (such as a photograph or video) into a crypto asset stored on the decentralised blockchain database.

Once you've minted a file, you can't edit or delete it. To mint an NFT, you'll need to buy Ethereum, create a wallet, and then connect that wallet to the NFT marketplace on which the NFT will be minted.

Gas fees are what you'll have to pay to compensate for the computational energy required to process transactions on the blockchain. So, every time you create (mint), sell or buy an NFT, you'll have to pay gas fees.

If the gas price is too high, you could pay a significant amount to create or trade an NFT. To avoid this, you can limit the amount of gas price you want to spend or wait for the gas fee to drop back down to within your limit. Additionally:

Another vague and complex term, "metaverse" is hard to define as the concept is still in its early stages. Experts are yet to see how and what it will develop into. One way to think about the metaverse is as a three-dimensional cyberspace which changes how we interact with digital technology. Learn more about the metaverse in our introductory guide.

Let's say that you're a creative on one of these centralised Web 2.0 platforms, like Instagram or Twitter. You'll put a lot of time, effort, and energy into creating the content you post online. But, when you put your work on these centralised platforms, you're often not reaping the rewards you should. One reason for this is how these platforms are structured to reward creatives.

Popularity is the currency in centralised platforms. One of the biggest benefits of Web 2.0 platforms is that it allows you to amass large followings - though this can be difficult - and in turn, large followings can help you generate income through brand partnerships and a wide audience. But what happens if you don't have a large following - or worse, if the algorithm changes?

Many creatives produce good work but struggle to monetise that work online because they don't have many followers (and talent does not equal following). This is where Web3 makes a difference.

Web3 allows creatives to keep complete control and ownership over all their content. That means that you would directly get the rewards whenever and however you use your content. On top of that, you can be in charge of attributing value to your pieces, and all sales made will go to your pocket: no late payments, no middlemen.

Web3 also ensures no one steals your work. If someone copies your work, then the rigorous tracking of authenticity in the community will quickly reveal that the work's been copied and that you're the original owner. The person who's copied it will soon be exposed and discredited. And NFTs have a perfect history log: there's a secure way of validating who came first, so you can check authenticity very quickly.

On top of having greater ownership of your work, you can also have ownership over your audience. Web3 allows for direct peer-to-peer payments which don't have to go through a commission-taking middleman. So as your audience grows, your rewards will grow proportionately, and the Web3 app you use won't reap more benefits than you.

As a creative on Web3, you won't be as focused on figuring out a centralised platform's algorithm to make a reasonable income. This is because the blockchain network doesn't operate on the same algorithm as Instagram or TikTok, which rewards creatives for the number of followers.

So, because you'll be spending less time focused on creating for the algorithm, you'll have more time to produce work that's highly original and valuable in itself. In other words, unlike Web 2.0, Web3 is value-based, not clout based.

Additionally, as there are no centralised applications with an algorithm to conform to in Web3, you're free to build your community and networks without depending on current popular social media platforms. This ensures that you have complete control of your network, and your content won't be affected by any algorithmic changes.

When selling work online, creatives today usually have to go through a middleman who'll take some percentage of the sale as their own commission. For example, if you choose to sell your photography as stock images, sites like ShutterStock only pay photographers between 15-40% of the sale price. Photographers on iStock can expect to take home between 15-45% of the sale price, and on Adobe Stock it's a mere 33%.

Selling work as NFTs means there's no intermediary to take up a large percentage of the sale. You'll still have to pay some fees for the sale (see below), but as these aren't dependent on the sale itself, there's a compelling potential to take home more than selling via a middleman or agency.

Contrary to the popular belief that NFTs all sell for huge sums of money, most will sell for only a few hundred dollars. This may still seem like a lot, but if the gas prices you'll have to pay when creating and selling your NFTs are high, you may lose money. And, if your work doesn't sell, you'll still have to front the cost of creating that NFT.

Gas prices can also be hard to predict as they fluctuate according to the resource demands of the blockchain.

High gas prices mean that creatives will find it more challenging to profit from the work they create and sell. To counteract this, some creatives may attempt to reduce the price of the artwork to compensate for the cost of gas. But this can also be detrimental as it can lead buyers to believe that the work is of less value.

Creatives new to the Web3 and NFT space may be unaware that several "hidden" transaction costs are included in creating and selling work as NFTs. These costs may not be evident at first, and it can be difficult to predict them all as the NFT space is complex. But the last thing you want is to discover that you have hundreds of pounds in outstanding fees that you weren't even aware existed.

On OpenSea, for example, sellers will have to pay fees for buying NFTs, accepting offers of sales, cancelling previous bids, converting cryptocurrencies, and transferring or gifting an NFT to another user.

Before creating in the NFT space and setting a price on your work, try to estimate all the transactional costs and hidden fees you may have to pay. This can help avoid running out of funds or paying unexpected fees.

Even in the abstract and emerging spaces of Web3, you still can't avoid the dreaded taxman. Tax expert Kathleen McPaul from Wanderers Wealth explains that there's a lot of confusion about taxation laws surrounding NFTs. Tax authorities have yet to give proper guidance notes on the matter.

Kathleen predicts that the same general tax principles that apply to cryptocurrencies will apply to NFTs. When creating NFTs, she recommends asking yourself and figuring out whether you're looking to trade NFTs for a professional purpose or whether it's for more personal use. Are you creating NFTs hoping that they'll go up in value in the future? Depending on your answer, you'll be taxed as a business, or it will trigger personal income or capital gains tax.

Generally, creating NFTs is not a taxable event. But if you sell the NFT on a trading platform, you'll be liable to pay tax on the profit generated. In most cases, you'll be considered "self-employed", so you'll be taxed at a standard income tax slab rate that depends on your total income. But, if you form a business entity, you'll attract lower tax rates.

Read Kathy's article on Wanderers Wealth for a more in-depth guide on taxation surrounding NFTs.

There you have it - a comprehensive beginner's guide to Web3 for creatives in the fashion industry. We hope this piece has inspired you to start thinking about what your work could look like in the new interactive webspace.

In the following guides in this series, you'll discover how to make the most of this new technology through specific mediums such as photography, modelling, and beauty. Stay tuned.