TV, not TikTok, will educate the world about blockchain

Opinion by Sander Gortjes, co-founder and CEO of Hello Labs.

Many see television as a bygone cultural linchpin facing obsolescence as people shift their focus to the promise of smartphones and social media. In reality, 97% of United States households have a TV to watch programming, so it remains the go-to source for most Americans to consume media.

Short-form content platforms like TikTok have seen explosive growth, with Web3 broadly looking past TV to leverage Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) on social media to communicate with the public. TV’s potential to spur growth and adoption remains untapped, mainly and unexplored by the crypto. Web3 innovators are accustomed to communicating with a tech-savvy, crypto-native audience on these short-format social networks. Its inability, however, to provide content, context, high production value and education all in one sweep means television’s longer format and massive reach are better suited to teaching so-called normies about the wonders of blockchain, non-fungible tokens and digital assets. 

The Shark Tank template 

Without getting bogged down in a debate about how video-sharing platforms erode attention spans and dumb down culture, particularly youth culture, the merits of longer-format media are difficult to dispute. For crypto to succeed in the long run, it must find the quickest path to mainstream adoption. TV has a template to find the perfect swirl of high-value production and real-world coverage that can put entrepreneurs and Web3 adoption on a firmer footing. 

Web3 startups that want to win hearts and minds and onboard mainstream users need only look to Shark Tank’s success to understand this. The American reality show, a franchise of the British series Dragons’ Den, sees a panel of venture capitalists rule over entrepreneurs’ startup ideas, pulling in huge ratings for ABC since it debuted in 2009.

Created by Mark Burnett, the mastermind producer behind The Apprentice, Shark Tank has won numerous Emmys in its 15-year run, racking 340 episodes and reaching its 16th season. Although concerned as much with entertainment as education, it’s fair to say the series has helped teach the American public how entrepreneurship and investment work against a backdrop of booming tech startups. It’s not a stretch to think that a similar format could do the same for crypto.

Deep dives dive deep

Speaking of long formats and their suitability for education, we would be remiss not to mention The Joe Rogan Experience — which, funnily enough, launched the same year as Shark Tank. Known for its in-depth conversations with guests such as comedians, academics, scientists, politicians, sportspeople and entrepreneurs, the podcast’s popularity saw Joe Rogan secure a multi-year partnership with Spotify worth up to $250 million earlier this year.

Like Shark Tank, The Joe Rogan Experience blends entertainment and education, the host bringing his curious mind and everyman persona to unscripted interviews with guests who are often eminent figures in their field, whether it’s Neil deGrasse Tyson or Elon Musk. Topics can bounce from Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) to fiscal inflation in the blink of an eye,

Indeed, the success of Rogan’s podcast is the perfect riposte to anyone claiming that short, viral videos represent the impending death knell for the dodo that is TV. We can still sit for several hours and watch and listen to two people have a long-winded conversation. 

Often, a deep dive is simply required. Short-form content doesn’t let you get into the weeds on any topic. Using more extended-format TV to educate the masses about blockchain already has a verifiable track record.

Italy’s main broadcasting channel, Rai Uno, created #Codice, an hour-long special that uses simple language to explain the power of blockchain technology for different industries. The show reached nearly 10% of the total viewership, with the title of the show trending to the number one spot for most popular hashtags in Italy.

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A vehicle for Web3 messaging 

Circling back to Web3, it’s clear that complex concepts like DeFi, GameFi, decentralized identity, self-custody and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) deserve better treatment than the TikTok treatment. 

Disseminating and drip-feeding educational content via short, snappy videos cheapens the appeal of the tech, giving it a viral gloss that belies its transformative, severe potential. After all, Web3 pioneers are not selling the latest buzzy fad; they’re selling, in many cases, groundbreaking protocols with valuable use cases. 

Doling out financial advice already has a poor track record on TikTok, such as users encouraging others to take advantage of a “glitch” in Chase Bank ATMs. The supposed glitch turned out to check fraud, leaving people with overdraft accounts plus fees to repay. 

The phrase “Why not both?” is relevant here: There has to be room for both short- and long-format content when educating the masses about Web3 and crypto. Many projects fail to recognize the inherent advantages of long format, believing that abstracting all complexity away is the ultimate goal.

There’s another point worth making: TV, by definition, is mainstream. For all that Web3 projects profess to want to “onboard grandma,” they spend much time in the echo chambers of X and Discord rather than beaming into the homes of millions of viewers. If they are serious about turning skeptics into believers, they should take their messaging to a familiar medium that gives them the breathing room to convey why blockchain is here to stay.

Ultimately, fintech entrepreneurs at the forefront of the DeFi movement underestimate long-format mediums like TV at their peril. While it’s no longer the focal point of family life, the “box” still possesses a rare power.

Sander Gortjes is co-founder and CEO of Hello Labs. Entering cryptocurrency in 2017, he became active in venture capital and advisory roles starting in 2020. Hello Labs focuses on developing mainstream intellectual properties, including TV sensation Killer Whales, and boasts a roster of key opinion leaders.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.