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London Blockchain Conference 2024: nChain’s Christine Leong talks about making Web3 technology easy to use
“If your technology isn’t designed for the masses, you won’t get adoption,” he says Cristina Leong. In his presentation on the third day of London Blockchain Conference 2024nChain’s Chief Information Officer delved into how Web3 can expand beyond technophiles and appeal to the majority who only care about user experience.
User experience is an ongoing challenge beyond Web3. According to Leong, most innovators, even in Web2, focus on the technical aspects of providing the most advanced product in their category at the expense of making it intuitive, accessible, affordable and easy to use.
“A lot of technology dies because of poor user experience,” he told the audience.
He spotted Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) as a company that has proven that all customers care about the experience. While the company has some of the most advanced technology in the world, all its customers want to know is how easy it is to just take a few clicks and have their products delivered to their doorstep. Whether Amazon uses robots in warehouses or delivers products via drones is secondary.
“Ultimately it’s about the masses, not about building technology so great that only three people can use it,” he added.
How can Web3 deliver a great user experience and drive adoption?
A key principle for providing a great experience with any technology is to be user-centric. In his 20-year career in technology, Leong has learned that “users don’t care what’s under the hood.”
Speed is key, he added. We live in an era where an extra second can cost customers any technology product, and Web3 should not expect to be judged by different standards, Leong believes. Speed extends to the simplicity of the onboarding process and minimizing the steps needed to meet customer needs.
Speed should not come at the expense of security, as hackers use advanced malware powered by AI.
In his interaction with other technicians, Leong also learned the need for social features and a sense of community. As digital communities continue to grow, it is essential that any technology platform offers users the opportunity to connect, even when the product or service is not related to social platforms.
Even considering all these factors, the nChain CIO noted that any technology will quickly become obsolete if it does not evolve. To illustrate, he referred to contactless payments in the UK; when they launched almost two decades ago, they were limited to payment limits of £10. Their success is due to their ability to identify the right initial use case in transport systems and, over the years, they have evolved to increase safety and raising limits.
nChain applied these lessons, Leong said. In one example, she revealed that the blockchain company was behind the mobile app ComplexCona curated festival bringing together leading artists and brands for a weekend of art, music, fashion, food and more.
In the festival March Hong Kong edition, nChain designed an app through which over 32,000 participants could scan QR codes to make payments or earn digital collectibles. Leong noted that the event had the perfect target audience, as Asians are more familiar with QR codes and the festival primarily targets the tech-savvy younger generation.
To enable developers to create easy-to-use Web3 applications, nChain recently launched its product suite platform. Leong described it as a “one-stop shop for all Web3 tools.”
Leong concluded his presentation by reminding the audience that users always remember the experience, never the underlying technology.
“In the words of Bill Gates, ‘The advancement of technology is about making it adapt in such a way that you don’t even notice it, so it’s part of everyday life,’” he summed up.
Watch: ComplexCon Hong Kong takes attendees on a “phygital” journey with the nChain app
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