# Read, write, own

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2023-06-23

blockchain, book-pre-order, book-release, chris-dixon, crypto, internet, read-write-own-era, tech, web3

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![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/07a22d727ba46686ef6f303dbffac58e.jpg)

I have been following [Chris Dixon](https://twitter.com/cdixon) for many years and, yesterday, I learned that he has written a new book called, _Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet_. It is a book about web3 (crypto things) and the title is based on thinking about the evolution of the internet in terms of [these three phases](https://readwriteown.com/terminologyhistory/):

> _The first act, called the “read era”, circa 1990-2005, democratized information. Anyone could type a few words into a browser and read about almost any topic through websites._

> _The second act, the “read-write era”, roughly 2006-2020, democratized publishing. Anyone could write and publish to mass audiences on social networks and other services through posts._

> _The third act, the “read-write-own era”, 2020-present, is democratizing ownership. Anyone can become a stakeholder in a digital service or network, gaining power, governance rights, and economic upside previously reserved for only a small number of corporate affiliates, like stockholders and employees._

The book won't be out until March 2024, but if you're interested, maybe you want to pre-order it or at least get it on your radar. I immediately put this in my queue and I'm looking forward to welcoming it to the pile of books next to my bed.

Full disclosure: I don't get anything if you pre-order this book. I'm only putting this out there because I have a high degree of conviction about this coming shift and because, in the future, I want to be able to look back at posts like this one here. I think they'll age well.

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/read,-write,-own)*