nChain’s Christine Leong talks about making Web3 technology user-friendly.

“If your technology isn’t built for the masses, it won’t be adopted,” says Christine Leong. In a presentation on Day 3 of the 2024 London Blockchain Conference, nChain Chief Information Officer (CIO) explored how Web3 can appeal beyond tech enthusiasts to the majority who only care about user experience.

User experience is a challenge beyond Web3. According to Leong, even in Web2, most innovators focus on the technical aspects to deliver the most advanced products in their category instead of creating products that are intuitive, accessible, affordable, and easy to use.

“A lot of technologies are dying because of poor user experience,” she told the audience.

She pointed to Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) as a company that has proven that what every customer cares about is experience. The company may have some of the most advanced technology in the world, but what customers want to know is how easy it is to get products delivered to their doorstep with just a few clicks. Whether Amazon uses robots in its warehouses or delivers products via drones is secondary.

“It’s ultimately about the public and not about building great technology that just three people can use,” she added.

How can Web3 deliver great user experiences and spark adoption?

One of the fundamental principles of delivering great experiences with any technology is user-centricity. In his 20-year career in technology, Leong has learned that “users don’t care about what’s inside.”

Speed ​​is very important, she added. We live in an era where one extra second can pay for all of a customer’s technology products, and Leong believes Web3 will be judged by a different standard. By having a simple onboarding process and reducing the number of steps required to meet your customers’ needs to a minimum, you’ll increase speed.

Speed ​​should not come at the expense of security as hackers use advanced AI-based malware.

Through his interactions with other technology professionals, Leong also learned about social skills and the need for a sense of community. As digital communities continue to grow, it is essential for all technology platforms to provide users with opportunities to connect, even if the product or service is unrelated to the social platform.

Even considering all these factors, the nChain CIO observed that any technology will quickly become obsolete if it does not evolve. To explain, she mentioned contactless payments in the UK. When it launched almost 20 years ago, payments were capped at £10. Their success stems from targeting appropriate early use cases in transportation systems, and over the years they have evolved to enhance security and push the boundaries.

nChain has been applying these lessons, Leong said. In one example, she revealed that a blockchain company was behind the mobile app for ComplexCon, a curated festival that brings together leading artists and brands for a weekend of art, music, fashion, food and more.

At the Hong Kong Festival in March, nChain designed an app that allowed more than 32,000 attendees to scan QR codes to make payments or win digital collectibles. Leong noted that the event had the perfect target audience as Asians are more familiar with QR codes and the festival mostly attracts the tech-savvy younger generation.

To help developers build easy-to-use Web3 applications, nChain recently launched its suite of platforms. Leong described it as “a one-stop shop for all Web3 tools.”

Leong concluded his presentation by reminding the audience that users don’t always remember technology, they remember experiences.

“To paraphrase Bill Gates, ‘Technological progress is based on making technology an imperceptible part of our daily lives,’” she summarized.

Watch: ComplexCon Hong Kong takes attendees on a ‘physical’ journey with nChain app

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