[TokenPost Column] The NewJeans summoned by algorithms, and the "naked truth" of Web3

A few days ago, my YouTube algorithm started behaving strangely. It was as if some kind of warning or revelation was constantly pushing NewJeans’ music videos to the top of the screen. The members in the videos still looked fresh and smiled, but as I stared at the videos, I couldn’t help but revisit the so-called “NewJeans Legend” that swept through Korea over the past year. From struggles with the major企划 company HYBE, tears at press conferences, to the sudden notice of the termination of their exclusive contracts.

These series of controversies are far from simple entertainment gossip. They symbolize the direct clash between the “giant capital system” and the “essence of creation.” At the end of 2025, the reason I felt a chilling déjà vu in those scenes was very clear—because the heavy fatigue and nihilism currently shrouding the entire blockchain industry are being reflected there.

This situation is a negative example of how social media and platform-driven industries can become hollow at their peak. Technology and philosophy are pushed to the margins, leaving only “engineering that converts eyeballs into wallets.” Replacing genuine trust and connection are △ the spectacle of replacing innocence with VC-planned pantomimes △ the hype of replacing true unity with sensational topics △ the proliferation of dopamine-flooded memes replacing authenticity △ the rise of virtual reach metrics manufactured by robots, replacing solid relationships. How does this differ from the essence of Web3 we face today?

What is the result? Although countless “followers” and “holders” remain as digital numbers, as proven by the NewJeans incident, when the platform (or the agency) and trust collapse, those numbers vanish like a mirage. Because they are fundamentally unknown, unreachable, and beyond our control. When NewJeans kicked off the giant system’s protective shield, it was like the emperor’s new clothes being exposed. The outdated belief that one cannot survive without the halo of a major企划 company or exchange listing has already shattered.

Frankly, Web3 projects have long been parasitic on external social platforms mimicking communities. But Twitter(X) or Telegram are not healthy public squares. They are merely battlegrounds where robots and click farms proliferate endlessly, manipulating public opinion. The dazzling metrics we see are very likely manipulated illusions, similar to the “刷榜” controversies in the entertainment industry.

With 2026 approaching, the data is already warning clearly. The open internet is rapidly turning into a “trust-depleted desert.” Genuine human interactions are becoming indistinguishable, and the cost to reach real users is soaring sky-high. In this vicious cycle, if projects lack channels for direct communication with fans, what can they do?

This is not a distant future story but a reality that has already happened. I assert: if you, as a Web3 enterprise, do not stop relying on external platform algorithms and fail to build independent and verifiable “vertical communities,” your survival in 2027 will itself be bleak and uncertain.

Sometimes we indulge in the ups and downs of the market, but we fail to see the cliff beneath our feet. However, the bubble of the “attention economy” burst and the migration to “authentic communities” has already begun. We must return to the essence now. Just as NewJeans attempts to transcend the system and directly face their fans. We must transform △ pure attention into direct “connection” △ bystanders into “participants” △ volatile likes into “contributions” △ platform dependency into “direct value exchange.” This is not just a marketing strategy; it is a fundamental issue concerning the survival of the Web3 industry.