From the time we wake up until we nod off, we all use the Internet throughout our day. From checking on our fellow mates on Instagram to enjoying some cat videos, we use the Internet in one way or another. In fact, billions of people around the world access what's called today the Web 2.0. In this thread, we will try to understand what the Web3 is and what does it offer. But before getting to this new version of the web we need to briefly squint at its previous iterations - Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Let's get going then.
Web 1.0 Existing between 1990 and the early 2000s, Web1 simply is the version of the Internet with static web pages. The sites were basically read-only and most of the users on the Internet were Consumers. Here is an example of a Web1 webpage dated August 15, 2000.
Under Web1, the content generation was in the hands of a few people, and censorship was lesser than the earlier print medium. Web1 thus is identified by read-only pages with users unable to interact with the content.
Web 2.0 Web 2.0 is the web that we know today, the web we are most familiar with. It is the Internet that we use. Moving on from static read-only, webpages are now interactive where users can comment, like, or even dislike the content.OnePlus community forum is an example. Anyone, anytime, can just create a thread or interact with people in the comments.
Web2 provided space for everyone to be the content creators while simultaneously enabling the ability to make money from it. Web2 resulted in a slew of Internet applications like Uber, Facebook (now Meta), Instagram, Airbnb, to only name a few. The censorship here is a bit more relieved, but its nature is platform-dependent. The evolution of the Web2 is said to be largely driven by widespread Internet access, the development of social platforms, and cloud storage.
When we see Web2 closely, we can see many underlying issues with it. Two of the big ones are Data ownership and Privacy! Internet at this stage is basically dominated by a handful of tech giants, with Google, Meta, Amazon, Twitter at the top, holding the majority of the traffic.
When we log in to use these platforms, we practically sign away our data in lieu of the services they provide. Whatever we post, like, comment or move is saved onto these siren servers. Ever wondered about those enticing adverts shown to you about products you would have discussed with your friends a few minutes ago? Even worse is the manipulation and strategies to influence people in a certain way that comes along with data domination from these big tech houses.
Web 3.0 This is where Web3 comes in. Web3 aims to be an open, intelligent, and decentralized Internet working on the principle of distributed ledgers technology (Blockchain). Web3 can be visualized as the version of the Internet which is made by the confluence of many tech innovations like Blockchain, decentralization, cryptography, smart contracts, AI, and more.
What all of this simply means is the data of the users will not be on a centralized server in the backyard of a tech giant, but safe on a decentralized network. Censorship will not be there and no one can quash your tweets on a Sunday morning - data permanency and privacy will be paramount. And most importantly: we as users will have full ownership of our content. It can also be said as a read-write-own form of the web - Internet by the people and for the people.
It is important to note that the Internet now is not where we call it a Web3, but there are some services that are based on what Web3 essentially offers to be. Odysee, Mirror are two prime examples of this shift. Odysee being an equivalent of YouTube and Mirror being a tool for writers, where users have full ownership of their work, can vote in the governance, and earn from their viewers directly. The transition from the Web2 to Web3 paradigm can be a gradual process where we might see applications for both co-existing together.
Some features of web3:
Ownership: Users own the content, not any intermediaries.
Censorship: A good and a bad thing, with the middlemen removed there is generally no one to moderate the content.
Servers can't go down: Being built on a decentralized network, there is no single point of failure and hence there will be no downtime like the recent Facebook outage.
Privacy and interoperability: Web3 payments require no personal data and can't prevent certain types of payments. One can log in on various applications using a single public id (eg. the use of metamask for logging onto different applications.
Blockchain is one of the key innovations behind this new era of Internet but this huge dependency over it raises questions about astronomical energy requirements to run it and sustainability of the blockchain technology in the long run, although many developers around the world are trying to find more sustainable ways to run these blockchains.
Web3 is taking its shape as we discuss this topic, with innovations like AI, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and many more, it will be interesting to see how it evolves over time.