The following article is written as part of the program Future Proof.

In my understanding, the buzzword Web 3.0 is a collective envisioning of the structure of the next generation of the internet. In an ideal state, it should be decentralized and based on blockchains. Users can control what and to whom the information is to be shared. Such nature is in contrast with the status quo of Web 2.0, where big tech companies occupy the market and thus are able to monopolize private data. Not all blockchain-based networks are decentralized. 

To put it in plain words, a decentralized web is a network that does not store all the information together and is thus controlled by one single entity, like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other name brands of tech companies you can recall. Encryption can be used to connect users on different hosts in a safe manner, and instead of hosting everything on one server (or a group of servers belonging to the same company), multiple entities should be involved, each only has control over its own part. 

In a nutshell, blockchain is a system that uses algorithms of cryptography that would allow transactions from one user to another without the appearance of middlemen. It creates the premises of the ideal Web3.0 space. 

The reason I care about Web 3.0, in general, is probably due to my personal interest and opinions about censorship and privacy issues. Coming from a country well-known for its censorship (hint: it’s a five-letter word that starts with capital C), and pursuing my college in a country with virtually minimal privacy rights, I think Web 3.0 might lead us out of this complicated maze of having no options once surfing on the internet. The reason I think others should care is pretty much for the same reason. Censorship is not only limited to the country which starts with a capital C that contains ⅕ of the global population, and exploitation of users’ privacy is so common that people would not be impressed if anyone brings it up. In the age of information, having no ownership over information puts the users in an inferior position that they might not realize until anything significant happens. We hope that these significant events won’t happen, but to take back ownership and returns the internet to its more ideal form just as it started, optimistic or not, Web 3.0 would be something everyone who accesses the internet at all should care about. 

Sources Consulted:

“What is Web 3”, https://web3isgoinggreat.com/what [archive]

“Decentralization” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralization

“Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” https://mirror.xyz/stickykeys.eth/yQN7CWu8guNdPh04usCs0l0hpQ3dWn4xtjwuQrXemSw

The following article is written as part of the program Future Proof.

In my understanding, the buzzword Web 3.0 is a collective envisioning of the structure of the next generation of the internet. In an ideal state, it should be decentralized and based on blockchains. Users can control what and to whom the information is to be shared. Such nature is in contrast with the status quo of Web 2.0, where big tech companies occupy the market and thus are able to monopolize private data. Not all blockchain-based networks are decentralized. 

To put it in plain words, a decentralized web is a network that does not store all the information together and is thus controlled by one single entity, like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other name brands of tech companies you can recall. Encryption can be used to connect users on different hosts in a safe manner, and instead of hosting everything on one server (or a group of servers belonging to the same company), multiple entities should be involved, each only has control over its own part. 

In a nutshell, blockchain is a system that uses algorithms of cryptography that would allow transactions from one user to another without the appearance of middlemen. It creates the premises of the ideal Web3.0 space. 

The reason I care about Web 3.0, in general, is probably due to my personal interest and opinions about censorship and privacy issues. Coming from a country well-known for its censorship (hint: it’s a five-letter word that starts with capital C), and pursuing my college in a country with virtually minimal privacy rights, I think Web 3.0 might lead us out of this complicated maze of having no options once surfing on the internet. The reason I think others should care is pretty much for the same reason. Censorship is not only limited to the country which starts with a capital C that contains ⅕ of the global population, and exploitation of users’ privacy is so common that people would not be impressed if anyone brings it up. In the age of information, having no ownership over information puts the users in an inferior position that they might not realize until anything significant happens. We hope that these significant events won’t happen, but to take back ownership and returns the internet to its more ideal form just as it started, optimistic or not, Web 3.0 would be something everyone who accesses the internet at all should care about. 

Sources Consulted:

“What is Web 3”, https://web3isgoinggreat.com/what [archive]

“Decentralization” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralization

“Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” https://mirror.xyz/stickykeys.eth/yQN7CWu8guNdPh04usCs0l0hpQ3dWn4xtjwuQrXemSw