Before I begin, I’d like to clarify that theirs is no internet encyclopedia that has an actual definition of web 3.0 that has been confirmed by the Institute of Global Technology. Instead, I’ll give you a broad definition of what web 1.0 is, what web 2.0 is, and then explain the new phenomenon that many people are calling web 3.0. Let's start with Web 1.0.
Tim Berners-Lee developed the term “Web 1.0” to refer to a “read-only” web. It was the first generation of WWW, lasting from 1989 to 2005.
Users of the internet were simply reading the material that was offered to them. It was not as lively, vivid, or participatory as the internet we know today. The fundamental goal of the websites was to make the material available to everybody and to establish an online presence. During these times there was no logging in or interaction with posts or videos, or even watching metrics. It was mostly like one giant Wikipedia that was all hyperlinked together. People only used the internet to consume information throughout these periods.
The following are the main characteristics of Web 1.0:
They solely have read-only material.
Establish an online presence and make their information accessible to anybody at any time.
It contains static web pages and uses basic Hypertext Mark-up Language.
Web 2.0 began in 2004 and continues to this day. During this time, the web evolved significantly, but one of the most significant changes was the internet’s interactivity.
This meant that we were not only getting information online, but the web was also gaining information from us. As we used Facebook, YouTube, Google, and other centralized firms, they began collecting data about us in order to deliver better content, which in turn made us stay on their platform longer, which meant more money for them. Web 2.0 is the era of targeted advertising and a lack of user privacy. To be fair, we voluntarily gave up our privacy in exchange for cool apps like Facebook and Twitter. Because the page depended on who was viewing it. In web 2.0, you and I could both visit facebook.com and see two very different news feeds, which is an important distinction in web 3 that we’ll discuss in a minute. When you look at the content on your feed, the company is sorting data based on the information you know you gave them, such as likes and how long you watched a video, but when you look at the ads they show you, they are sorting data based on the information you didn’t know you gave them. For example, I remember telling a friend that I wanted to get a wristwatch, and then I open Instagram, and the first advertisement I see on my feed is an ad for an online store that sells watches. Whatever the case may be, having a centralized company control all of these data, whether we want them to or not, is extremely concerning.
The following are the main characteristics of Web 2.0:
Instead of just reading what’s already there, users are encouraged and invited to contribute content.
Folksonomy: a method of categorizing information, such as by tagging photos, websites, or links; tagging allows users to find information in a more organized way.
Participation of users: aids in the flow of information between users and website owners (for example, Wikipedia allows users to create new pages and edit existing pages to keep the information up to date)
As I previously stated, web 3.0 has yet to be fully implemented, hence there is no definitive definition. Web 3.0 aspires to be an open, intelligent, and decentralized Internet (also referred to as Decentralized web).
Web 3.0 is the next evolution of the Internet, and it will most likely use blockchain technology and decentralization tools. As you browse social networks in 2.0, you were the product, but in web 3.0, some believe you will be the owner of your material (the stuff that you post online).
Here’s an illustration of how web 3 is becoming a reality. Minds is a blockchain-based alternative to Facebook. Minds offers the same features as Facebook, such as the ability to create blogs, videos, channels, and groups, but without censorship. Minds do not have adverts; instead, the platform is run on a contribution basis in order to preserve the user experience. Minds chat is encrypted, so the authorities cannot listen in on your communication. Similar to Reddit, you can upvote stuff you want to see more of and downvote content you don’t. The entire website is free to use. Minds is based on blockchain technology, and users are rewarded for content by their followers in BTC, Ethereum, and USD.
Consider the Nigerian Twitter ban: if Twitter had to be a decentralized social network like minds, the government would be unable to stop or block people from using the platform to share content, because content would not be hosted on a single server, but rather on thousands of computers around the world, ensuring that the blockchain social network could not be targeted or blocked.
Experts predict that by web 3.0, the internet will have progressed to the point where every corporation is managed by a decentralized group known as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). A DAO is a company that does not have a CEO. Those with the most tokens decide how the company changes, with no restrictions imposed by the government.
What I believe web 3.0 implies for us is that in the next decade, you could be able to pay for your Netflix subscription with Metamask and Ethereum, or anonymously like/comment on a tweet with one of your secret wallets; it’s not going to be life-changing things all at once. It’d most likely be a collection of concepts that evolve together until centralized networks like Facebook and Google are dismantled by the legislature and replaced by decentralized, uncontrolled DAOs.
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