Web3 or Web 3.0 or web3 sounds like a scam. What is really a Web3? No one actually knows and it is a myth from everyone who claims to understand. Similar to Bitcoin in 2009, many people think it was a scam. How can Bitcoin be like digital currency and had value to trade like a stock but no central organization manages it?! Let’s explore what Web3 really is a closed look.

TL;DR

Web3 is everything yet it is nothing. It has not yet been defined which is an opportunity for people to build one and define the future. It is likely the site runs on top of blockchain as a back-end and a portal to connect with other crypto products in the future.

Here is a 1 min summary of the article if you want to skip the reading.

The Next Big Thing

If you told to CEOs or founders in startups, they likely will sell you the next big thing is xxxx. Web3 is one of their topics to choose from. The next big thing is Web3. But what exactly is Web3? No one can really define Web3 but put everything together to piece the puzzle together. So the Wbe3 = cryptocurrencies + wallets + NFTs + DAOs + decentralized + privacy protection + open + trustless + permissionless network + … as many as you can image and exist from now on.

What Is Web3

Again, no one knows. People can self claim to be an expert to tell you what is Web3 but there is no official Web3 site that can tell people this is Web3. No wonder lie Elon Musk or Jack Dorsey is trying to witch hunt the Web3.

Web3 or Web 3.0 or web3

From the terminology, it seems it is a continuation of Web 2.0. Not sure it will improve Web 2.0 or discontinue web 2.0. If we choose Web 3.0, it implies that we will continue to improve Web 2.0. However, crypto is to eliminate big corporations and decentralize the system by eliminating third parties. It is likely has its own way to carry out the website. So it is more like web3. But web3 is like a non-profit organization that wants to provide an open-source for everything without profiting the technology. I do not think that is the case too because people own web3 as an asset. So it is likely a Web3 at the end which is decentralized yet people want to make a profit from it.

History of Website

Before jumping into details of Web3, we need to learn the history of the website.

Web1 or web 1.0 or web1

It started with website 1.0 with its leader Yahoo. The company was founded in 1994 and it is no longer exists. The product of website 1.0 is an email. It is the only product that survives from the website 1.0 revolution and continues being used currently. However, spam emails kill the usage of email and many startups want to kill email through other platforms like Discord or Slack. They haven’t been able to make an impact except for WeChat which completely kills the email in China.

Web2 or web 2.0 or web2

If Web1 makes people who are connected through the internet read, Web2 makes people talk to each other. Therefore, social media has been born to ruin your life. Too much talking with too much fake talking through the internet. It then caused people with symptoms like depression, FUD, FOMO, and many others yet to be introduced. Then again, spams ruin social media with scammers and spam messages everywhere just like did to email.

Web3 or web 3.0 or web3

It is unknown to people. What is next after you can read and talk. Possible more interaction is needed to express yourself wholly. To be able to completely show off yourself, you can put what you own on the internet and displace to everyone to visit (NFTs and Metaverse). You may create your own digital properties and share them with your friends (Metaverse). Or perhaps, you create a community to interact with people like yourself (DAOs). We still don’t know yet.

Is Metaverse a Web3

Facebook changes its name to Meta so that they can continue practicing its controversial algorithms as they brand to sell you an idea that “we cannot tell you because we do not know but we will hide our past wrongdoing through a new brand” strategy. They are pretty irrelevant to Web3 or Metaverse yet people hype about them which implied no one actually knows what Metaverse or Web3 is about. Before you can only text thumb up but now you can actually virtual thumb up. However, it does not make any difference when it comes to the fundamental questions on who controls the data. Facebook or Meta ignore the question completely. Therefore, the Meta is not Web3. Metaverse can be part of Web3 or completely separate from Web3.

Web3 Is Irrelevant

Whatever you try to explain Web3 or Metaverse, they are irrelevant to mainstream technology development. AI is just about to take off and it does brand itself too much before the Pandemic. It has over-promising many futures that cannot happen or will not happen in near future (within a decade). Same as Web3 does, the platform does not exist and will not be ready until decades to come. However, it does not discourage people from trying them and making them come true. Ethereum Foundation has some ideas about Web3 and shares them on their site. They are one of many aspects of Web3.

My Takes on Web3

I believe that Web3 can do better than previous generations of web technology. Of course, there will always be a downside. It may improve or even change what Web2 damaged us. It not only gives us back control of our own data, but it also can give us more opportunities to change the economy the way it used to do. I hope Web3 departs from Web2 and truly gives one the power to create a new way to identify oneself. Of course, spam will eventually come to ruin Web3 too.

In Conclusion

Web3 is a buzzword. Rather than people try to explain Web3, they put their hope on what Web3 will be like. It is a new era of technology that everyone participates in rather than one entity to determine the future. We shall see how it can become and will benefit everyone.