Web 3.0 is the newest buzzword sweeping the tech world. And if you think you are the only one wondering what it signifies, you are not alone. Web 3.0 is a decentralized online environment based on the blockchain and is the latest version of the internet ecosystem.
Web 3.0 promises a new way of using the internet more distributed and transparently. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has labeled Web 3.0 as a marketing buzzword. Venture capitalists have poured billions of dollars toward this vision, even though some technology experts are skeptical of Web 3.0 expanding globally. Much of the criticism regarding Web 3.0 decentralization comes from its early expressions being primitive.
While some experts debate whether this future version of the web will become a reality and have proof of work (PoW), a few factors fuel the Web 3.0 vision.
What is web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0?
To understand Web 3.0 and how it is projected to be different from what we see today, let’s quickly go back to the early days of the internet.
Web 1.0. It is the original flat world wide web dating from 1990 to 2004. Static Global Network features basic designs, read-only files, and limited security features where content consumers can only browse individual static web pages. In other words, Web 1.0 was simply raw HTML, with many web pages that no one managed. This was a more decentralized form of the web, which meant anyone who knew how to code could contribute to it from their computers. However, only limited users had the technical knowledge to develop and publish content back then. Facebook was in its first year, and no one followed, liked, or commented on anything.
Next came Web 2.0, the stage of the internet we are currently experiencing. Web 2.0 is the centralized version of the web. It is more flexible since programming languages such as JavaScript and HTML5 have made the internet more interactive. This has allowed companies to create platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon. Web 2.0 allows anyone to post content online, regardless of coding ability. We can share content on social media platforms through posts, photos, and videos. But this means you have no control over your data in Web 2.0. The companies that own the platforms control your data, which can be tracked, saved, and used for profit. Data distribution and digitization invited security issues hackers designed malware that steals identities, hacks company files, and demands ransomware. Web 2.0 also fell short of anticipating people’s wishes and needs by merely reacting to them.
Experts say that Web 2.0’s flaws will be addressed by Web 3.0, built on blockchain technology, especially regarding decentralization. Olga Mack, a blockchain lecturer at UC Berkeley, is bullish about Web 3.0’s potential to change the future of the web. With the help of Web 3.0 decentralization, people could exchange information & make transactions over the internet without needing a mediator, such as a bank. Web 3.0 is decentralizing the internet in 2 or 3D using AI and big data analytics to deliver information faster and more proactively to users’ needs.
What’s the advantage of Web 3.0 Decentralization?
Web 3.0 is built on blockchain technology blocks of data that cannot be deleted or edited. A decentralized web will have more privacy and security because it will allow people to have more control over their data. Everything would run on a decentralized, distributed ledger technology.
Simply put, in Web 3.0, we can access the internet without the involvement of mediators such as Facebook or Google. Web 3.0 is currently new and unproven, although it may provide users with more transparency and autonomy.
With Web 3.0, users could move effortlessly from social media to email to shopping, creating a public record of all that activity on the blockchain with a single account. Web 3.0 is where the marketer’s crystal ball will leave you asking how they know what I wanted and how they know what I needed.
But how exactly would Web3 remain operational if a central corporation or entity does not control it?
How does Web 3.0 function?
DEFI, or decentralized finance, is a key component of this system. In theory, people would be given virtual tokens, or cryptocurrencies, to encourage them to participate in Web 3.0.
If one can develop a token for every imaginable interaction of computers, software, and humans, a massive ecosystem of cryptocurrencies can be created that can be exchanged and valued relative to one another.
It’s still unknown how to regulate this decentralized token system, how it would operate on a wide scale, or even how successfully it would share internet power.
Some thoughts about Web 3.0
According to critics such as Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Web 3.0 is a “centralized organization with a different label.”
Developers who have done extensive research believe that the underlying blockchain structures of Web 3.0 are exceedingly vulnerable, not decentralized as promised, and are centralized.
Some envision Web 3.0 as a vital piece in creating the metaverse, an immersive online world where people would socialize, shop, work, and play using avatars. Others, however, argue that Web3 and the metaverse are separate entities. Because both Metaverse & Web3 are getting a lot of attention right now, there are certain big companies at the intersection of the two.
Web 3.0 is still very much an abstract concept with a limited real-world base. Skeptics, such as engineer and blogger Stephen Diehl, believe that Web 3.0 lacks the computer capacity, bandwidth, and storage to function practically.
Skeptics of Web3 also argue that tokens and cryptocurrencies are just a gigantic bubble and that once it breaks, all the hype about how Web 3 will build the next internet will vanish.
Conclusion
Web 3.0 refers to the upcoming third generation of the internet, in which websites and mobile applications can compile information like humans, allowing for a more personalized and tailored browsing experience. It will behave like a much better and more human-like search assistant, as well as give other decentralized benefits to create a more equitable web.
While it is unclear whether Web 3.0 will become a reality, the theory that underpins it generates billions of dollars in venture capital investments, fueling a massive ecosystem of decentralized internet services.
So much real-world money is being invested in Web 3.0 startups that even if the concept proves unworkable, we’ll be hearing about it for a long time.