If you are reading this, then you are a participant in the modern web. The web we encounter today is a lot different from the one we encountered just 10 years ago. Few people know that the Internet as we know and use it today has gone through two stages of development: Web 1.0 and Web2.0.
History of internet development
Web 1.0
The first inceptions of Web 1.0 occurred approximately between 1990 and 2004. The content of Web 1.0 was mostly static websites owned by companies, and the interaction between users was virtually nonexistent. Individuals rarely produced content, which is why the then web was known for being read-only.
Web 2.0
The Web 2.0 era began in 2004 with the advent of social media. Instead of being read-only, the web has evolved into a read and write option. Instead of companies providing content to users, they also began providing platforms for sharing user-generated content and engaging in user-to-user interactions. While Web 1.0 was branched out and disorganized, Web 2.0 is concentrated around a pair of large platforms, such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. These platforms owned your posts, data, and even some of you.
We are slowly reaching a new era of the Internet, and we have even given it a name: Web 3.0 or Web3 in short. But what is Web3, which it uses contributions compared to the previous two versions, and when will we see it?
What is Web3?
Web3 is the name given by some technologists to the idea of a new type of internet service that was built using decentralized blochchains. In short: Web1.0 is reading, Web2.0 is reading and writing, and Web3 is reading, writing and POSSESSION.
The term was originally coined by computer scientist and Ethereum co-creator Gavin Wood in a post on his blog, “Insight into the Modern World” in 2014. He called it a “post-Snowden” web. (Edward Snowden and data privacy were on the front pages of the previous year).”
Proponents predict that Web3 will take many forms, including decentralized social networks, “play-to-earn” video games that reward players with crypto tokens, and NFT platforms that allow people to buy and sell digital culture fragments. Idealists among us say Web3 will transform the internet as we know it, turn traditional gatekeepers around, and usher in a new digital economy without intermediaries.
Basic ideas of the Web3 platform
While it’s hard to give a rigid definition of what Web3 is, we have several fundamental principles that lead to its creation.
- Verifiability
- Diffidence
- Self-management
- Without permission
- Distribution and robustness
- Statesmanship
- Original embedded payments
Web3 applications are run on blockchains, decentralized networks of many peer-to-peer nodes (servers) or a combination of them, which make up the crypto-economic protocol. These applications are often referred to as dapps (decentralized apps, “decentralized apps”) and you will see that the term is often used in the Web3 space.
In order to achieve a stable and secure decentralized network, network participants (developers) are stimulating and compete to provide services of the highest quality to all who use the service.
When you hear about Web3, you will notice that cryptocurrency is often part of the conversation. This is because they play a big role in many of these protocols. They provide financial incentives (tokens) for anyone who wants to participate in the creation, management, contribution or improvement of one of the projects themselves.
Tokens also introduce an original payment layer that is completely borderless and frictionless. Companies like Stripe and Paypal have created billions of dollars in value in enabling electronic payments.
These systems are too complex and still do not allow for real international interoperability between participants. They also require that you submit your sensitive information and personal information so that you can use it. Crypto wallets such as MetaMask and Torus allow you to integrate simple, anonymous and secure international payments and transactions in Web3 applications.
Development aspects of Web3
Of the many benefits that, in theory, Web3 would provide to its users, the most important are: data ownership, pseudonyms, and true democracy.
Data ownership
When you use a platform like Facebook or Youtube, these companies collect, own, and monetize your data. In Web3, your data is stored in your crypto wallet. You’ll participate with apps and communities on Web3 through your wallet, and you’ll take your information with you when you sign out. Theoretically, since you own this data, you will also be able to decide whether you want to monetize it.
Pseudonyms
Like data ownership, privacy is built into your wallet. On Web3, your wallet is your identity, which is not easy to associate with your true identity. So even though someone may see someone’s wallet activity, they won’t know it’s your wallet. In short, personal data is hidden, but the activities are public.
Democracy
In Web3, applications will be run by decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). This means that instead of a central administration that makes all decisions, decisions are made by users who own management tokens, which can be obtained by participating in the maintenance of these decentralized applications or purchasing them.
In a traditional enterprise, shareholders vote on changes in business, which are carried out by the CEO. In DAOs, token holders can vote on any proposed changes that are currently being implemented in the DAO’s program code. This is made possible through a smart contract if the changes are approved. Because DAOs are democratized, everyone has access to the DAO’s source code.
Connection with the metaverse
Just as platforms like Facebook and YouTube have been the product of technological advances that have enabled data transfer and cloud storage, many believe the metaverse will be the face of blockchain technology. Facebook’s conversion to the Target in October signaled its transition from a Web2 company to a company whose primary focus is Web3.
Meanwhile, metaverses like Decentraland and Sandbox embody the nature and characteristics of Web3. These are virtual worlds composed of a fixed amount of virtual land, which cannot be added or subtracted. People can buy land and do with it what they want: create games, stores and fashion neighborhoods, sell ads, or just build a house. (Snoop Dogg, for example, has a mansion in Sandbox, from which he organizes parties and concerts.)
How will regulation work?
Bitcoin itself has never been regulated because it is very difficult to do due to the fact that it is not owned by a single entity. However, companies that touch on cryptocurrency in some way, like exchanges, often find themselves under some kind of regulation.
So if the Web3 service is built on the same decentralization theory as Bitcoin, how will regulators approach it? For now, countries around the world are still trying to figure out how best to regulate cryptocurrencies and related technologies. Web3 is part of that conversation.
Gavin Wood suggests it will be difficult for authorities to regulate Web3 services themselves. Instead, it could be in the “self-interest” of the application, in terms of their product, to make rules that are consistent with regulators. He added that regulators could seek to regulate “service users, not the service itself.”
Are there any shortcomings?
The answer to this question depends on who you ask. Many say that tokenizing participation on platforms like Facebook and Twitter will create damaging incentives for engagement at all costs. Others, like Elon Musk, wonder if Web3 even exists.
In addition to philosophical disagreements, there is uncertainty over whether the real Web3 can really be technically achieved. Skeptics argue that the kind of Web3 utopia often described by proponents would require exactly the kind of centralization it is fighting.
Molly White is one of the Web3 skeptics who keeps the world of technology on its toes. A software engineer runs the blog “Web3 Is Going Just Great,” an open resource that exposes the dark underpinnings of web3. White updates its site in real time with news about fraud and corruption in nft/cryptocurrency markets, as well as criticism of the impact of early web3 players on the economy, culture and environment.
Ethereum, the blockchain on which most of it is based, is scandalously inefficient. Transactions are expensive and energy-intensive. People are working on solutions, including apps built on Ethereum to make it more efficient and embracing carbon-neutral blockchains like Solana, but the idea of all-out blockchain activity sounds technically unfeasible to some.
Conclusion
In short, Web3 is a better version of the internet that aims to make internet users sovereign. One of its goals is to help users control how their information is shared online and control who profits from their content. In Web3, users receive compensation for the time and data they spend online. The idea is exciting, as Web3 has an original payment system where individuals can send payments to each other without the need for banks or any other third party.
