Web 3.0 (also web3) as a term has gained some popularity in recent times. To some, it is an exciting concept. To others, it is merely a buzzword.
One thing remains common though, the belief that it is a new version of the web. But then, for it to be a new version, there has to be an older version, right? Let’s see…
The Web So Far
Web 1.0 (Read-only web)
Photo by Wikipedia on The Wayback Machine
This generation of the web was characterized by static web pages with little to no provision for user interaction.
This was the period between 1990-2004 when all you could do on the internet was read through web pages like you would an article or a newspaper. There were very few creators at this time. Most internet users were consumers of content.
WEB 2.0 (Read-write web)
This is the web/internet as we know it today. The limitations of the web 1.0 gave birth to this era.
People wanted to be more than just consumers of content. They wanted to interact and create theirs too. This brought about innovation; people could own blogs, interact with more responsive and user-friendly web pages and generally have a more fulfilling internet experience.
But that was not all, the advent of social media has been a game changer. It simply took creating content to a whole new level. People could share and consume content in a more interactive manner.
Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
One setback of this era is the problem of over-centralization and data safety. The web 2.0 platforms that exist today simply place so much power in the hands of the big tech companies who enjoy the liberty of collecting personal data and mainly converting them to targeted ads.
Websites use cookies to track the extent of user interaction on their web pages and they sometimes convert the information gathered into personalized ads.
There is also the issue of ownership. Your social media account and content belong to you but you technically do not own them because the administrators of whichever platform you use can decide to restrict your account on grounds of real or perceived violations.
WEB 3.0 (Read-write-own web)
Web 3.0 is simply a new iteration of the web/internet which builds upon some of the shortcomings of web 2.0 and tries to make them better.
The key focus areas of web 3.0 include decentralization, openness and ownership of data. It aims to achieve these using technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and tokenization of digital assets.
Features Of Web 3.0
• Decentralization: With web 3.0, databases will exist across different locations on different computer systems simultaneously. This would ensure data transfer through decentralized networks which would ensure data security.
Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash
This is in contrast to the web 2.0 based companies that often have their massive databases stored on a single server. Compared to web 2.0, hacking systems on web 3.0 would be a harder nut to crack.
The blockchain technology makes this possible.
• Ownership: Web 3.0 applications allow users to own digital assets (such as cryptocurrencies).
For instance, in gaming or in the futuristic metaverse, users would be able to purchase and own avatars and other collectibles in the form of NFTs, which can be transferred or exchanged for money.
Users can own digital identities (crypto domains), which can also be tokenized, and which can be transferred across platforms securely and anonymously.
Users can collectively own platforms (known as Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) by owning tokens which represent shares. They can vote on how the DAOs are run using these tokens
• Permissionless and Trustless: Web 3.0 applications will be built on the blockchain and decentralized peer-to-peer networks and would allow the users to interact with the platforms without having to go through an intermediary or an authority.
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Some scholars refer to web 3.0 as the “semantic web” and it is borne out of the idea that computers would be able to understand information like humans.
Using ML and AI, they would be able to use data and algorithms to imitate human behaviour and generally improve user experience.
Limitations Of Web 3.0
• Technical Barriers: The web 3.0 ecosystem is rather technical and largely has poor user experience. This places on users the burden of undergoing technical study in order to fully understand how it works.
There is also a need for large scale user education in order to speed up web 3.0 adoption. Communities like BlockchainUNN are at the fore of making this a reality.
• Regulatory risks: Cybercrimes and misinformation are already rife in web 2.0 platforms and controlling them have not been easy. A decentralized internet such as web 3.0 will make such behaviour even harder to regulate, especially with its anonymity potential.
The decentralized nature of web 3.0 would also blur the lines of jurisdiction. It would be harder to determine which laws apply to different communities and ecosystems.
• Accessibility: Access to most web 3.0 platforms come at a cost, some more than others. For instance, services on the Ethereum blockchain network are characterized by high transaction fees and this places a barrier to entry for people with minimal means.
Conclusion
While web 3.0 promises a lot for its proponents, it is important to note that it would still be dependent on some web 2.0 platforms. Also worthy of note is the fact that web 3.0 is a nascent technology and there is still room for improvement. That said, I hope this article has given you some insight to what exactly web 3.0 is, and how it came to be.
If you have any questions or contributions, feel free to drop them below.