Web3 has been a buzzword for a while now. If you’re in tech/crypto you might have come across this term a lot. Now, what exactly is Web 3.0? How is it different from the web that we know and use now?
Before we dive deeper, I’m going to make a clear distinction between the internet and the web. The world wide web (www) is an interconnected network of web pages available on the internet, whereas the internet is an interconnected network of computers. (yes the physical wires and servers). The web runs as an application on top of the internet.
The web has gone through a few iterations, let’s look at what web 1.0 and web 2.0 are
Web 1.0
Web 1.0 was the first iteration of the web, it consisted of just static websites hyperlinked together. The contents rarely changed. Only the developers who built and maintained the website could change the content while the users only consumed content. Let’s say web 1.0 was like a huge Wikipedia that had all these different static pages linked together.
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is the current version of the web that we use. Users can interact with the website by creating accounts and performing actions like posting content, liking a post, etc. The emergence of dynamic web apps like Facebook, YouTube enabled the users to get content curated for their needs and interests. Each user views a different content when they sign into Facebook. As the adoption of the web increased, the web apps started depending on a lot of user data to provide users the best experience while using them. However, this comes at a cost where the users are no longer in control of their data. There is a lot of increase in targeted online ads and tracking. This makes it easy for anyone who has access to your information on the web to link back to your identity in the physical world. Moreover Web 2.0 is centralized, the data is stored in data centers owned by internet companies.
Web 3.0
Web 3.0 is the next iteration and what people call the future of the web. Web 3 is decentralized and is based on blockchain technology, the data won’t be stored or controlled by one single entity. Web3 guarantees that the users will be the owners of their data and that the data that they make available on the web cannot be tied back to their real world identities. The digital and real world identity of the user wont be tied with each other thus preserving privacy. One of the major characteristics of Web3 is that it helps to verify ownership of data, a perfect example for this would be NFTs.
Web3 developers deploy web applications to decentralized systems that use blockchain technology. Dapps or Decentralized applications have been a growing movement on the internet. Dapps have been built on various blockchains like Ethereum and Binance Smart Chains. Check out Ethererum to learn more about it.
One major drawback of the Web3 is that it cannot be regulated and it depends on trusting the user and the community that the Dapps on Web3 would be kept a safe place for every person.
Web3 is still pretty new and and as the adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain increase I believe that Web3 would infact be a disrupting technology. I think you’ve got a sense of what Web3 and how it’s different.