If you have been around Blockchain or cryptocurrencies for a while, you've likely heard about Web 3.0. A game-changer for the internet, creating new possibilities and potentials in conjunction with a tremendous upside.
For context, let us discuss the preceding versions of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Web 1.0, also known as Syntactic Web, covers from 1991 to 2004, when the Web was mainly informational and contained stagnant contents without dynamic links or interactivity such as; logging in users, posting personal items, and even commenting on blogs. To break it down, this was a 'read only' internet where users' roles were limited to reading the information provided by the content producers.
If you are reading this blog, you are an avid user of Web 2.0. Also referred to as Social Web or read-write web, the provenance of this internet reads from 2004 till date. Fondly called the 'read-write' Web, this Web version brought about a foundational shift to an internet where people could share their perspectives, opinions, thoughts, and experiences through various online tools and platforms.
While the Web 2.0 wave is in vogue and still bearing fruit, we are starting to catch a glimpse of growth emerging from the subsequent revolution in internet applications - the web 3.0.
Web 3.0 - What Does This Mean?
Web 3.0 is a form of internet powered by Blockchain or a condition of the internet not attainable before the eruption of Blockchain. This next iteration of the internet, also referred to as the 'read-write-execute,' is a type that leverages machine learning, artificial intelligence, and Blockchain to help websites and apps process information in a smart human-like way.
By combining the decentralized, community-governed standards of Web 1 with the advanced functionality of Web 2, this next stage of web evolution would upgrade with features like; open and permissionless and native money. One example of Web 3 apps is the Axie Infinity app, a gaming metaverse that connects gaming and decentralized finance (DeFi).
How Will Web 3.0 Disrupt Our Society?
As this new internet becomes increasingly decentralized, you won't have to have a different account for every platform like Twitter or Amazon. Instead, tools like metamask and trust wallet will allow anyone to access decentralized applications(DAPPS), from anywhere, without being required to hand over any sensitive information. Instead, our web3 apps and tools would run on smart contracts rather than getting overly optimistic on human intermediaries.
This internet would reduce monopolistic behaviors like shutting down competitive sites and services or unsolicited access to people's private data. Many of today's web services ask the user to provide personal data to enjoy the benefits of the service adequately. This issue has proven significant, as users automatically lose control of their data and who has access to them. Juxtaposing the centralization of the quotidian internet to Web 3.0, Web 3.0 would guarantee that users have total control over their data, thereby galvanizing a more secure and safe system than their centralized counterparts.
The essential evolution enabled by web 3.0 is the depreciation of the trust required for interaction on a global scale. Trust would be implicit and automatic – leading to the inevitable end of middlemen utilization.
To better understand this new concept, it is necessary to understand what this Web version would constitute.
Features of Web 3.0
1. Semantic Web: Web 3.0 will harness the possibilities of semantics, enabling gadgets and computers to generate, share and analyze data herded by the ability of those technological gadgets to understand the significance of the words directed at them instead of using keywords and numbers.
2. AI and Machine Learning: Considering the ability of these new Web to fathom human-centric exertions, Web 3.0 machines uphold their intelligence by being capable of automatically fulfilling users' demands.
3. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality: Through revolutionized 3D, Web 3.0 will corporealize the 3D virtual world into our physical world, where anything can be possible, even teleporting.
4. Ubiquity and Connectivity: Thanks to semantic metadata, information will be more connected to the internet, granting easy access and usage of the Web. Contents will be within reach by diverse applications and can function everywhere.
5. Native Currency: Since all Web 3 will operate on Blockchain, exchanges will be in crypto, providing a tamper-proof, transparent, and efficient means of trading.
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