What is Web 3.0?
Before we enter the new phase of the web, let us journey back into its history
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Innovation
Historically, people have been pushing and striving for innovation. We are always looking for the next best thing and expanding the limits of what is possible. When you think of the web, you think about Google, Facebook, and online shopping. That, my friends, is all a part of what is called Web 2.0. The age of being socially connected.
I was just as surprised as you to learn that the age of the internet has in fact gone through time periods, eras, if you will, and we are simply ending one era to begin another. This article will give you that breakdown of how we are already headed into our third iteration of the web. Well, this article will only begin to breakdown the web as it is everchanging and constantly growing.
To be able to accurately describe Web 3.0, I must put into context what Web 1.0 was, as well as how we are slowly transitioning out of Web 2.0 towards a new future.
Web 1.0
The internet and the web were introduced in the late-1990s. The picture below perfectly illustrates what web 1.0 was all about. Static, basic, and featureless web pages.
Remember, though, that had never been seen before. This was the prototype waiting to be evolved into something great. With HTML coding being the language of the web along with the creation of URLs, we started to see growth and accessibility for companies and people to create websites on the web. Up to date sports websites, news outlets, emailing, file storage, online banking, are all elements of the early web.
This was the point at which Web 2.0 took off from.
Web 2.0
This iteration of the web is what most of us have grown up with as it has been the focus of the web for approximately the past two decades. This era of the web can be described as when interactivity really became the theme. On the web, you could now connect with friends, build products, and content, and reach around the world throughout the inner workings of the code behind the web.
Most of us take this for granted as we have only ever lived with an internet where you could type in any number of keywords and millions of hits would instantly populate. That has not always been the case.
If I had to summarize the biggest breakthroughs of Web 2.0, I would instantly say two things: the creation of social networks and the ability to access the internet anywhere (computer or mobile).
This is where tech companies really started to take over market share in the economy. If you look at our economy now, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google (also known as “FAANG”) dominate the market and our everyday lives.
One of the most impactful industries to come out of this age of over-connectedness is what people are calling, “side-gig economy,” or, “gig economy.” This has enabled millions of people to earn money by building something on their own with these powerful web tools. Companies we use on the daily would not exist if it were not for this era of the internet. I cannot even imagine how inconvenient our lives would be without these companies:
Lyft/Uber: Make money driving, convenience for travelling customers
Doordash: Make money delivering various foods, convenience for customers
Amazon/eBay/Target: Online shopping on steroids
As you can see, Web 2.0 created a space to be innovative and explore, and our world would literally not be the same without it. A hinderance we have seen, however, is while we have gained a new way of living, we have lost our privacy and data. This is where Web 3.0 enters the chat.
Web 3.0
What if the web was decentralized, had better utility for all users, and provided a more open yet secure form of abilities? Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, that is the basis of what Web 3.0 is all about.
The definition has not been fully defined yet as we have not fully entered this stage of the web. As you look around the landscape, though, new companies and technology advancements have already started the push to this reality. If this is sparking your interest, there are tons of YouTube videos breaking this down in more complexity. The conversation is only just beginning.
Wait, We Are Centralized?
Currently, yes. All of our data is stored on single servers that companies like Facebook and Google have complete control over. With Web 3.0, the natural push is to take back control of our data. When you decentralize our information, it instead gets stored in various spots simultaneously so no singular power like a Facebook can control all our data. These are where you hear the phrases blockchain and decentralized peer to peer networks. In short, Web 3.0 is taking back our data and taking out the middleman.
No Need to Overcomplicate
When looking at Web 3.0, remember that the goal is not to change what we do on the web. All those websites, features, and things you do on the internet will still be there, what is changing is the backend of the web. The web is becoming more user friendly and allowing us to all have more control of our space.
A Twitter account by the name of @eshita.eth said it perfectly when she broke down the transformations of the web like this:
Web 1.0: Read-only
Web 2.0: Read-write
Web 3.0: Read-write-own
Those few simple words perfectly exhibit what we are seeing in this shift. We started by exploring, then we created, and along the way we forgot about ownership. Web 3.0 is going back to collect what we own.
A YouTube account called Whiteboard Crypto gives an excellent rundown of everything I have just covered and goes more into the technical details of Web 3.0. If you are more of a visual learner, I would highly recommend checking out their channel!
What is Web 3.0? (Explained with Animations):
Onward to the Future
Is this the future? I do not know for certain. Are there positives and negatives to each iteration of the web? Of course. All I know is that change is the only constant in this world, so my guess is this is just the beginning for what people are calling Web 3.0.
Time to study up, and make sure you are prepared for changes that could be around the corner in our ever-growing technology landscape.
Cheers!
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One of your best articles yet! This Gen Xer learned a lot… and yes I was there for the start of Web 1.0! 😂