While Web 3.0 technologies are difficult to define, the contours of future applications have emerged during the last year. To fully comprehend what Web3 is, we first go through each of its evolution stages.
The Evolution of The Web
"Web" is an abbreviation of the word Website - a collection of information (images, articles, social networks, ...) that users can access through the Internet. Web3 (or Web 3.0) is a more advanced version of the stub Web. It was developed based on versions 1.0 and 2.0.
Web 1.0
The early age of the internet was known as Web 1.0. The majority of participants were consumers of content, and the creators were typically developers who build websites with material delivered mostly in text or graphic format. The Web 1.0 era lasted from around 1991 to 2004
Web 1.0 consisted of sites serving static material instead of dynamic HTML. Data and content were served from a static file system rather than a database, and there was little interaction on the web pages. We can consider Web 1.0 as read-only.
Web 2.0
In the Web 2.0 universe, you do not have to be a developer to participate in the creation process. Many applications are designed in such a manner that anybody may simply become a creator. You can share feelings or status with people in the world. You can also upload a video or photo and let millions of people view, interact and comment on it. In general, you can both receive and post information (interaction). Nowadays, most of us have experienced the web in Web 2.0 form. You can think of Web 2.0 as the interactive and social web.
Regarding security and privacy, Web2 applications repeatedly experience data breaches. There are even websites dedicated to tracking these breaches and informing you when your data has been hacked. In addition, you have no control over your data or how it is stored. All of this data is then owned and controlled by the companies in charge of these platforms. As a result, Web 3.0 was created with the desire to overcome the limitations of Web 2.0.
Web 3.0
Web 3.0 is still in its early stages of development, and there is no definitive definition. There are a few fundamental differences between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, but decentralization is at its core. It's still the destination that the community of Web 3.0 tends to.
Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood first introduced the term "Web3" in 2014, and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, technological corporations, and venture capital firms expressed interest in the concept in 2021. Like previous versions, Web 3.0 is a source of data and information for users, but it is improved in terms of data security, privacy, and scalability for users.
Some keys for understanding Web 3.0:
- Features: Distributed, trustless, robust, native built-in payments, etc. .
- Challenges: Inconsistent, vastness, vagueness, deceit, chaos, etc.
Pros and Cons of Web 3.0
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The potential and risks of Web3
The potential
Web3 discoveries have opened huge portals to create business models and industries that were previously hard to imagine. The most typical example at the moment is Crypto. The application of blockchain technology with the removal of the trust factor, eliminating the need for a third party in the transaction, has created really great experiences and products.
With Web 3.0, users can access information even more easily, with the advent of a series of new generation smart devices thanks to the internet of things technology, and then, cyberspace is no longer restricted to computers or smartphones as in Web 2.0.
Web 3.0 allows the creation and distribution of content in the most appropriate way in each specific situation for internet users. Websites will intelligently process information like humans through advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), big data (big data), decentralized ledger technology, etc.
The risks
However, some experts argue that an anonymous and decentralized web cannot handle some harmful content, wealth inequality between normal users and a small group of investors, or data inaccessibility due to the high cost based on blockchain technology. Many projects utilize the phrase "Web3" as a marketing buzzword to attract investors and individuals, and some even exploit it to perpetrate fraud, while they do not have any decentralized solutions based on Web3 technology in their projects. As a result, any investors or users considering investing in the "Web3" initiative should proceed with caution. [1]
Some top web3 projects
Chainlink (LINK)
Chainlink, an Ethereum-based decentralized blockchain oracle network, is designed to make it easier to move tamper-proof data from off-chain to on-chain smart contracts.
Filecoin (FIL)
Filecoin is a digital currency and payment system that has been integrated with IPFS to create a blockchain-based cooperative digital storage and retrieval system.
The Graph (GRT)
The graph is an indexing system for querying blockchain networks such as Ethereum and IPFS that anybody can use to access data via its APIs, known as subgraphs.
Livepeer (LPT)
Livepeer is a decentralized video live streaming service that was built on the Ethereum blockchain.
Akasha (AKT)
Akasha is the next generation of blockchain-based decentralized social network that is built on the Ethereum network [10]
Conclusion
Web 3.0 is a very broad topic that only one of its applications, such as Crypto, requires us to spend a lot of time learning and understanding. And in the same way that Crypto has changed and will change lives, other uses of Web 3.0 will create a massive shift in prosperity for the changing generations.
Previous generations of the Web took decades to develop and are gradually being applied more in life; similarly, Web 3.0 will be developed and applied gradually so that one day we will use it naturally as we use social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, …
The advantages that Web 3.0 brings will gradually be linked together, helping to create a more seamless and effective experience where people are at the center. Besides, there are breakthroughs on a global scale when all physical limits are broken and we are truly moving towards a flatter world than ever before.
The more time I spend digging deep, the more enormity of Web 3.0 I see. Different from the early stage when everything was ideal, Web 3.0 applications have gradually come to life and have a breakneck development speed. What will our future look like in the next 5 to 10 years? I don't know, but I believe Web 3.0 will play a significant role in that future.
References
[1] Web3, Wikipedia, accessed March 10th, 2022.
[2] Nader Dabit, What is Web3? The Decentralized Internet of the Future Explained, freeCodeCamp.org, accessed March 10th, 2022.
[3] What is Web3?, certik.com, accessed March 10th, 2022.
[4] What does the future web look like and what does it means for users, utopia.fans, accessed March 10th, 2022.
[5] Chainlink (blockchain), Wikipedia, accessed March 10th, 2022.
[6] What is Filecoin, Filecoin.io, accessed March 10th, 2022.
[7] APIs for a vibrant decentralized future, Thegraph, accessed March 10th, 2022.