In this second episode of my attempt to demystify blockchain and the technology around it, I am going to walk you through what web3 is, & how Cryptocurrency ideas tie into the evolution of our current Internet and what this means to you as a user.
To begin with, note that there is no Internet encyclopedia verified by the Institute of global technology that has a strict definition of what web3 is: as such, I will build up to the answer by discussing what Web 1.0, is, web 2.0 and finally use this as a base to define this new phenomenon.
Web 1.0 is believed to be the Internet between 1994 - 2004. At this time, the internet was just a bunch of static pages, like a hyperlinked Wikipedia. It is best described as the read-only version of the web, with no logging in or interacting with posts or even viewing analytics. It was not even ad profitable. However with time, flash and Javascript brought about some improvements. The users were basically just consumers.
Web 2.0 is the version of the internet from 2004 upto now. It is characterized by improved interactivity. We not only get information from pages but they also started information from us. Data collection such as about your preferences, likes & dislikes was done to server you even better content. However, companies realized that they could package this data and sell it to advertisers for even more profit. This ushered in an age of targeted advertising and a lack of privacy for its users. To be fair enough we gave up the privacy willingly.
Such data has enabled the sorting of pages according to who is viewing them. A good example is when you and your friend open a social media app say Facebook, the feed will be different, despite it being the same website. This is possible due to the data you gave them. If you take a look at the ads, you will notice that some of them will show you ads based on data you didn't know you gave them. However, a single company having control over all of this data is scary.
Web 3 is believed to be the next iteration of the internet probably utilizing blockchain technology and the tools of decentralization that come along with it. In Web 2.0 you are the product, in web3 you are the owner of your content, the stuff you post online. An example is Odyssey, a youtube alternative where you can post videos and earn Library tokens which are the rewards for enticing viewers to watch your videos. They can't really stop a video from being posted or take it down since it works kinda like a big torrent Network. Censorship resistance is baked right into its core foundation. Whereas illegal or hateful stuff might be posted, the users of a platform can decide on means to decide how to reduce such kind of stuff.
The Emergence of DAO's (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) who are the users of a platform with a threshold number of tokens vote upon changes and or improvements to a protocol or social media network. This way those who use the protocol are the ones who actually make decisions concerning the protocol. No Censorship of the network or a single controlling authority can decide to shut it down one day. Another major advantage is that your digital identity is not 100% connected to your real identity. However, note that these are long-term ideas for web3 enthusiasts.
The current reality is that you might be able to purchase an item on Amazon and pay using Metamask using Eth. It will not be a sudden life-changing technology, but a paradigm shift, a slow incremental adoption of a series of ideas that grow together to foster the new better, decentralization, Censorship resistant & privacy oriented iteration of the internet.
