You've probably heard about term Web3 even if you're not into blockchain technology like Bitcoin or NFTs(or Web 3.0). Your tech-savvy acquaintances may tell you it's the way of the future, but the concept is a little perplexing. Is it a cryptocurrencyor a blockchain? Here's everything you need to know about it.
Let's take back look-at. Web 1.0 refers to the original version of the internet that was made publicly available for usage, the World Wide Web. When it originally appeared in the early 1990s, it was mostly composed of static web pages linked together by hyperlinks.
Then came Web 2.0, the platform era of the internet. E-commerce and social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have grown in popularity. People were able to communicate with online platforms and create their own blog. Smartphones and cloud computing were important growth engines in this market.
Many individuals believe that the current problem is that internet users are being forced to give up their personal data in order to enjoy "free" services given by tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, or Amazon. Shopping, social media, and blogs all capture data about our interests and how we use these services, which is then sold to third parties and used to deliver targeted advertisements.
Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum, coined the phrase Web3 to describe how centralization is not socially sustainable in the long run. However, Elon Musk believes that Web3 is more of a "marketing phrase" than a reality, whereas Jack Dorseybelieves that venture capitalists would eventually control it.
Web3 employs a set of blockchain-based decentralized internetto enable new commercial and social models. Users control their data, identities, content, and algorithms, and they can participate in the system as "shareholders" by purchasing tokens or cryptocurrencies. The transfer of ownership takes power and money away from centralized Web 2.0 "gatekeepers" like big tech companies and governments.
"Web3 breakthroughs will propel the internet into new realms and enable applications never before imagined," says Avivah Litan, Distinguished Vice President Analyst at Gartner. "However, Web 2.0 still has scalability, customer service, and customer protection advantages." Lack of client safeguards, new security threats, and a return to centralized control are all potential Web3 dangers, therefore enterprises should strengthen governance and risk management before replacing Web 2.0 applications."
In the enterprise, Web3 will not eclipse Web 2.0 before the end of the decade, but you can start talking about a world with less authority and more automated business execution today.
What is Web 2.0 Technology?
Internet apps that allow people to cooperate and exchange while also allowing them to express themselves in real time are known as web 2.0.
An upgraded version of the first international web, it is distinguished by the shift from static to dynamic or user-generated content and by the emergence of social media platforms.
Rich web applications, web-oriented architecture, and social networking are all part of Web 2.0. Technical criteria remain unchanged, but how websites are developed and used by their visitors has changed.
WEB2 VS WEB3
Current version of the internet is referred to as "Web2" , with which we are familiar. A web dominated by businesses that offer free service in exchange for yourpersonal data. Blockchain-based decentralized apps are referred to as "Web3" in the Ethereum lexicon. Anyone can join these apps without having their personal information sold.
BENEFITS OF WEB3
Because of Ethereum's inherent decentralization, many Web3 developers have chosen to construct dapps:
Anyone on the network has permission to use the service, so it isn't necessary to ask permission.
No one can prevent you from using the service or deny you access.
The native token, ether, is used to make payments (ETH).
Because Ethereumis open-source, you can program almost anything with it.
Examples of Web2 Applications
Hosted services (Google Maps), Web applications (Google Docs, Flickr), video sharing sites (YouTube), wikis (MediaWiki), blogs (WordPress), social networking (Facebook), microblogging (Twitter), folksonomies (Delicious), podcasting (Podcast Alley), and content hosting services are among the many instances of Web 2.0.
Web 2.0 websites differ from web 1.0 websites in that they allow users to create, share, collaborate, and communicate their work with others without the need for web design or publishing skills. In Web 1.0 environment, these functions were not available.
The way web users obtain information has evolved dramatically in recent years. Users today use Web 2.0 tools to access data and content that they are specifically interested in.
Examples of Web3 Applications
Enterprise Web3 apps are limited, but public Web3 applications are growing. Decentralized finance (DeFi), non-financial tokens (NFTs), play-to-earn games, and community-organized **decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs)**are among them. Consider the following scenario:
DeFi protocols like as Aave and MakerDAO provide users with smart contract-based lending and borrowing services, removing intermediaries and allowing for higher yields and returns, albeit at a higher risk.
Users can make money by playing play-to-earn games that use NFTs. Nonprofit groups that use gaming earnings to finance scholarships for poor users have sprung up as a result of these games.
Artists, for example, are selling their work using NFT smart contracts, which ensure that they — not intermediaries — are paid based on contract terms that they define themselves whenever, they sell a piece of art.
There are few examples of Web3 success in well-established industries, and large organizations will be slow to relinquish governance, supervision, and control of the applications they employ in collaboration with other digital ecosystem partners in order to shift to Web3. Nonetheless, most companies will want to create apps and processes that benefit from trust-minimized computing as well as new business models and opportunities that only Web3 can provide.
Compare to Web 3.0
Because control is decentralized, Web3 tweets would be uncensorable.
Web3 payment apps do not request personal information and do not block payments.
Web3 servers never go down because its backend is Ethereum, a decentralized network of thousands of machines.
Web 2.0 or Web 3.0 - Which is the future?
Web 2.0, according to the business analysts, is a transitional period between the birth of the World Wide Web and a more established phase known as Web 3.0.
An intelligent web or third generation of internet-based services is referred to as Web 3.0. John Markoff invented the phrase in 2006. A consensus on what Web3 means has yet to be reached, however it is widely accepted that it is a reference to the semantic web.
The semantic Web, while not a more accurate term, refers to technology that improves Internet use by comprehending the meaning of what users are doing rather than merely the way pages link to each other."
With significant developing technology trends like semantic web, data mining, machine learning, natural language processing, artificial intelligence, and other such technologies centered on information that is machine assisted, Web 3.0 is expected to be more connected and smarter.
Peer-to-peerinteractions are at the heart of Web3, which ushers in a new era of networked business and society. As the primary managers of information and value flows, it replaces centralized platforms, servers, and authority. So Web 3.0 refers to the concept of a web that stores data in a way that computers and other devices can grasp on their own.
Web 3.0 applications include the Facebook app and Google Voice search, as well as Apple's Siri.
The web as a whole should be better designed to cater to a user's interests and needs. Self-descriptions or similar strategies can be used by developers and authors individually or in partnership to ensure that the information produced by the new context-aware application is meaningful to the user.
