Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0 – It Sure Took Me a While to Get Here

Once upon a time, in a world where ideas ran faster than internet connections in the early 90s, a group of visionaries dreamed of a place where information would be free and accessible to all. They shouted, "Decentralization for everyone!" from their modern desks with 14-inch CRT monitors. "Power to the people! Internet for all!"

And so, the web was born, an organized chaos where information was indeed decentralized… but access, well, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly as advertised. Sure, the information was there, free as the wind. But that wind blew from a centralized server, and if that server caught a cold, you’d lose access to your precious emails, chats, and web pages. Ah, the irony! It was like having an infinite library with only one door, and if the doorman decided to take a coffee break, you were left outside.

In the midst of this mess, the brave technologists thought, "What can we do with this decentralized wonder?" And instead of focusing on creating a truly free internet for everyone, they became obsessed with the web. The blessed web. That thing that allowed anyone, from the comfort of their home, to publish a page full of dancing gifs and visitor counters. Thus, Web 1.0 was born, where basically everyone could shout into the void of the internet, hoping that someone, somewhere, would listen.

Years went by, and around 2000, when everyone had grown tired of counting how many visitors their “My Vacation in Paris” page had, someone said, “Hey, what if we started talking to each other?” And so, Web 2.0 was born, where people began to interact, share, comment, and create. It was as if they had discovered that the internet wasn’t just for posting photos, but also for debating whether the ending of Lost was brilliant or a total waste of time.

But then, in some dark laboratory, someone murmured, "What if the internet could understand us? What if we said something like, 'find cheap hotels for next weekend in Rome,' and it actually did it?" Thus, the idea of Web 3.0 was born, the semantic web, where machines would understand natural language and respond like the smartest colleague you’ve ever had.

Spoiler alert: that didn’t happen.

The technology wasn’t ready, and meanwhile, people kept uploading photos to MySpace. The real Web 3.0, the semantic one, was left in limbo, waiting for the day when someone, somewhere, could make it a reality.

But the story doesn’t end here. Let’s jump to 2009, when someone, sitting in their basement full of cables and keyboards, created something called Blockchain. “Now this is decentralization!” they proclaimed. “The future is here!”... But instead of revolutionizing the internet, the only thing everyone noticed was the rise of Bitcoin. Because, of course, who wouldn’t want a virtual currency that, in its early days, nobody took seriously—a huge mistake!

And so, while the semantic Web 3.0 slept in a corner, a new army of technologists embraced Blockchain and, with brazen audacity, claimed the term Web 3.0. "Decentralization, now for real!" they shouted as cryptocurrencies, NFTs, etc., came and went like in a Las Vegas casino. The real Web 3.0 (the semantic one) was left in a corner, thinking, "This isn’t what I had in mind..."

Finally, in November 2022, when no one expected anything anymore, OpenAI appeared and, like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, brought the original Web 3.0 to life. Suddenly, the internet began to understand natural language. At last, you could talk to the internet like to your smartest friend and get coherent answers! And while this was happening, the Blockchain Web 3.0, the one that had usurped the name, stood in a corner, wondering, "What just happened?"

And so, dear friends, this is how ideas can get ahead of technology, and how sometimes the least expected technology steals the spotlight. Because, as we all know, the internet has always been a place full of surprises, where what you think will be big can end up being eclipsed by something completely unexpected. And where, finally, ideas find their moment, even if it takes a couple of decades to do so.