Web 3.0: Discovering the Internet of Value

A fundamental foundation of unlocking and enabling the blockchain potential is the concept of what is known as “Web 3.0” [referred to as W3 here after]. Often you will hear this term being used, and in this article, we will illustrate that it is not as foreign nor as complicated as it sounds.

In the most basic form, all that W3 relates to is simply a third generation of the internet. A global network that will permit intelligent interactions between all its users and devices.

So, in order to get to the W3 point, we need to revert right back to the beginning and evolution of the internet. From this point, we can unpack how W3 integrates and upgrades the internet as we know it in its current form.

Firstly, let us distinguish the difference between the internet and the web (commonly referred to as the world wide web).

·?The internet: is a global network of servers, computers, and other hardware devices. The infrastructure layer of the technology enables the information sharing system known as the web possible.

·?The web: is a collection of information that is?accessed?via the internet. The web is a layer that is on top of the internet infrastructure layer.

In essence, you could think of the internet as the library and the web as the information stored and accessible via the library.

The internet is something we all use on a daily basis; it has changed the way we consume and share information as well as the way in which we communicate with one another. In current society, and correct me if I am wrong:

·?Do we use the internet to do our research on certain topics – or go find an encyclopedia book?

·?Would we rather quickly type in a word in our browser to discover the definition, or would we go find a dictionary and look it up?

·?To convey a message, is one inclined to send a letter or rather an email?

I think the answer is obvious, this has revolutionised the world as we know it.

Web 1.0: The Beginning

Web 1.0 was the first iteration of the web, which can be classified as the “read-only web”. This was characterised by simple static websites. The early web allowed users to search for information and?read it. The websites that were visited were static HTML pages, only having the ability to display information. These websites were just places where you could simply read the information posted on servers, there was very little in the way of user interaction and there was no ability to change any of the data as well as limited content generation.

We then saw this evolve into Web 2.0.

Web 2.0: The evolution to read & write [The internet as we know it today]

This was simply an improved version of Web 1.0, characterised by the change from static to dynamic or user-generated content. It allows users to actively participate in the experience rather than just acting as passive viewers who take in information. It has more usability for end-users by creating a more “social” web.

It has come to be known as the “read-write” web, enabling the ability to contribute content and interact with other web users. People were now able to publish content, comment, and increase participation. There is a higher level of information sharing and interconnectedness amongst participants.

This gave rise to new innovative business models and reduced barriers to entry for content creation and sharing. A particular example of this is the emergence of social media, platforms such as YouTube and Facebook have enabled users to post content and interact with other users on a global scale.

This now brings us to the emergence of W3.

Web 3.0: The “semantic web”

In my opinion, the kicker here is the shift of the internet from being the internet of information being transformed into the internet of value.

W3 is fundamentally based on and defined by intelligence, not only between people and websites but between software and software. Essentially for it to become a machine-to-machine internet. The internet “upgrade” will be influenced by technology such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented and virtual reality, 5G networks, and IoT [Internet of Things: physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks]

It is also characterised by the main principle of being decentralised. The platform that will assist facilitate technologies to be interoperable (able to communicate with one another), is Blockchain. Yes, they may be able to facilitate basic use cases using the technologies mentioned above without Blockchain, but it becomes extremely powerful when these are coupled together.

Today, all the infrastructure that the popular sites that users spend time on online are usually owned by corporations. This is due to the simplest way to build network infrastructure being that someone pays to install servers and set up software on them that people want to access online. In turn, that someone charges users [or lets users use it for free], as long as the users abide by their rules. The underlying message here is centralisation.

In W3, developers won’t build and deploy applications that run on a single server or store their data in a single database. Rather, these will run on decentralised networks of many peer-to-peer servers, which have now come to learn as being blockchain. Implying that the important concepts in relation to the technical infrastructure of W3 are that it is open, trustless, and permissionless.

·?Open: meaning that it is largely built on open-source software

·?Trustless: this means that interactions and transactions can take place between two parties without the need for a trusted third party. This was not necessarily the case on Web 2.0 because you would have to be certain that whoever owned the medium you were using to interact or transact was not manipulating your communications

·?Permissionless: this means that neither party in a transaction or interaction must seek permission from a third party (such as a service provider) before it can take place.

To achieve a stable and secure decentralised network, network participants are incentivised and compete to prove the highest quality services to anyone using the service. This is why you will notice that cryptocurrency is often a major part of the conversation as they play a major role in providing financial incentives in many of these protocols.

The image below illustrates how W3 may be designed and interacted with in comparison to its predecessors:

Without getting lost in the detail, on a high level, here are some of the noteworthy aspects that W3 will enable:

1.?Digital Identity:?this will enable a reduction to the point of elimination of cybercrime by eliminating a central point of failure and individuals will be able to manage and grant access to their personal data.?

2.?Native and micropayments:?through tokens, a native payment layer is introduced which is borderless and frictionless. The low cost of a cryptocurrency transaction on the blockchain is generally much lower than the cost of transactions in the traditional payments sector, this enables feasible micropayments.

3.?A new way of building companies:?tokens bring about the idea of tokenisation and the reality of a token economy. Concepts such as DAOs (Decentralised Autonomous Organisations), fractional ownership of illiquid assets, tokenised ownership or share in profits as well as governance protocols will all be made possible in the world of W3.

4.?The metaverse:?consists of virtual worlds that are constantly connected through networks and servers. W3 will allow for more immersive experiences in these virtual worlds, making it easier for users to communicate with each other and explore together. The idea is that the metaverse is a digital space that will soon be as real as the world we live in. In other words, its virtual world would exist online and be accessed through your web browser. In addition, the metaverse is not limited by time and space, this makes it a great place for businesses to connect and network with one another. There are metaverses that offer spaces for users to rent out or ones where you can buy and sell products. The metaverse is all about connecting people through digital space, users can trade tokens with others on the metaverse or use them as a form of currency. So, the use of tokens allows people to freely trade their digital goods and items with others.

W3 is likely to transform the world as we know it and poses an exciting opportunity for the development of innovation to be built on top of this infrastructure. Keep following our weekly articles to grow your knowledge as we help guide you through closing the understanding gap in this industry.

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