What is Web 3.0, why does it matter, and is it the future of the internet?

The internet is the largest community on the planet, and it’s just getting started. Since its invention by Tim Berners-Lee in 1987, it has certainly come a long way. Web 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, and now the latest trend to talk about is Web 3.0, a concept of decentralisation as well as a few other things. Whether you believe in it or not, you should know about it. This article provides an overview of the component parts of web 3.0 and explores its potential future growth. This article doesn't talk heavily around the Metaverse, or Crypto, but more toward the underlying shift in technology between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 which enables it. A post on the Metaverse will come soon.

A brief history of the web

The first version of the web (Web 0.) was little more than a text-based communication platform. In 1991, Sir Tim released the first graphical browser, which led to the development of web applications and eventually the world-wide phenomenon known as the World Wide Web. There was a lack of central control and limited activity with users only able to activate the minimal content which was published. In order to create or view content, you needed to know how to code, which at that time, was a dark art left to those with a deep relationship with computers.

This awesome video below from CERN gives a fantastic overview of the history of the world wide web.

Mosaic, released in 1995 by Marc Andreessen, was the world’s first web browser and allowed users to browse and edit material from anywhere on the internet thanks to a graphical user interface. Web publishers could then include photos, movies, dynamic buttons, and hyperlinks within their sites, this could be deemed as Web 1.0, when it became a little more user-friendly.

Web 1.0 (1994-2000) was the second era of the web, an age when businesses embraced ecommerce solutions such as shopping carts and online payments. Web standards such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript were developed in order to create more sophisticated websites as a consequence of their invention.

In the 2000s, the growth of social media platforms and greater self-service (web2.0) gave rise to a new kind of user-generated content. Users were able to share photographs, videos, and articles on websites like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Users could now both create and consume content. Applications are smarter with web 2.0, allowing normal people to quickly create websites using clever SAAS tools such as WordPress, Canva, Facebook, and Google Marketing Platform. The challenge however is that a great deal of the power for Web 2.0 has become centralised within major global technology players including Facebook, Amazon, Alibaba Google and Microsoft, who own the majority of services and data.

In 2022, the web will be transformed by a third version, commonly known as Web 3.0. While many people consider this new stage of development to be a fad, it is being embraced by a large number of people who are enthralled with this next phase in evolution.

So what is Web 3.0?

Web 3.0 will be defined by a major technological revolution, Blockchain. Blockchain-based technologies allow for increased security and trust online while protecting user privacy. These technologies will be based on a distributed network of computers, or nodes, which will keep track of all transactions without the need for a central authority figure. This is made possible through blockchain technology, which is the underlying infrastructure of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The commonly defined underlying technology trends for Web 3.0 include;

• Distributed ledger technology (DLT): DLT is a digital system that records and verifies transactions on a decentralised network. It allows for secure, transparent, and tamper-proof exchanges between parties without the need for a third party. This makes it an ideal solution for applications that require trust, such as financial or legal services.
• Decentralised applications (dapps): dapps are applications that run on a decentralised network, rather than a single server. This makes them more secure and less prone to censorship as there is no central point of control. Dapps can be used to create digital products and services, such as social media platforms, cloud storage solutions or online marketplaces.
• Cryptocurrencies: cryptocurrencies are digital assets that use cryptography to secure their transactions and to control the creation of new units. They are used to exchange value over the internet and do not rely on central authorities like banks or governments to function. Bitcoin and Ethereum are two of the most well-known cryptocurrencies.
• Smart Contracts: Smart contracts are digital agreements that automatically execute the terms of an agreement. They were first developed to support cryptocurrencies, but they can be applied in a much wider range of applications. You could use them for your business or personal life by using Ethereum’s Solidity programming language which is used to develop dapps and create smart contracts on blockchain platforms like Ethereum

This excellent visualisation from Fabric Ventures shows the progression and value creation quite well...

Sounds fantastic right? A global revolution of distribution may balance the power from the major platforms and take some of the power back to provide better control over your data.

This fantastic video below from Whiteboard Crypto gives a great overview of the journey to Web 3.0 and why it all matters.

Pioneer perspectives: Vitalik Buterin and Charles Hoskinson

To explain a little more about the philosophy and vision for some of these technologies, I have shared a number of founder perspectives below, including Vitalik Buterin – founder of Etherium, and Charles Hoskinson, founder of the Cardano Blockchain. Both have inspiring views on how a decentralised future provides greater autonomy, transparency, and inclusion.?

What are the benefits of Web 3.0?

The benefits of this new technology and philosophy are many and while Web 3.0 still has many skeptics, there is a great deal of opportunity with the right application. So what are some of the potential benefits??

1. End users will have the power to own more of their data and it will receive greater encryption.?
2. The creation of global and universal identities becomes much easier. On global Blockchains, Private key’s can be created to provide a pathway to identification who may not have been able to access one before. Users will not be restricted by their income, location, orientation, gender, or a variety of other demographic and sociological variables when conducting transactions using digital assets and wealth across borders. Transacting with cryptocurrencies is simple and quick. Cross-border transactions are easy. It’s possible to communicate with anybody in the world via public APIs.
3. Fewer intermediaries mean a re-distribution of power. The blockchains, such as Ethereum, provide a secure platform for data encryption and unbreakable rules. As a result, intermediaries are no longer necessary. The user data will no longer be controlled by Apple or Google. There will be no way for the government or any other entity to delete services or websites, and no one can arbitrarily alter another’s identity.
4. A more reliable service – The suspension of accounts and the denial of distributed services are drastically reduced. Because there is no single source of failure, service outages will be very minor. The data will be kept on several dispersed nodes to provide redundancy, and multiple backups will guard against seizure or server failure.
5. Speed to innovation - Any decentrilisation and empowerment of greater audiences will drive innovation and new ideas. Add the enabling structures of Web3 and the ability of modern SaaS tools to increase speed to value for any budding inventor or entrepreneur and we will see a step change in innovation.

While this is just a brief list, these benefits seek to overcome some of Web 2.0’s challenges and I am excited by the projects that will be built on the platform to begin realising some of the benefits.?Bringing all of these together, Don Tapscott gives a fantastic talk below on how “Web 3.0” is impacting money and business.?

What is the future for Web 3.0?

The potential future growth of web 3.0 can be seen in the current popularity of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. The value of Bitcoin, for example, has increased from $0.003 in January 2010 to over $19,000 in December 2017 and saw peaks of $70,000 in 2021!

From a business perspective, firms are already investing in the space and seeking to gain a foothold within this new frontier exploiting the benefits of its technology. From JP Morgan Chase building its first virtual branch in the Metaverse, to the growth of the NFT Market and new innovations like DASH, a cryptocurrency run by its own members via a DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation).

There are many business applications for Web 3.0, Distributed Ledger Technology, and Smart Contracts. You can find out more within my recent post:?Technology and Digital Trends 2022: The Ultimate List of Trend Reports

As more people become aware of the benefits of Web3, blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, the demand for these technologies will continue to rise. As a final statement however, I would say be aware, and be careful! As with all new frontiers, it’s a little “wild west” at the moment, so be careful, do your research before investing heavily

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Credits and references

• Whiteboard Crypto – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsYYksPHiGqXHPoHI-fm5sg?
• CERN –?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0gvAyCubGQ?
• Don Tapscott –?How the blockchain is changing money and business | Don Tapscott?–??ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl8OlkkwRpc?
• Fabric Ventures - https://medium.com/fabric-ventures/what-is-web-3-0-why-it-matters-934eb07f3d2b
• Photo by?Robynne Hu?on?Unsplash

Keywords?

Blockchain, decentralization, dapps, distributed ledger technology, web three, Web 3.0, Web 2.0, Web 1.0, Web 0.0, Technology, Innovation