The 20th century was replete with inventions that changed the world forever and made life easier: radios, televisions, airplanes, penicillin, nuclear power, computers and, of course, the Internet. However, nothing stays the same, and all of these inventions have changed significantly since their inception, including the Internet. It started with the static web known as Web 1.0 and is currently evolving into what is known as Web 3.0. Today let's talk about what Web 3.0 is, and why will it become the next outlet?
History: Web 1.0 and Web 2.0
Before attempting to grasp the concepts of Web 3.0, it is crucial to understand what came before. There is a common misconception that the Internet we know today was created the same way. In fact, the first generation of the World Wide Web (WWW) was a fairly primitive technology, with static web content, far less complex and simple than it is today. So, what exactly is Web 1.0?
Web 1.0. Read Only (1989–2004)
Web 1.0 was created in 1989 by CERN engineer Tim Berners-Lee, and before the transition to Web 2.0, it consisted mostly of static websites, mostly owned by corporations. Few people were able to create web pages, so the vast majority of internet users at the time could only do one thing: read them. Nothing else. This is why the Web 1.0 was called the read-only Web, since its main purpose at the time was to provide data and information to website visitors. There are almost no visuals, no interactivity, no controls, and no user-generated content (UGC). The following are typical characteristics of Web 1.0:
• Static pages. Web pages do not contain interactive elements that can change in response to actions taken by site visitors.
• Web page content stored in files: Today, websites use databases where most of their website content is stored. In the Web 1.0 era, data and content came from static file systems, not databases.
• The layout is simple and lacks visual impact. Modern websites are developed with optimal design and user experience in mind. Back in the days of Web 1.0, the layout of web pages was primitive, often overloaded with HTML components like tables and hyperlinks.
• HTML tags are not compatible with browsers. At the time, it was also common for some browsers to support proprietary HTML web tags, leading to serious compatibility issues between sites using these tags and users of unsupported browsers.
• Email HTML forms. There is no way to provide feedback to the user other than sending a mailto form. A website visitor has to fill out a form, and after clicking the form's submit button, their email client will attempt to send an email with the form details. Because of this complicated method of feedback, some browser developers are forced to include email clients in their browsers.
Yahoo Pages in the Web 1.0 Era; Source: W3C
Web 2.0. Literacy (2004-present)
The term Web 2.0 was coined before the transition from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 actually took place. In a 1999 article in Print Magazine titled A Fragmented Future, web designer Darcy DiNucci managed to capture most of the Web as we know it today. 2.0 features, such as interactivity, more visual content, faster connection technology, and the penetration of the Internet into mobile phones and TVs. However, the term Web 2.0 didn't catch on until late 2004, when the first Web 2.0 Conference, an invitation-only event featuring many of the web community's brightest entrepreneurs, was held in San Francisco. activity.
Web 2.0, a better, more enhanced version of its predecessor, was dubbed the Participatory Social Network, while Web 1.0 was called the Read-Only Web. Web 2.0 is the latest generation of the Internet as we know it today, in which users are not only consumers, but also creators of content. Web 2.0 enabled community building, communication, and the rise of social media. These are typical characteristics of Web 2.0:
• Dynamic content. Unlike Web 1.0, where content was static and did not respond to user input at all, Web 2.0 has dynamic content and allows for various interactions such as blogging, comments, polls, etc.
• User participation. A defining feature of Web 2.0 is the opportunity for users to create all kinds of content themselves: podcasts, memes, video blogs, and more.
• Popular taxonomy. Web 2.0 provides free information classification: users can search for information and data in a centralized manner.
• Software as a Service (SaaS). Web 2.0 websites utilize APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to allow automated use, for example via web apps (software applications) or mashups.
• Accessibility. Unlike Web 1.0, Web 2.0 is more accessible to the general public, and it's not limited to a particular community.
Source: Version Museum
Web 3.0 Vision and Core Concepts
Thanks to Web 2.0, users can finally participate and create their own content, largely thanks to social media like Facebook and Youtube. However, the public is increasingly concerned about their personal data being collected and stored by tech giants such as Meta or Amazon. Occasional data leaks from these tech giants don't add to the optimism either. Facebook, for example, was so high-profile for violating data privacy laws that it was fined $5 billion in 2019 — the largest ever imposed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
So it looks like the internet now, like it was in the Web 1.0 era, is mostly controlled by corporations, so we are facing a monopoly of the internet by the tech giants. This is where Web 3.0 is headed, with the next phase in the evolution of the Internet dubbed read-write-your-own.
Web 3.0 through the eyes of Berners-Lee
Simply put, Web 3.0 is essentially the next generation of the Internet. We're still getting results, let alone domination, so now Web 3.0 should feel more like a vision of a new, more advanced version of the internet where power and control will shift from corporations and big tech to User hands' hands.
It is expected that users will be able to participate in the operation and governance of these platforms, rather than using online platforms such as social media to exchange privacy and personal data.
Tim Berners-Lee, Internet pioneer and CERN engineer we mentioned above, has discussed some of the key features of Web 3.0 back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, although he never called it Web 3.0, It's the Semantic Web. So the two key features that Berners-Lee emphasized at the time and still apply today are:
• Decentralization. As Berners-Lee puts it, Web 3.0 will be a place where anything can be published on the Web without the permission of a central authority, with no central control node, and therefore no single point of failure, and no 'kill switch'!
• Open source and governance. Unlike Web 2.0, Web 3.0 will employ a radically different approach to code and its control, according to Berners-Lee: Code is not written and controlled by a small group of experts, but is developed in full view of all, encouraging Maximize participation and experimentation.
• Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Berners-Lee believed that human language would be converted into a format that computers could understand, and that future computer programs would be able to perform complex tasks for users. In his vision, the future Internet will be a symbiosis of machine learning and artificial intelligence, a kind of global brain that is completely autonomous and open to everyone.
Web 3.0 through the eyes of Gavin Wood
Tim Berners-Lee isn't alone in trying to imagine what's next for the internet. Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of Polkadot, proposed the premise of Web 3.0 (or Web3) back in 2014 after the launch of Ethereum.
According to Wood, modern internet users face the huge problem of putting all their eggs in one basket, meaning that the modern internet is centralized because big tech companies are building the internet and the infrastructure that users rely on, and if something goes wrong , the service may not be available to millions of people.
Another issue is trust. Modern users must trust the people behind these infrastructures and services, and the owners of those services. According to Wood, we all somehow construct possible dystopian versions of the world.
What Wood is offering is a new step in the evolution of the internet - Web 3.0 - a more democratic and fully decentralized version of the current internet, in which blockchain will play an important role.
Web3 should operate as a trustless model, meaning that you don't trust a single third-party entity that ensures operability and controls the web service, but only the underlying algorithms. Of course, this doesn't completely eliminate all risks, but it presumably minimizes them.
Since Web3 is not there yet, there are no standards or specific characteristics. However, Wood and other crypto experts have highlighted some core ideas so far:
• Decentralization. The most important principle of Web3 is decentralization. Data control is expected to shift away from centralized entities and brought back to internet users using blockchain technology. For example, a decentralized public ledger managed by users operating within a specific protocol such as Ethereum or Cardano.
• Trustless and permissionless. In Web3, participants will be able to interact directly with each other without authorization or permission from third parties acting as guarantors of transaction fulfillment. With no middleman between users, Web3 applications are expected to run on a decentralized peer-to-peer network.
• On-device payments. In Web3, cryptocurrencies will replace modern payment processors and outdated banking infrastructure.
Additionally, Web3 applications running on a particular blockchain may use its tokens. For example, applications and services running on Binance Smart Chain may require BNB currency for users to run these services and applications. However, according to Wood, this may not last forever, and the demand for the digital currency may be temporary, and the service will be provided for free in the future.
• Equality. Unlike Web 2.0, where users could be excluded from content creation and consumption, in Web3 everyone has equal access to it no matter what.
However, there is a misconception that in the era of Web 1.0, the Internet was a somewhat permissionless and anonymous place without any rules. The problem is that there was never such a thing as net neutrality, not even in Web 1.0. The internet has always had rules, regulations, laws and ownership. However, Web3 could theoretically change the tide and make the internet a truly neutral, anonymous and decentralized place.
Why is Web 3.0 important?
If you're still wondering why Web3 is such an important milestone for the Internet age, here are some reasons:
Empower consumers more
Consumers can communicate and interact with each other without the permission or authorization of third parties. Therefore, community members will be the ones who own and control these communities.
Information exchange, financial transactions, content ownership — all without a central authority. Therefore, users are the controllers and are solely responsible for their actions and any consequences.
Additionally, the fact that consumers are the ones with access to information eliminates the problem of data being transferred and stored by third parties, such as Meta, Google or Amazon today, and these tech giants have earned a reputation for violating data privacy laws.
no review
We all know that companies like Meta or Google monitor your behavior and content, and tend to censor users in case their actions violate the rules set by those companies. So you are obligated to follow the rules, and if you don't, your account and all content you create could be banned, in some cases permanently.
Since Web3 will be built and fully operational on the blockchain, it will be up to you to decide what to create, where to publish it, and whether to delete your content.
Apart from user accounts, it is almost impossible to remove an entire dApp from the blockchain as easily as Google or Apple remove apps from their stores.
ownership
Just like owning your data in Web3, you can also own a community or a platform as a collective by using tokens similar to shares in a company so that you can determine their future development. This entity running a community or any other project is called a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). The DAO will be run by the users themselves, and a group of governance token holders will decide how the DAO works, how funds are spent, etc.
cryptocurrency as payment
Currency transactions across the Internet will be supplemented by cryptocurrencies, thereby replacing the current homogeneous payment system of banks and various third parties. In Web 2.0 systems, the payment infrastructure does not include those who are unbanked, or those unfortunate enough to live within the borders of sanctioned countries. Thus, Web3 can deal with this discrimination and make payments and transfers equal for everyone.
personal privacy
Another significant advantage of Web3 is the potential to increase user privacy. One of the bedrock principles of blockchain technology is anonymity, whereby crypto users can successfully hide their identities from the public. While the public address is visible on blockchain explorers, it is not easy for anyone other than government agencies and skilled hackers to identify the wallet owner.
Additionally, there are already privacy-focused blockchains such as the Secret Network and privacy-focused cryptocurrencies such as ZCash, Monero, or Dash, which can provide more discreet payment and communication networks that make it nearly impossible for anyone to define the identity of the user.
Criticisms of Web3
Like any other technology, the current state of Web3 has its own limitations and risks. Let's take a look at the most vivid and important:
Not user friendly enough
Modern Web 2.0 is simple and easy to use. Web3 may not be that user-friendly at the moment, as the technical barrier to entry can be quite high for the average everyday user, and novices can be overwhelmed by the not-so-intuitive interface, security steps, etc.
Security Risk
Sure, a decentralized internet where users are in control sounds appealing, but this decentralization works both ways. With no single entity having power and control, Web3 could face legal and regulatory risks. If cybercrime or hate speech occurs, who will act and how will it be regulated? Even now, cases of hacking, data theft, disinformation, etc. are difficult to contain and solve, and decentralization will make it even more difficult.
Furthermore, we still live in a world with various national legal restrictions, so the question arises: which country's laws will apply to a particular website with decentralized content?
High volatility of cryptocurrencies
The crypto world is at least far from being as stable as the bond and stock markets. Another problem we have here is the volatility of cryptocurrencies if Web3 plans to make good use of cryptocurrencies, i.e. use them as an alternative to payment systems or leverage them like stocks in a DAO. We have all witnessed the downfall of Terra’s Luna and UST, no one can guarantee that this will not happen in the Web3 era: what if the token you own as a share of the DAO loses value due to decoupling or FUD?
Another question is how the current payment system will be replaced by cryptocurrencies. It's hard to believe that banking giants are quietly leaving the internet.
illusion of decentralization
If centralization can be governed and controlled, who will control the process of decentralization, i.e. who will ensure that the process actually works?
There is an argument that Web3 will only have the semblance of being decentralized, and be primarily owned by hedge funds with a large number of tokens in the blockchain that backs it. Additionally, some experts claim that Web3 is already highly centralized. For example, research shows that just 0.01% of Bitcoin holders control 27% of the currency in circulation.
The same problem applies to DAOs as well. Right now it looks like ownership will go to the early adopters who will be the first to buy a significant amount of tokens, and these very few users will be the ones making the calls. This leaves the majority of community members behind, so we are faced with another type of centralization, described on paper as decentralization.
In theory, Web3 could be an improved version of the internet, designed to make cyberspace more accessible and decentralized. However, the technology still faces serious challenges that need to be figured out before we talk about its dominance.
Since Gavin Wood first mentioned the term in 2014, we’ve seen a massive increase in interest in the crypto space, advancements in layer 2 scaling solutions, never-ending DeFi experiments, the NFT craze, and more.
We are only just beginning to use Web3 to create a potentially better and more stable internet, and as it stands, we still have a long way to go. Nonetheless, the future of Web3 looks promising as we continue to improve current crypto and blockchain infrastructure and address their weaknesses. After all, progress is inevitable!
