The Ultimate Comparison between Web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 !! An In-Depth Analysis .

The technological age comes with its own vocabulary, a bewildering array of buzz phrases, words designed to confuse as much as they are to Inform . Many of these new terms have found their way into our everyday speaking, although the meanings often get confused and blurred.

For instance, despite the fact that “the Web” and “the Internet” are two distinct concepts, many people mistakenly use them interchangeably. There are multiple Web versions too. Are you intrigued yet ??

This article will guide you in differentiating between Web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. It provides an In-depth definition , examples and comparison of Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0 .
So let’s examine three different iterations of this important internet service.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Internet and the Web differ in the following ways. The pages and websites you access online are referred to as the Web, formerly known as the World Wide Web. The Web runs on a collection of interconnected computer systems called the Internet, and the medium also enables the transfer of data and emails.

Or, to put it another way, the Web is the collection of rest areas, gas stations, convenience stores, and other stops, while the Internet is the highway system that connects numerous cities. The Internet has been used and is still being utilised by all versions of the Web to connect users to websites and one another. That feature continues to exist.

In addition, nobody truly refers to the World Wide Web anymore. The majority of URLs start with the letters “www,” which naturally stand for “World Wide Web,” so we still have a trace of the term. It’s an essential component of our online culture!

Okay, let’s move on to the various Web versions. What are the Common and different aspects of Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0?

What Is Web 1.0 ?

Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist at CERN, invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989. The web was originally conceived and developed to meet the demand for automatic information-sharing between scientists in universities and institutes around the world. This became the basic structure of the early Web enabling them to acquire facts, information, and material from the sources without ever hassling for a way to communicate .

Or you might say that Web 1.0 was created to make it easier for users to find information. Users looking to gather information were the major focus of this web version. Because it lacks the necessary forms, images, controls, and interactivity we take for granted on today’s Internet, this web version is frequently referred to as “the read-only Web.”

People refer to the early version of the Internet as “Web 1.0.” Users witnessed the first instance of a global network that hinted at potential for future digital communication and information sharing.

Several characteristics of Web 1.0 include the following:

• It consists of static pages that are linked to a system using hyperlinks.
• It has HTML 3.2 components including tables and frames.
• Email is used to send HTML forms.
• Instead of a relational database management system, the content is sourced from the server’s filesystem.
• It has graphics and GIF buttons.

Take a physical dictionary, digitise everything inside of it, and make it available online for users to browse (but not be able to react to it). That’s Web 1.0.

What Is Web 2.0?

If Web 1.0 consisted of a small group of individuals producing material for a bigger audience, Web 2.0 consists of many individuals producing even more content for an expanding audience. Web 2.0 places more emphasis on participation and contribution than Web 1.0 did on reading.

User-Generated Content (UGC), interaction, usability, and improved connectivity with other systems and devices were the main focuses of this Internet form. In Web 2.0, the experience of the user is everything. As a result, this Web form was in charge of establishing social media, collaborations, and communities. Therefore Web 2.0 is regarded as the most dominant method of interaction through the internet for the majority of users in modern era .

Web 2.0 is referred to as “the participative social Web,” whereas Web 1.0 was known as “the read-only Web.” Web 2.0 incorporates web browser technology like JavaScript frameworks to create a better, more improved version of its predecessor.

Here’s are typical Web 2.0 characteristics:

• It offers free information sorting, allowing users to retrieve and classify data collectively
• It contains dynamic content that responds to the user’s input
• It employs Developed Application Programming Interfaces (API)
• It encourages self-usage and allows forms of interaction like:
• Podcasting
• Social media
• Tagging
• Blogging
• Commenting
• Curating with RSS
• Social networking
• Web content voting
• It’s used by society at large and not limited to specific communities.

The development of social networks and mobile Internet connectivity have both significantly accelerated Web 2.0’s growth. The enormous popularity of mobile devices like iPhones and Android-powered smartphones is another factor fueling this explosion. Additionally, the development of Web 2.0 allowed for the expansion and dominance of apps like TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube.

You are utilising Web 2.0 right now, you understand!!

What Is Web 3.0?

Finally, we reach the most recent version of the Web.

We must look to the future in order to understand the true meaning of web 3.0. Although Web 3.0 is already in some forms, there is still work to be done before it is fully realised.

The foundation of Web 3.0, often known as Web3, is made up of the fundamental concepts of openness, decentralisation , enhanced user usefulness and content protection. Web 3.0 is the “read, write, execute Web,” while Web 1.0 is the “read-only Web,” Web 2.0 is the “participative social Web,” .

Users transition from centralised platforms like Facebook, Google, or Twitter to decentralised, practically anonymous platforms during this Web interaction and use stage. Tim Berners-Lee, who created World Wide Web, originally referred to Web 3.0 as the Semantic Web and foresaw a self-sufficient,intelligent and open Internet that employed AI and machine learning to function as a “global brain” and interpret content conceptually and contextually.

Due to technological constraints, such as how expensive and challenging it is to translate human language into a form that computers can understand, this idealised version didn’t quite work out.

Here’s a list of typical Web 3.0 characteristics:

• A semantic web is one in which search and analysis-based content creation, sharing, and connections are made possible by web technology. Instead than using numbers and keywords, it is centred on word understanding.
• It uses machine learning and artificial intelligence. The result is a system that uses Web 3.0 to grow intuitive and receptive to user demands. If these ideas are combined with Natural Language Processing (NLP), the result is a computer that uses NLP.
• It illustrates how the Internet of Things connects various devices and applications (IoT). This is made possible by semantic metadata, allowing for the efficient allocation of all available data. In addition, anyone can access the Internet from any location at any point of time without any smart device.
• Users are given the choice to interact in public or private without an intermediary exposing them to hazards, providing “trustless” data.
• It employs 3-D visuals. In fact, this is already evident in e-commerce, virtual tours, and computer gaming.
• It makes participation easier without requiring consent from a ruling entity.
• It’s without authorization.
• It can be used for:
• Metaverses: A limitless, virtual environment that is 3D-rendered
• Blockchain video games They adhere to the NFTs’ ideals by enabling users to possess actual ownership of in-game resources.
• Digital infrastructure and privacy: Zero-knowledge proofs and more secure personal information are used in this way. This usage comes with payment.
• Decentralized autonomous organisations, peer-to-peer digital financial transactions, smart contracts, and cryptocurrencies Online communities are owned by the community.

In the end, Web 3.0 enables user interaction, information exchange, and safe financial transactions without the need for a coordinator or central authority. As a result, each user no longer merely uses stuff, but also owns it.

Keep in mind that Web 3.0 isn’t yet fully functional. However, components of Web 3.0 like NFTs, Blockchain, Distributed ledgers, and the AR cloud are already making their way into how we use the Internet. In addition, Web 3.0 technology includes the Internet of Things and Siri. On the other hand, if and when the full implementation takes place, it will be more in line with Berners-original Lee’s plan for Web 3.0. It will be a location where “No approval from a central authority is required to upload anything… There is no single point of failure because there is no central controlling node. no “kill switch,”

Unfortunately, there is still more work to be done, particularly in the area of speech recognition because human speech has an astounding array of nuanced expressions and terminology that technology cannot fully understand. Although improvements have been made, the procedure has not yet been mastered.

What Are the Differences Between the Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0?

Using this helpful table, let’s analyse the similarities and differences between the three Webs.

In addition, there is variation in Web version activity, just as the age range of different generations varies depending on who you ask (things like boomers, Generation X, and millennials). For instance, some sources divide the Web into three categories: Web 1.0 (1990–2000), Web 2.0 (2000–2010), and Web 3.0 (2010–on).

We might also say that Web 1.0 made it easier for people to find things online, Web 2.0 made it possible for people to experience things online, and Web 3.0 made it easier for people to create things online.

What Are the Similarities Between the Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0?

If you carefully examine each of the three web versions, you’ll see that they only share a small number of essential characteristics. As follows:

• They are all concerned with how end users and information interact.
• Each one offers consumers a different version of the “read” feature.
• To complete their responsibilities faster, they all rely on the Internet.

What Are the Features of the Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0?

Here’s a breakdown of each web version’s salient features.

Web 1.0

• No user-to-server communication
• Static websites
• Content browsing only
• Hyper-linking and bookmarking pages
• Read-only Web

Web 2.0

• Improved user interaction over Web 1.0
• Web applications introduced
• Functions such as online documents, video streaming, etc.
• Everything moves online; information and apps are stored on servers
• Interactive advertising and pay-per-click
• Cloud computing operations
• Centralized data
• Read and Write Web

Web 3.0

• Intelligent, web-based functionalities and applications
• Decentralized processes
• A fusion of Web technology and Knowledge Representation
• Behavioral advertising and engagement
• Edge computing
• Live videos
• The Internet of Things (IoT)
• Semantic searches
• Read, Write, and Control Web

A Closer Comparison between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0

Let’s examine these two Web incarnations in more detail, particularly as they are the ones that the bulk of users are most accustomed to. The “old” Internet (Web 1.0) is undoubtedly familiar to seasoned Internet users, and since Web 2.0 is now the de facto standard, everyone has had some interaction with it. Although Web 3.0 is present in bits and pieces, it hasn’t yet been fully implemented.

By using an analogy, it is easiest to compare Web 2.0 with Web 1.0 side by side. Consider being given a book to read. You read it, but you are unable to alter any of the words. That was how Web 1.0 operated. On the other hand, Web 2.0 would be if someone gave you a different book and a red editor’s pencil and instructed you to not only read the book but also use the pencil to add or amend it.

Information on the Web 1.0 can’t be changed, whereas information on the Web 2.0 can. Web 2.0 is a dynamic Web that contains non-linear information, whereas Web 1.0 is a static Web with linear information. Text that must be read in a classic straight-line manner from start to finish is referred to as linear information. Contrarily, non-linear content has no such limitations and can be read in whatever sequence the reader chooses.

The Web 2.0 is a dynamic entity, as opposed to the static Web 1.0. Then, we reintroduce Web 3.0 and see how it elevates the user experience.

Beyond Web 3.0

Yes, a Web 4.0 is already in the works! There is a lot of speculation, and some claim it will be more intellectual and address the problems with decentralisation brought on by Web 3.0. If decentralisation is implemented widely, it will need to be extensively tweaked because it isn’t ideal.

Some experts even predict that Web 4.0, in which people access the web through physical implants, will be the apex of web evolution. Depending on your point of view, that is either a fantastic idea or a dystopian nightmare come true!

Remember that we already have wearable technology, such as FitBits or heart monitors that feed data to the patient’s primary care provider, for anyone who believes that idea is too far into the world of science fiction. The transition to an implantable device that enables on-demand Web access and does away with the requirement for a hand-held mobile device is not particularly significant.

Nevertheless, Web 4.0 is still decades away, regardless of its appearance. The IT industry is currently focused on completely implementing Web 3.0.

Written by: Ashwini Kumar
Business Development Manager at Hashtrust Technologies. Ashwini is an avid learner and likes to be updated on bleeding edge technologies .

That’s it for now! I hope you find the article helpful. Thanks for reading, go have fun.

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