web3 vs. web3.0
No, they are not the same thing!
So, why does everyone use them interchangeably? Well, it’s a bit confusing, so let’s start with a brief background on the internet.
- web1 = information economy — you interacted with the internet to just read information
- web2 = platform economy — platforms connected you to other people on the internet and you could now both read and write
Naturally, the internet will continue to evolve and thus, here we are. However, instead of a singular web3/3.0 that emerged, there are two visions for what the internet could become, causing the mass confusion!
web3.0
Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web, shared his thoughts on the next evolution of the web: the semantic web or web3.0. Web3.0 sets out to link everything on the web at the data level utilizing artificial intelligence and data interchange technologies.
Essentially, there would be a centralized repository where users could change and manage their information, and then this information would be machine readable and synced across the entire web, leading to a more accurate and intelligent internet. In addition, users could manage which people and applications access their data.
Today, if you move home addresses, you have to update that location on every single website that requests your address. However, in a web3.0 world, you would update in one centralized place and that would propagate across the web to Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Apple Pay, etc.
Berners-Lee believe that by removing these internet data silos and making the web machine readable, it would unlock the full potential of the web.
web3
Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum, coined the term as a different evolution of the web that focused on using decentralization as a means to give true digital ownership (token economy) to the users. For a deeper dive into web3, please have a read of my recent blog post: “The Ethos of web3”.
Essentially, rather than a centralized structured data repository, distributed technologies like blockchain put the onus of true ownership on the users. Users, via tokens and wallets, would manage their identities, assets, and objects, and ultimately decide which people and applications get access.
Today, you don’t truly own your digital assets (try taking a video game asset off the platform) nor do you own your data (try getting a commission when a large platform sells your data). However, in a web3 world, you would manage your identity, assets, and objects via private keys in your wallet. Signing into applications, making purchases, granting access to companies to your data, verifying your identity, etc. would all be done by the user via the wallet at the point-of-usage.
By giving users ownership, portability, and transparency, web3 wants to make the web more ethical and democratic.
Takeaways
There are certainly similarities between the two terms: both strive for an improved internet, user control over data, and look to provide a better user experience. However, there are clear differences in their approach and the medium in which they strive to provide that experience.
While the vision for web3.0 came about in the early 2000s and the movement has lost momentum, web3 is all the rage lately due to the rise of cryptocurrencies and especially “non-fungible tokens”. Through the cultural proliferation of blockchain and more democratic technologies, web3 looks to improve the internet and additionally address some of the shortcomings with web3.0. The current thing is building web3 (not web3.0) infrastructure, platforms, and applications.
Nevertheless, it’s still early — the web has not evolved to either yet, and chances are, the next evolution of the web will include elements of both.
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