What exactly is Web3.0? Why does it matter to us?
Web 3.0 is a very popular word in the Internet industry. It can be said that it is a new industry category belonging to the future. Even now, many Internet people start ALL IN Web 3.0. From the perspective of individuals, Web 3.0 does not have a very precise explanation. Generally speaking, it is a new iteration of the Internet. It is a future Internet ecology based on the decentralized underlying technology of the emerging blockchain, allowing participants to better reflect their self-value and online rights.
An opposite is now a large number of heads such as Google, Meta, and Microsoft science and technology of the company’s business model is centralized, make profits by using the user data, but in the Web 3.0 this kind of thing is impossible, community participants do not need to be focused on some huge platform for activities, and get a better experience and ownership. This new iteration makes some online content suitable for a wide range of users, but without compromising privacy and centralization, giving new practical meaning to new interactions on the Internet.
If control of the network were decentralized, users would have more freedom, and they could own the Internet through tokens, which are the Internet’s reward to users for helping them develop and improve Web 3.0.
Web3.0, the third phase of the Internet’s evolution, made users intimately involved in the web, rather than the traffic that had previously been at the hands of centralized technology firms.
Web3.0, metaverse, blockchain, encryption technology, NFT, and DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) constitute a perfect future Internet ecosystem and open a new business model based on blockchain decentralized, transparent, open, and democratic.
Evolution of Web3.0 iterations
Web1.0
The Web1.0 era began around 1990 when ordinary people were able to see the outside world through computers and the Internet. Words can’t describe the excitement of seeing raw characters and graphics, but not interacting and participating, including commenting and creating. The entire era is almost one-sided “read-only,” with the slow-moving intelligence of the web hosting boring, ugly static pages where participants are only one-sided digesters of content. The page and network are completely controlled by developers, and almost all of them are used for e-commerce and advertising. The lack of algorithms makes browsing so difficult, and the authority is in the hands of a few people, just like feudal society.
Web2.0
The whole era was supposed to start in 2005, when participants in the Internet could start creating content and have some rights over the content they created and the network. Thanks to the proliferation of apps, social media and online publishing platforms, users can post their creations — including text, video and pictures — on different platforms, and post comments within limits, a form that the modern Internet sees as the beginning of a shared and original economy. With the introduction of new algorithms and codes, the platform has become more interactive and more open, and the same benefits have developed from one side to two sides.
Then the outbreak of the mobile devices and applications, the Internet interaction is more active, but at the same time, the centralized head company is becoming more and more monopolies, data, and absolute authority in order to deprive the user data traffic to obtain economic benefits, and at the same time lead to personal privacy, data reveal that a variety of problems such as frequent.
Since 2020, we seem to have seen the emergence of a new generation of Internet trends, the trend that the network of ordinary participants became the owner of the network, no longer rely on centralized big geek that science and technology, in the web age we publish content on the platform, and at the Web3.0 we can create our own platform, create content and revenue.
On Web3.0 applications run on a decentralized blockchain, a decentralized database that allows participants to assist in hosting servers and other contributions, and then participants can also form a DAO (decentralized organization) for governance. These governors can be rewarded with coins for their contributions, which makes participants part of and powerful in the overall Web3.0 format and gain a vested interest. And almost all data is transparent and immutable, so everyone can see what they’re doing online.
And another important feature of blockchain is encryption technology. Then there are some more advanced technologies, including edge computing, that help solve network latency and connectivity problems.
Features of Web 3.0
Decentralization: The mainstream Internet now adopts third-party centralized platforms, such as Google’s, to exchange data information through navigation, upload, download, and sharing. But Web 3.0 is decentralized for information, meaning that data is stored in different places so that users can control their data more securely and avoid the risk of failure of a single centralized platform.
Free and open: Many platforms and applications today are closed and not open source, so there are many hidden risks. Web 3.0 is open because it is built on open-source software and platforms, applications are open source, and everything is open source in a transparent way.
No trust: Web 3.0 has no intermediary or governing body, and users’ privacy is better protected.
Permissionless: Both users and providers can participate in network activities without the permission of a centralized authority.
Artificial intelligence: Artificial intelligence will be used heavily in Web 3.0, allowing computers to think like humans through a range of algorithms to achieve natural language processing, semantic Web and machine learning concepts. Similarly, the extensive application of AI can also enhance the ability of community and Internet search, so that participants can better find their interests and what they need.
The Internet of Everything: In a decentralized environment, all Web 3.0 content is not confined to one or a few devices, data storage is decentralized, and Web services are never interrupted.
But what does it matter to us, ordinary people?
The previous description gives us an idea of the advantages of Web 3.0, which is revolutionary.
The Internet is more immersive in Web3.0, and data security is not harmed. Based on blockchain technology, a large number of DApps (distributed applications) have emerged to make them more user-friendly. From P2E (Play to Earn) games to NFT (non-fungible token) content creation, we’re trying to iterate on the next generation of the Internet, and we’re finding a lot of success stories.
The experiment of P2E games has proved to be a successful business model in recent years. Axie Infinity and Mobox have created new game formats and obtained a large number of funds, which are largely attributed to the tokens issued within the platform.
NFT seems to be taking a different path, with a slew of digital art, including CryptoPunks and The Bored Ape Yacht Club, generating hundreds of millions of transactions, making NFT The hottest investment in 2021–2022.
Advantages and disadvantages of Web 3.0
While Web3.0 has had some success, there are actually a lot of problems, so let’s list the pros and cons of Web3.0.
Benefits: User control and ownership of private data, elimination of central entities (and risk points), efficient and relevant web browsing, increased trust, security and privacy, permission-free, higher connectivity with semantic web, machine learning, and ARTIFICIAL intelligence;
Cons: not all devices can keep up with Web3.0 processing speed, compatibility with older sites, monitoring, and policing.
The relationship between encryption and Web 3.0
There are several concepts, it is difficult to define whether they are side-by-side or top-down, including Web 3.0 based on blockchain technology and encryption technology. I personally believe that Web 3.0 and encryption technologies are one and the same to break through the barriers of their respective category centralization.
Web 3.0 is first based on centralized data and then runs over the network through smart contracts and protocols, as are cryptography, including Defi (decentralized finance) and cryptocurrencies. We can’t separate Web 3.0 and encryption from each other. Maybe in the future, Web 3.0, encryption, and the meta-universe will all be one and the same.
