Why The Buzz Around Web 5 turns Web 3 into a Joke
Promoting Web 5 Before Web 3 Is Built Will Probably Lead to a Total Collapse
Web 3 honestly hasn’t even become a household name as of yet — no one understands it and no one knows what its use is. Aside from some very early, limited, and horribly underfunded projects that have emerged in the web 3 space, no one is even using the technology on a major level as of yet. Much of web 3 is still in a planning and testing phase. Many applications are being experimented with to determine if there is any value to be had from the technology. Some of the biggest companies to have emerged, which are peddling web 3, are built on web 2 and just sell the vision of web 3 to most people. Let’s take for example Coinbase which became a fortune 500 company in May of 2022. Coinbase offers very few web 3 services. It sells crypto through its web 2 and centralized platform. It allows users to send, receive, and earn crypto through its user interface and recently threatened holders that it could seize their funds if they needed to cover debts. Given the sheer lack of REAL utility to emerge from web 3 it comes as an absolute shock that web 5 (and web 6) have now been announced by various players in the blockchain space.
Web 3
Web 3 is the use of peer 2 peer networks for hosting and holding data. The main advantage of web 3 is that an individual’s data can be stored, retrieved, and sent privately and anonymously. This is unlike web 2 infrastructure where a user’s data is stored in a centralized database and access as well as service can be denied at any time.
The premise behind web 3 is that individuals can utilize applications anonymously and without worry of an authoritative body severing their access to the platform. In theory, this is a great idea! People can interact with the internet on their terms. Smart contracts establish the underlying conditions required to access services, goods, and products, and blockchain consensus mechanisms prevent fake or bad transactions from taking place. In an idealized world, this type of functionality works out spectacularly — but in practice it has been a mess to implement into mainstream society.
An untempered horde of developers, VCs, and entrepreneurs have set their sights on web 3 creating one of the biggest messes in internet expansion since its creation. When people first started using web 2 there was a lack of real applications, but people began to find utility as more and more developers pushed applications out (email, shopping, banking, information/encyclopedias, services, marketplaces, social media, and so on). Between 2000 and 2010 the value of web 2 grew exponentially and people rushed to get in on the value. Although there were multiple applications, they each provided people with some semblance of unique value. MySpace gave people a corner of the internet they could call their own, Wikipedia became a place for information, physical stores plugged their catalog online — it was convenient to use the internet. At the click of a button the world was at your fingertips. This is not the case for web 3 — web 3 is hard.
To use a web 3 app you first have to setup a wallet, record your private keys (and manage them), plug your wallet into an application, pay fees to access its services, on top of that you still have to do everything required of you from a web 2 application. Web 3’s value proposition — for any aspect — is freedom to control your online data. People are busy, how does web 3 make anything easier? It really doesn’t. Full control of data is pointless if you have to go through complex steps to access it.
These issues have not been worked out for web 3.
Web 5
Web 5, announced by Jack Dorsey, claims to create a separate world where users interact with the digital world via digital identifiers (DID). A digital identifier is similar to a wallet address, but it stores verified credentials on a blockchain network which can then be transferred to other parties to access services. All apps would be built as independent entities with their own servers (or network of servers) and people would ping in to access that service. Theoretically it’s a nice idea, but there’s a problem — who verified the DIDs?
If a government entity verifies DIDs, then technically your information is still centralized — just held in the hands of the government.
If a platform verifies DIDs then that platform has your information and it’s not truly decentralized.
Will platforms have the ability to reject DIDs created by, or operating from, a certain entity’s platform or technology?
Sure, a lot of this information could be anonymized so platforms couldn’t even see it, but it still leads to a new wave of infrastructure mess that needs to be created to service these applications.
Can it be done? Yes. However, the timing of web 5 will create more confusion amongst the general population who have yet to wrap their minds around web 3.
Web 2 had 20–30 years to become what it is today. Web 3 as a term was coined in 2006, and has been under development since 2009. Giving it 13 years to grow and still — it’s not seeing a lot of day to day use in society. Web 5 has been discussed for 5–6 years but is just now going under development. What happened to web 4? I guess we’ll just skip that one.
Conclusion
Given the heavy development, interest, and growth of web 3 many people have been left behind on its overall value. Governments across the globe are just now examining web 3 for its use in society. Most companies have offered very little support for web 3 functionality. There are no unique services on web 3 that a person cannot access on web 2. Additionally, there’s almost no education about web 3 amongst the general population. It’s free to engage with web 2 if you have a phone or computer, but it’s impossible to interact with web 3 without a wallet and even if you have one most applications do not do much. Web 5 now coming along will make web 3, which has not reached its potential or value, look like a joke. People will become more apprehensive and likely stay away from the technology as a whole.
To keep building people’s interest in blockchain enabled applications, the field needs to advance as a whole not in various parts under different names (e.g. web 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10).
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