The Internet is one of the greatest discoveries of our time.
When young Tim Berners Lee, a computer scientist & inventor of the World Wide Web, sat down to envision the Internet for the first time; I doubt he could’ve forecasted the big mania that was about to unfold.
In a matter of 30 years, the cyberwebs went from a ‘cool fad nobody understood’ to now powering modern-day civilization. Completely revolutionizing the way we interact & gain access to information.
And as of today, the Web is on the verge of entering the third phase of its remarkable journey — a change that promises to bring fundamental improvements on behalf of the user. If you’re reading this right now, you sure must be wondering what these changes are, and what they represent for your near future.
All we hear is buzzword after buzzword. Crypto this; non-fungible that — but with no clear picture of what it means.
Well, tighten up those seatbelts, because, in this article, we’ll lay out the clear implications of Web3 — and how you can better prepare for this new wave of technology coming on the horizon.
But right before we dive into the future, we first need to get our history right.
Web 1.0: The Baby Stages Of The Internet
Remember when sites looked like an offline Google document — and the most dynamic thing you could do was click a link & buzz off?
Yeah, me neither.
Web 1.0 was the earliest version of what we now call the Internet. Often reckoned as the ‘read-only web’, this period was characterized for exactly that. Back then, visuals were limited. Static, text-filled websites/emails ruled supreme. And unlike today’s Internet where people can interact with information online, users of the old didn’t enjoy that luxury. Their relationship with the technology was mostly passive — they could only read and nothing else.
There was no Facebook or Instagram where you could convey your views on a particular subject, nor the ability to leave a ‘comment’ on people’s sites. You were merely a spectator consuming information in real-time — without the right to have a ‘say’ on the content you were given. (For a vivid example of a Web1 type site — be sure to give this a look.)
Simply put, the Internet at its purest of forms.
Now, if you happen to be within the group of millennials & Gen Zs who didn’t experience this side of the web, you’re probably looking at the example above & thinking:
‘How in the world could users ever put up with this type of Web?’
Which is a reasonable point — the Internet has evolved considerably since its cavemen years. But you’ve also got to understand one thing: this was the early 90’s.
Back then, people didn’t fully grasp to which extent the Internet would revolutionize their day-to-day interactions — nor was it needed at the time. Site owners only required a tool that provided people with access to their information on a 24-hour basis. And Web 1.0 delivered.
Of course, that was until a more social factor came in.
Web 2.0: A New Social Wave Knocks On The Door
By 2004, the boom of the Web1 age was already fading away — largely because of the DotCom bubble of the 2000s.
New ‘social service’ platforms were starting to emerge & putting a grip on the user. Stirring them to not just only engage with the content, but to produce it. To interact with the technology.
It would mark the beginning of the ‘social networking’ era. A period that values user-generated content & functionality above all else. Static HTML web pages were thrown into the trash can — as site owners embraced the concept of user interaction & dynamic websites.
In a matter of a decade, the whole perception of what the Internet represented flipped on its head. Users went from passive spectators to now sharing their views, opinions, thoughts, and experiences online. It became less about observation and more about participation.
Web2 leveled the playing field; giving birth to the current stage of the Internet, and powerhouses such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, DropBox & Amazon. And just like Web3 right now, it stirred plenty of excitement back when it was first introduced.
But if one thing is certain, is that although pivotal in nature, Web2 was just a phase in a larger plan.
Tim Berness-Lee introduced the Web in the early 90s, but not without defining a clear vision for it first. Eventually, he hoped to give rise to a more Semantic Web — one that used a machine-based understanding of data to tailor information to the user.
Now, Web3 definitions are out & about right now, but here’s how Tim defined the Semantic Web back then:
“I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become capable of analyzing all the data on the Web — the content, links, and transactions between people and computers. A “Semantic Web,” which makes this possible, has yet to emerge, but when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy, and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to machines.”
Ultimately, Tim intended to create a Web that, at one point, could operate by itself — rather than relying on a third party. Obviously, as time has progressed, the world has moved away from the concept of the Semantic Web. Exponential advancements in blockchain & machine learning have expanded the possibilities of the new digital age — yet the core spirit still stands.
Giving birth to a decentralized Web owned by not one entity in particular — but everyone. An Internet that operated entirely based on everyone’s collective decisions.
This is the main concern with Web2. Being able to interact with the end-product is great — but why would you settle for mere ‘participation’ when you can partake in a grander vision?
Web3: An Internet For The People
After a 30-year long journey, technology has evolved to the point where it can bring the Semantic vision of the Web to life.
Web3 borrows from the large progress made in machine learning and artificial intelligence to provide a more inclusive experience for the user. Simply by employing techniques that allow sites to deliver more tailored & relevant information much faster.
Just like Web2, Web3 aims to work on behalf of the user — but with a slight twist. The advent of the blockchain has proved instrumental not only for cryptocurrency but this new digital age that’s coming upon us. Most of the cryptography that powers Crypto’s core concept will lay as the foundation of this new Internet.
Web3 seeks to take power away from the Big Brother corporations that have come to dominate the modern web — the Facebook, Google and Amazon’s of the world — simply by decentralizing everything.
All these years, users have contributed enormously to the progress the cyberweb has made, but with nothing to show for it. Your account or digital presence could get canceled & vanish seemingly overnight — and you would have no sure way to claim it back. In the current state of the Web, Big Brother fabricates the rules, and you have no option but to abide by them.
But now, picture an Internet with the same components as Bitcoin. Not owned by anyone, incorruptible — and with data spread across the whole network. That’s the type of Internet Web3 is proposing. And believe it or not, this new phase of the Web is already on its way to leave a huge mark in our everyday interactions.
So quite simply, all that’s left for us… is to prepare.
What To Prepare For: Looking Well Beyond 2022
As mentioned above, with Web3, user data will not fall under the ruling of Google or Facebook; instead, it will be stored on a blockchain where said data can get verified and will belong to everyone.
Web3 is still a bit too early in its development to forecast its future impact with great accuracy, but reputable news magnets like Business Insider already predict a ‘crypto-like’ driven Web. As in, you’ll only need one account to execute all of your tasks on the Internet — i.e. same account for Amazon, Spotify, Instagram, etc. Essentially, you’ll be able to log in to web applications the same way you use Metamask’s Chrome extension to sign in to all blockchain platforms.
But interestingly enough, blockchain isn’t the only piece of technology Web3 will rely on.
Artificial Intelligence has progressed considerably over the years, and this next generation of the Internet is bound to help AI understand the content of the Web in a human-like way.
Allowing AI to deliver personalized search results for each user, and even make the process of advertising much more catered to the user’s interests. All in all, it will be a self-sustained, interconnected Web that operates entirely on your behalf.
And not so shockingly, 2021 already saw plenty of interest in the concept of Web3. Around $27 billion were raised for Web3 related startups last year alone — and that marks only the beginning of what might unfold in the years to come.
As 2022 unfolds, we’ll be sure to keep you posted on the state of Web3, so you’re better suited to tackle this new era head-on. Join our Discord server to not miss a bit on this remarkable transition to the new era of the Internet.
