What is web3?

The internet as we know it, is a version of itself that is much different from how it all started. It has evolved quite a bit from its first iteration to where it is today. So, to get a better understanding of what web 3 is, we will go over the different stages that the internet has evolved through.

The first web:

The first iteration of the internet, web1, was a read-only internet where users had very limited interaction with web pages. At the time, what developers could build were static web pages that are linked together to make up a website. Developers could write data on the web for others to read. As such, content creation was strictly in their hands. There wasn’t much interaction that a user could have with the web back then, and the user experience was not great.

The second web:

The internet evolved, leading to the development of many modern applications we love today. Web2 gave users the ability to read and write data on the web. In a sense, it distributed content creation, improving how users interacted with the web and with one another. However, web2 has its downsides as well. One major downside of the web2 internet is how data is stored.

Data is stored centrally by the entities that own the data infrastructure. That is a problem because users have no control over where their data is stored or how it is used. The centralisation of data makes it possible to censor and control users of web2 applications. These are some of the problems that the developers of web3 applications have set out to fix.

The third web:

Web3 is not a term with some set definition. It varies quite a bit depending on who you ask. Web3 represents a decentralised web and refers to applications that interact with a blockchain.
Blockchains are an amazing technology where users maintain a shared digital ledger. With this public ledger, we can represent ownership, identity and value without ever needing to trust a central party. That means that web3 users no longer have to trust some central authority with their data. Instead, they can trust the blockchain to maintain trust and store their data on distributed databases.

What is the big deal?

There are a lot of benefits to developing Web3 applications. Some benefits include;
Ownership:
Ownership on the web is made possible because of blockchains. It is easy to represent who owns what and that has made it possible to develop new assets and currencies. Ownership is a huge part of the web3 paradigm and is critical for mass adoption.
Privacy:
web3 borrows from the privacy features of a blockchain. As such, users can control their internet identity. Web3 makes it possible for users to interact peer to peer whilst maintaining their privacy on the public network.
Distributed data storage:
Protocols like IPFS act like a backbone for web3 applications by providing a peer to peer network for data storage. In my opinion, an application is decentralised only when it interacts with a blockchain and stores data in a distributed way.
Censorship resistance:
Censorship resistance means that web3 users can trust that their data cannot be removed or tampered with as long as the distributed network exists. Censorship resistance also takes the form of zero intermediation between parties on the web. That means that transactions and communications are peer to peer and go through no parties who can choose to censor those actions.

Are we there yet?

The short answer is no. It is still early days for Web3 as the technologies that support its applications are rapidly being tested and developed. For now, web3 is a cool buzzword, but it is the next stage of the internet and I’m all for it.