Towards the future of the Internet - Web 3.0
From its beginnings in 1989 to the present day, the internet has evolved considerably, bringing out different versions.
Chances are you know the basics of the internet given its scope in our current era. However, do you know the different versions of the web that exist or are being developed? There are 3 versions, each one being more developed than the previous one.
Web 3.0 or Web3 is the last iteration of it and offers undeniable advantages that we will detail below.
Web 1.0: 1989–2005
The first version of the Internet to see the light of day was the Web 1.0 or static Web. In this one, the priority was for companies rather than for individuals and only a few people were able to use it. The most common case was when companies hired Internet experts to implement it within the company so that employees could use it.
There were very few content creators, unlike today. Advertisements on the sites were banned and the pages were created in HTML.
The cost of use was also high, the user paid by the number of pages viewed, making the number and use of computers quite low.
Web 2.0: Nowadays
This version of the web changed the way the world viewed the internet. It became more widespread and offered a lot of information, and interaction between users and also allowed content creation. This was also the period of the massive development of social networks.
With the Internet being cheaper and more widespread, more and more families are equipped with an Internet cable, and thanks to the new possibilities of content creation offered by this new version of the web, the creation of content has become more and more developed whether in the field of leisure or work. This new version has notably given birth to another evolution: Web 3.0
Web 3.0: Future of the Internet
Although varied, the definition of Web 3 generally consists of the implementation of an alternative to the Internet that integrates the notion of decentralization. This one would allow, among other things, to fight against censorship, to avoid leaks and bad uses of personal data, to fight against the big multinationals but also to offer the possibility to each one to obtain the total property of a part of the Web. We will come back to the advantages later.
More and more advanced technologies are paving the way for the emergence of this new iteration of the Web, including virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and blockchain.
How does it work more concretely?
Unlike Web2, developers don’t create applications and platforms that store their data in only one database.
Web3 applications use blockchains and decentralized networks. To maintain a secure and stable decentralized network, developers have incentives so that they compete to provide the best quality service to people using it.
Where there are conversations around web3, the topic of cryptocurrencies will never be far away. Indeed, cryptocurrency plays a big role in a lot of these protocols, offering financial incentives to participate in contributing in any way, whether it is by creating, governing, or improving the projects themselves.
What are the advantages?
Ownership of Information / Data: end-users will regain complete ownership of their data and information will be shared with the permission of the person concerned. Nowadays, big companies like Facebook collect a massive amount of personal data on the users, in order not to improve the service but to sell to other companies and marketers in exchange for billions of dollars.
Access to information: everybody will be able to access data from anywhere in the world — this is one of the key benefits of this web iteration.
Eliminating the central point of control: the use of a blockchain is key in the notion of removing the control that big firms currently have on everyone’s data.
Permission-less blockchain: everyone can be part of the blockchain network. Unlike in Web 2.0, users cannot be restricted in relation to their geography, orientation or any demographical and sociological factors and assets can be sent rapidly and everywhere in the world in an effective way.
Uninterrupted service: suspension and limitation of accounts will be reduced drastically; multiple backups will allow for the prevention of server failure.
About this article
This article has been written by a student on the Grenoble Ecole de Management’s Advanced Masters in Digital Strategy Management. As part of a content creation assignment, students are given the task of writing articles based on their digital interests and disseminate the articles online. Articles are marked but we make minimal changes to the content. Thanks for reading! James Barisic, Programme Director, MS DSM.
