The internet is always changing — today’s version is nothing like the slow, text-heavy one we all thought was so cool back in the 1990s, and tomorrow’s internet will be a whole new beast.
If you’ve been following any forecasts about how the internet of the future will appear and work, you’ve probably heard the terms “Web 3.0” and “the metaverse” thrown around, but they’re not interchangeable.
Let’s look at the battle between Web 3 vs Metaverse and learn the connection between these two ‘alien’ concepts.
What exactly is Web 3.0?
Web 3.0 is based on the premise that there has already been a significant transition in how we use the internet, taking us from Web 1.0 (yesterday’s internet) to Web 2.0 (today’s internet), and thus it aids in the classification of those generations.
Between 1991 and 2004, there was a version of the internet known as Web 1.0. It was a place to go for information, and the number of people who created content was dwarfed by the number of people who consumed it.
Web 2.0 has come to represent the subsequent iteration of the internet, which is dominated by user-generated content. This is when we all started interacting on Facebook through social media posts, creating and sharing videos on YouTube, and leaving comments, well, everywhere. Web 3.0 aspects are also starting to show up.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which employ blockchain technology to let artists monetize and distribute their digital creations in new ways, and decentralized web browsers, which block adverts and allow users to pick which websites have access to their browsing data, are examples of web 3.
What exactly is Metaverse?
The metaverse is concerned with how people will interact with the internet in the future, whereas Web 3.0 is concerned with who will own and regulate it in the future.
The majority of us now use computers, cellphones, and tablets to navigate websites and apps. Proponents of the metaverse believe that we will utilize virtual reality (VR) technology to enter the internet tomorrow, navigating between virtual realms as digital avatars.
Each of these virtual worlds is a metaverse, and you can already visit some of them online, such as Rec Room, Fortnite, Decentraland, and Horizon Worlds, a type of virtual gaming world established by Metaverse (the parent company of Facebook).
While the majority of today’s metaverses are gaming platforms populated by pre-teens, advocates believe the concept has the potential to change the way we all work, socialize, and more online.
Instead of using a video conferencing service like Zoom to communicate with your coworkers, you could put on a VR headset and interact with their avatars in a virtual area.
Instead of texting or messaging friends, your group can decide to meet up in the mob of a virtual music festival, where real-life performers play as digital avatars.
Web 3.0 vs. Metaverse
While the Metaverse and Web 3.0 aren’t the same things, they’re also not rival versions of the future internet — either one, both, or neither of them might materialize, and there may be some overlap.
A digital artist, for example, may create an outfit for an avatar to wear in the metaverse and then sell it together with an NFT to generate money. This would give the buyer sole ownership of the apparel; if others copied it, their avatars would be dressed in knockoffs.
If the metaverse comes to fruition, it might be centralized (as with Web 2.0), decentralized (as with Web 3.0), or a hybrid of the two.
To advertise its ambition to construct and monetize the metaverse, Facebook — the kind of centralized firm Web 3.0 seeks to cripple — changed its name to “Meta.” Then there are metaverses like Decentraland, where users create and own everything.
Digital artists who see the new internet experience as a way to finally make some money — or large corporations like Nike and Gucci who see the metaverse as just another cash stream — might generate the assets for sale in the metaverse.
With a good understanding of the fundamentals of web 3.0 and metaverse, one can query whether they are genuinely distinct. Decentralization is supported by Web 3.0, and the metaverse allows anyone to freely move about and sell their assets in perfect transparency.
While there are some parallels between metaverse and web 3.0, the contrasts are more noticeable. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the differences between web 3.0 and the metaverse.
Definition
The first point of comparison between the metaverse and web 3.0 is, of course, their definitions. In virtual reality, the metaverse is a computer realm where you can interact with three-dimensional things. The metaverse will allow users to interact with other users and virtual things through the use of virtual reality goggles.
Web 3.0, on the other hand, is essentially an advancement of the methods by which users can manage their digital assets and online identities. Web 3.0 allows users to own and monetize their content while also allowing them to generate it. Web 3.0 is
thus an idea for the next version of the internet, in which people have control over their inventions.
Technology Underpinnings
The next critical component in both web 3.0 and metaverse comparisons is the underlying technology. The metaverse is home to a number of important technologies that keep the ecosystem running. Connectivity, interfaces, decentralization, a creator
economy, experiences, and enabling technologies are all required to build the metaverse.
Web 3.0’s goal was to build a decentralized web that relied exclusively on blockchain and bitcoin. Blockchain, which is managed by a decentralized network of computers, allows users to interact with online services. Web 3.0 can also make advantage of public blockchain technology to give everyone with an internet connection unrestricted, permissionless access.
Scope of the Applications
Another major differentiation is the potential applications of web 3.0 and the metaverse. The metaverse is a new dimension that combines movies, entertainment, games, education, simulation-based training, and social networking in one place. Whereas, the Metaverse applications are still in work. As a result, it’s too soon to determine whether the metaverse will be able to accurately mirror nearly all real-world activity.
Web 3.0 is a specification for the next iteration of the internet. It can be seen as a set of rules that all internet users must adhere to. As a result, rather than being limited to specialized apps, web 3.0 will be applicable across the board.
Here are some similarities between Metaverse and Web 3
- Many of the advances that occurred with blockchain provide the same common ground of both terms in a technological sense. Every new blockchain idea and solution is immediately evaluated as a potential module for Metaverse’s Web 3.0 engine, which will power goods and services.
- They are inescapably intertwined. While Web 3.0 is still referred to as “decentralized,” the Metaverse’s social media control systems will remain “centralized.”
- The internet and open, trustless, and permissionless networks give free access to the virtual world. Both will be decentralized and open to the general public.
- Both will be cutting-edge technologies that will continue to develop. Artificial intelligence and a sophisticated user interface will be used in the technologies.
- Both companies are concentrating on next-generation internet infrastructure and how consumers share material online. IoT makes it easy for people to access the digital world with both technologies.
In addition, the metaverse’s creator economy can support web 3.0’s goal of developing a new financial world based on decentralized solutions. The metaverse, on the other hand, is still in its infancy and would necessitate a huge technological jump.
