While we are now familiar with blockchain and cryptocurrencies, most of us still don’t know about Web 3.0 and its implications. Although most of these concepts appear the same, they are different in terms of meanings and applications.
If you are wondering about ‘the new internet’ or Web 3.0, this blog post is just for you!
The first version, Web 1.0, or the internet as we know it, is an access-free network. The instant but static network allowed users to do little more than consume content posted by publishers in a client-server architecture. Hence, web forms, banners, and HTML code flooded the internet. You know what we mean if you remember how Yahoo! looked in 1994.
Following the birth of social media, blogging, and eCommerce, Web 2.0 launched to transform social interactions. Cloud services, dynamic content, web applications, RSS, XML, and a new internet allowed communities and users to collaborate.
Web 2.0 paved the way for the next stage a decade ago: the birth of a semantic internet that enhanced web technologies for creating, sharing, and connecting content via data analysis. This new internet created a universal omnichannel strategy with interconnected devices, applications, live streaming, 3D graphics, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, mobile apps, and digital money.
We call it Web 3.0: a new world of the internet where we not only create content, but we share it and welcome others to read and review it. For example, Apple’s Siri and Wolfram Alpha are the applications of Web 3.0 and can summarize significant amounts of information into practical actions and knowledge.
Explaining Web 3.0 can be challenging, because it's a loosely defined term. However, this post will attempt to shed light on the components, benefits, and uses of Web 3.0.
Blockchain: The Foundation of the Web 3.0
Blockchain technology refers to a record of information and transactions arranged in blocks. These blocks are organized in a peer-to-peer network and linked together in a single list, or a chain, via a cryptographic hash. The hash makes it impossible for anyone to tamper with the records because it creates a secure data structure.
The parties that verify a transaction and a significant number of third parties create a distributed and robust network by maintaining a full copy of the blockchain.
Independent and different teams of developers continue to work on Web 3.0 features. While their approach and strategy may vary, their goal is to create applications or working frameworks for the new internet center using blockchain. The Distributed Ledger Technology of blockchain efficiently resolves numerous underlying issues inherent in Web 2.0 and can be deployed to enhance and connect other cutting-edge technologies. In simple words, blockchain is critical to the formation of Web 3.0.
Here are a few reasons to support this claim.
Open-Source: From the time Satoshi Nakamoto introduced the concept of blockchain, we’ve defined this technology as an open-source and collaborative environment for converting the concepts of equitability, accessibility, and community governance into actual protocols and web services. Even though there are some specific cases of private blockchains, the technology’s advocates believe that blockchain’s true potential is in ubiquitous public blockchains because of their transparent data records and transactions.
Censorship-resistant: Apart from being transparent, another great thing about blockchain records is that they are immutable. That means intelligent contracts govern the rules of executing and storing transactions. That’s why users can trust the validity of the output of the network’s performance without trusting anyone else on the network. Consequently, blockchain technology narrows down the risks of operational opacity to guarantee decentralized means of securing data and transactions.
Permissionless: Web 3.0 can only be successful if it enables users to interact with each other without any third-party intermediaries or centralized authorities. Blockchain technology’s decentralized consensus mechanisms and cryptography guarantee flexible and authentic information transfer without any external authorization.
There are quite a few promising blockchain projects that aim to establish Web 3.0. Ethereum leads the pack in terms of breadth of scope and user adoption. But the purpose of Web 3.0 is to make room for a more collaborative and decentralized internet. Therefore, we should view several blockchain projects creating Web 3.0 as a collective effort rather than a race to crown a sole winner.
The Structural Design of Web 3.0
Although the underlying architect of Web 3.0 is yet to be established, there is a broad consensus on some general characteristics of this new version of the internet. Let’s give a brief review of these characteristics.
Semantic Web
Due to its underlying operational model, Web 3.0 is likely to analyze and act on a digital content ecosystem. As a result, we expect it to form intricate connections between user behavior, web services, and other contextual data.
Such a breakthrough will make way for an unprecedented level of data connectivity and mark a departure from the current internet model, which emphasizes more on structured numerical values and keywords. Instead, the purpose of semantic web is to make data machine-readable for improving its overall effectiveness.
Artificial Intelligence
AI or artificial intelligence software will enable Web 3.0’s semantic web to understand user intention and decrypt natural language. Hence, the new internet will provide user-centric interactions which are more intuitive and relevant to the current internet. Furthermore, the AI processes will play a critical role in maintaining the integrity of Web 3.0’s content ecosystem as it separates genuine information from fraudulent or low-quality content.
Ubiquitous and Secure Data
Web 3.0 will give birth to a new era of multiplatform interoperability and interconnected Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In addition, the data shared and stored on Web 3.0 will be more secure, thanks to this version’s decentralized network infrastructure.
There are no middlemen, which reduces the risk of centralized server failures and allows users to complete their data. Web 3.0 also enables applications to be more device-agnostic, enabling various types of software and hardware platforms to communicate with each other without any additional development and operational costs.
Web 3.0 will mark a new online paradigm that involves the use of cutting-edge decentralized web applications developed around the latest technologies such as IoT, AI, AR, and VR. These essential innovations are enabled and connected via Web 3.0 blockchain technology to build decentralized and credible network infrastructure.
Immersive Experiences
Currently, technology offers a wide variety of augmented reality and virtual reality experiences. But with Web 3.0, we are likely to witness a whole new world of virtual experiences. VR technologies and 3D graphics will expand and blur the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds.
The immersive technology will make it easy to render physical objects in the digital realm and vice versa. Hence, Web 3.0 will allow us to interact with services and products in an entirely new way to retrieve more information.
Are There Any Challenges to Web 3.0?
Although Web 3.0 will change the Internet radically because of its ability to offer value to global users, we must remove some significant hurdles before the masses can adopt this version of the internet. At present, there are numerous issues with decentralized networks that are hindering the growth of Web 3.0, including scale and speed.
Despite offering improved security, the speed of the decentralized web is slower than the centralized web due to the need for authentication nodes. A centralized app can process an impressive amount of data simultaneously, but a decentralized app fails to deliver the same speed.
In addition to that, scalability is an ongoing issue. Since the Ethereum Network comprises and is secured by more than 8,000 nodes, each transaction is processed by all nodes. That means there is significant network congestion which limits Ethereum’s ability to manage the enterprise-class applications of the future. While a considerable amount of work is under progress to help scale Ethereum, if it or a similar blockchain, such as Polkadot or Cardano, had any chances of becoming the backbone of the decentralized web, privacy, and speed solutions must be introduced.
Web 3.0 and Artificial Intelligence
Another component of Web 3.0 refers to the capabilities of artificial intelligence and machines for reading and interacting with content with humans. Blockchain technology recently focused on Web 3.0’s for authenticating and decentralizing information. Although Web 3.0 does not have any single definition, we can label it as a computing era enabling sovereignty for an individual. Gone are the days when digital giants owned centralized data repositories and profited from your information. As Web 3.0 continues to expand, there is a rise in 3D interactive, seamless, and intelligent computing to help us realize the full potential of Web 3.0.
Web 3.0 and Blockchain
Blockchain is the foundation for Web 3.0 and gives ownership and greater control to users to secure their data. All bits of information and data exchanged through blockchain networks are encrypted. Several blockchain apps work collectively to set the foundation of Web 3.0, among which Ethereum is the leader. Blockchain technology will allow Web 3.0 to lead to a technological revolution to empower everyone.
What are the Benefits of Web 3.0?
Web 3.0 will provide more meaningful solutions once we resolve the challenges that stand in its way. For instance, while today’s centralized apps may experience downtime for any reason, Web 3.0 and DApps servers are more efficient with less risk of downtime. That’s because they are run on Ethereum’s decentralized network of hundreds of computers. As a result, the credibility of the Web 3.0 Internet is sure to improve in the future.
Likewise, Web 3.0 will eliminate the efficacy and volume of common DDoS attacks. Nobody would have the same chances to disrupt internet services with peer-to-peer networks that secure the Ethereum blockchain. No more single points of failure. That will allow the network to function normally, irrespective of participants being taken out or attacked.
Although the challenges of reliability, scale, and latency, scale, slow down the transition to Web 3.0, organizations working on improving the Internet will address these problems. This focus will lead to greater adoption of the decentralized web and DApps. When adoption increases, the network effect will boost the benefits of Web 3.0, leading to further adoption.
A significant benefit of Web 3.0 is that it offers the ability to access data from anywhere. The goal is to guarantee that the user can get safe access to information as much as possible.
The Contribution of Web 3.0 to Humanity
The idea of a more transparent web surfaced in 2006. But the tools and technologies were not there to materialize this idea. Bitcoin had another three years to bring forward the niche concept of the distributed ledger for peer-to-peer digital storage. We can say that decentralization was the idea, and blockchain served as the means. The internet we have now is the ‘human-centered’ internet.
The Agricultural Revolution paved the way for humanity to flourish and design complex social structures. However, it also resulted in destabilized ecosystems, widespread inequality, and the growth of global pandemics. Similarly, the initial versions of the internet provided innumerable benefits to humanity, unfortunately, at the cost of social harmony, personal privacy, and data ownership.
Unlike many other technologies, Web 3.0 is a revolution that is designed to empower users and local communities. This new version of the internet is not an anti-establishment creation. On the contrary, the secure and transparent online ecosystem is likely to introduce new and exciting business models and governance structures.
Final Thoughts
Web 3.0 is another way to describe the future of the internet. However, it is challenging to interact with the Ethereum Network and needs complex software. In addition, cryptographically verifying and downloading large amounts of data can result in technical barriers. That can trouble individuals who own low-power devices.
However, looking at the benefits of Web 3.0, we conclude that anyone can create an address and start engaging with the blockchain network. The users will no longer be restricted based on their geography, income, gender, orientation, or other sociological and demographical factors. As a result, digital wealth and assets can be transferred quickly, efficiently, and globally to help local and international businesses.
About The Author
Amber Alvi
Amber is a seasoned content marketer who is enthusiastic about technology, web design, mobile apps, and everything digital. With over 15 years of experience in the content creation business, Amber loves exploring ideas from different niches, especially technology and online marketing.
