Web 3.0 is all about creating an internet which benefits every individual user who generates content, rather than just the owners of the platform of where this content is being published. This is because that very same user who produces the content is, or can easily become, a co-owner of this platform.
That very same user who produces the content is, or can easily become, a co-owner of this platform.
Web 3.0 will most likely be based on blockchain technology (more on this below) with no central authority with ownership control. A good example of this is Odysee.
This article attempts to explain Web 3.0 in clear terms from a comprehensive perspective for those unfamiliar with the concept. Readers already aware of Polkadot might know that its goal is to become the infrastructure platform of Web 3.0. The close link between Web 3.0 and Polkadot is the key to the exciting future of the internet; a fascinating prospect with details worth delving into extensively.
The origin and definition of Web 3.0
The generic term “web” has been widely used for 32 years, yet few know its definition or origin. In 1989, English scientist Tim Berners-Lee shared his vision for a “collaborative medium” for researchers to share and update scientific research and information at CERN (European Institute for Particle Physics). Four years later he created the World Wide Web in 1993 — kicking off a revolutionary internet era.
1. Web 1.0: Users are “consumers of content”
Millions of people joined the scientific researchers and soon benefited from the interconnected computer system; surfing the ‘web’ for information and entertainment skyrocketed. Service providers like AOL, Yahoo, and Google monetized advertising and became the ultimate profiteers during this period which later became known as Web 1.0 (1991 to 2004). According to Graham Cormode and Balachander Krishnamurthy, “content creators were few…with the vast majority of users simply acting as consumers of content.”
2. Web 2.0: Everyone is a content creator
The term Web 1.0 did not exist until Web 2.0 came to fruition in order to provide retroactive clarity in distinguishing the two periods. Web 2.0 was coined by Darcy DiNucci and only became widely accepted after the promotion by Tim O’Reilly and Dale Dougherty at the O’Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in 2004. Web 2.0 allows any web user to participate in content creation. This occurs when they interact on Facebook with friends, post on blogs, and share videos and pictures on YouTube or Instagram.
This exciting trend in web users’ interactions has made the less adaptive internet companies obsolete. This phenomenon is akin to users searching on social media like YouTube and Twitter for specific topics instead of passively reading articles on AOL and Yahoo.
Though Web 2.0 did not supersede Web 1.0 (nor are they binary divisions) — the latter is still commonly used and characterized as “read-only” — while Web 2.0 offers interactivity and remains mainstream. The materialization of Web 2.0 led to the abundant imagination of Web 3.0.
3. The Web 3.0 projection
Artificial intelligence has matured and is now embedded in every user interaction on web pages. Algorithms analyze and extrapolate the data generated by user interactions to suggest additional articles or merchandise based on their preferences. Tim Berners-Lee envisioned Semantic Web as the Web 3.0 where machines eventually process information like a human brain. In short, messages would be understood contextually and conceptually.
Thus Web 3.0 was fully projected: machines that understood all data (Semantic Web) would solve issues with optimization through machine learning (Artificial Intelligence) providing an ideal premise for a digital ecosystem where data can be shared among devices (Internet of Things). However, the trajectory of Web 3.0 has headed in another direction after the rise of blockchain.
4. Web 3.0 after blockchain
All speculations regarding Web 3.0 formed prior to blockchain were shattered by overestimation of machine learning and the lack of actual implementation. Blockchain, with its original technologies, would go on to reclaim the integrity and value of the internet while simultaneously offering new perspectives for Web 3.0.
Meanwhile, a decisive incident took place in the U.S. during the summer of 2013. Edward Snowden revealed highly classified information about the global surveillance programs (PRISM) run by the U.S. National Security Agency to The Guardian and The Washington Post. Snowden immediately flew to Hong Kong and sought asylum in Russia. Shortly after his arrival, he disclosed more details about the surveillance program(s) in the U.K..
The PRISM scandal exposed a stark reality in which both the U.S. and the U.K. were secretly invading citizens’ privacy by unconstitutionally monitoring their communication at a large scale. The vulnerability in protecting users’ privacy by strictly relying on the government or businesses proved that the Cypherpunk movement (an act of advocating cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies voluntarily by a group of individuals) was visionary.
Dr. Gavin Wood, Polkadot founder and co-founder of Ethereum, recognized the shortcomings of the current internet environment and introduced his own vision of Web 3.0 while building Ethereum. Wood originally expressed his vision of Web 3.0 as follows:
“Web 3.0 is an inclusive set of protocols to provide building blocks for application makers. These building blocks take the place of traditional web technologies like HTTP, AJAX and MySQL, but present a whole new way of creating applications. These technologies give the user strong and verifiable guarantees about the information they are receiving, what information they are giving away, what they are paying and what they are receiving in return. By empowering users to act for themselves within low-barrier markets, we can ensure censorship and monopolization have fewer places to hide. Consider Web 3.0 to be an executable Magna Carta — the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot.”
In summary, Wood’s notions targeted all the issues associated with the drawbacks of Web 2.0 and exposed by the PRISM scandal — including centralization, data privacy, and tech giants’ monopolization. He defined Web 3.0 as a series of scalable technological frameworks that granted an unprecedented approach to building new applications.These solutions secure a transparent network through data decentralization, empowering individuals to regain control of their own digital identity, assets, and data privacy. Hence, Wood also described Web 3.0 as “the post-Snowden web.”
5. Reasons to pay attention to Web 3.0 after blockchain
As previously mentioned, the Semantic Web version of Web 3.0 describes a promising future for the internet but does not fix the existing problems created by Web 2.0. Web 3.0 with blockchain technology (as suggested by Wood) would mitigate the drawbacks in the current internet and be compatible with the Semantic Web at the same time.
Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 are predetermined, while Web 3.0 is still being defined. It serves as a beacon guiding the future of the internet one stage at a time. In addition to Ethereum and Polkadot, many projects with blockchain technology such as Filecoin and Blockstack have sprung up after Wood conceptualized Web 3.0. The annual Web 3.0 events are also growing in popularity every year.
Why we need Web 3.0
The fantasy of cyberspace is cognitively necessary to acknowledge what is missing in the modern digital world. The transition from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 manifested infinite possibilities in cyberspace by giving users the option to be both content consumers and content creators. This collective content exchange laid bare the imperfections within us that galvanize our search for the “perfect internet.”
1. Inherent flaws of Web 2.0
The most significant accomplishment of Web 2.0 was moving the majority of tasks in the real world online. This notion helped achieve a substantial transformation of the internet that made our society more efficient and connected. Nevertheless, the social structures of the global economy remain the same online; the unfair distribution of wealth and power persists. Issues in centralization remain unresolved; instead, they are getting worse as more data is generated day by day. Mismanagement of user data by major tech companies allowed for the misuse of that data by illegal entities. Therefore, data security and privacy protection have become problems that need to be solved urgently.
2. What Web 3.0 can bring us
As Wood mentioned, the difference between Web 2.0 and 3.0 will appear nuanced from the user’s perspective in its early stages. The web browsers may look the same but would be called different names like “wallets” and “key stores.” These new web aspects would serve as our online IDs with our asset information. They could conveniently identify individuals for fund transfer, asset exchange, and payment over the internet without involving other identity services. Trusted parties, insurance outfits, and backup services will compete globally in this new open and transparent market. Users are freed from price-gouging or rent-seeking and protected from data breaches.
Web 3.0 will redefine “the Digital Age.” We do not yet know how incredible the new internet world will evolve to be. Still, we firmly believe that it will lead us one step closer to an internet that features efficiency, fairness, integrity, and value. It also leads us to ask questions like “What will be the subsequent developments for Web 3.0?” and “What new form will Web 3.0 take?” These questions will require us to ruminate on a much higher level.
The Current Web 3.0 and The Road Ahead
Blockchain inevitably becomes the center of focus when it comes to the development of Web 3.0 since its priorities of decentralization, trustworthiness, and tamper-proofing align with the goal of Web 3.0 — a new internet generation where everyone is in control of their data, identity, and destiny. Besides blockchain, there is artificial intelligence, decentralized data storage protocols, and highly secure cryptography, all illuminating the path towards the Web 3.0 blueprint.
The first obstacle on this path to the blueprint are issues related to data storage and transfer, which are the foundations of Web 3.0. These two practices are also the basic framework for some blockchain applications. A second obstacle to consider is the feasibility of embedding digital identity into these applications. At last, we would need to present the web browser and user interfaces in ways that are familiar to the public. These obstacles delineate the path to Web 3.0.