What is Web 3.0?

Web 3.0 is a concept for the development of the next generation of the Internet, which is built around the idea of ​​decentralization. It is assumed that the new online network will allow people to fully own and manage the content they create, anonymize personal data, and become more open and safe.

Theories of the Internet of the future have been discussed since 1998, when the creator of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, introduced the idea of ​​a semantic web, in which the content of sites would be described using a metalanguage and be understandable to a computer. 

Tim O'Reilly, who coined the term Web 2.0, also believed that Web 3.0 would be about the semantics that would allow the Internet to interact with the physical world (essentially describing the Internet of Things). However, he recommended not to identify the Internet with the Semantic Web, as he expected that from 2010 to 2020. there will be new technological advances.

The official term Web 3.0 was coined in 2007 by Jason Calacanis, CEO of Netscape.com. He associated the Internet of the future with the creation of high-quality content: online resources will no longer be monotonous and useless, content will be created by professionals using a certain platform. 

Calacanis did not describe the platform itself, but today it is obvious that Web 3.0 is not one system, but a multidimensional concept that covers many segments at once. 

Vladimir Popov, co-founder of DAO Synergis, calls Web 3.0 a multi-network that, in addition to the web, also includes IoT, static and dynamic mesh networks, and a large number of decentralized networks such as IPFS or Bitcoin. “Web 3.0 should work as a modular system, where each module is co-dependent on others, but not subordinate to them. You can turn off one segment, but you cannot turn off the entire multi-grid,” the expert explained.

Internet development

Web 3.0 is the next stage in the history of the Internet after Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Web 1.0 originated in the 1990s with the ability to display content on static websites. The content creators were the site owners, and the user could only search and consume information.

The current stage of Web 2.0 is focused on the user and the growth of information. It is already possible to independently create content, manage it and interact with other users. During this period, blogs, social networks and other platforms are actively developing, there are more opportunities for content visualization.

Today, the main disadvantage of Web 2.0 is increasingly emerging to the surface - excessive centralization. Despite the rapid development of user-generated content, in reality it is owned by Facebook, Google and other corporations.

As a result, users face censorship, disclosure of personal data to third parties and intrusive targeting, information leaks and duplicate content. In this regard, there is a need for a distributed system that would solve the above problems, that is, in Web 3.0. At this stage, users should become full owners of their own content, be able to monetize it and exchange information using decentralized services.

How will the Internet of the future work?

Data exchange in Web 2.0 takes place using the HTTP protocol. The intermediary in the interaction of users is the server on which all information is stored. The goal of Web 3.0 is to create a new level of networking without a single point of control. How to do it? There is no clear answer to this question yet. Despite the fact that there are already decentralized applications (dApps), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and services that provide data storage and processing at the global level (for example, IPFS, which even translates as interplanetary file system) on the market, an effective way to provide them communication with each other today does not exist.

One of the options being discussed is the creation of a cross-chain infrastructure that would integrate all blockchain networks. This is already being done, for example, by Polkadot and Cosmos. So, Polkadot in December 2021 announced the launch of the first public parachain, an independent network that can interact with other blockchains.

Hybrid Model

There is a widespread opinion among experts that the fully decentralized Internet model looks like a utopian concept. Even some new Internet segments, such as NFTs and Metaverses, remain effectively under the control of specific organizations. Therefore, it is highly likely that in the coming years we will be dealing with a hybrid model a centralized Internet with Web 3.0 elements.

How Web 3.0 will affect the economy?

The impact of Web 3.0 goes far beyond the Internet. With the development of its segments, we will observe an increasing digitalization and decentralization of the economy. If digital services already existed in Web 2.0, for example, in the form of various subscriptions, today you can buy digital goods for tokens. There are more free niches and growth opportunities for startups on the tech market. The degree of monopolization is decreasing even in the financial sector.

“The main difference between Web 3.0 and Web 2.0 is that it is an economic protocol, not an information one. It provides reliability and security for a large number of new solutions. First of all, all this will affect the financial industry and its products,” says Alexander Mitrovich, CEO of Unique Network and Head of Blockchain at Usetech. “With Web 3.0, there is no need for banks to store or transfer money, as well as to use it “as earnings”‎, for example, on interest or investments in financial instruments.”

This is a logical consequence of decentralization, according to Ilya Maksimenka, CEO of Plasma.Finance. “In the decentralized Internet, users can monetize personal data and buy and sell goods and services directly without intermediaries. As a result, the development of private money and financial systems independent of states and their monetary policy,” the expert clarifies.

Conclusion

 

The change of two generations of the Internet cannot happen at once. The transition to new realities will take more than one year, but we already see the first steps towards Web 3.0