One of the main problems we see in Web 3.0 today is its poor accessibility. The experts often toss around complicated words and expect everyone to understand them at once. Okay, that’s a bit harsh… but not necessarily an overstatement. The way the space develops, it seems at the same time to endow itself with a language all of its own, while it is also our goal to one day on-board billions of users. So, the big challenge here is to get everybody on the same page, and we want to start by explaining to you 1iO’s definition of Web 3.0.
Do you remember your first endeavor to this mysterious thing called “the internet”? How exciting and scary it was at the same time? How maybe some of your friends, or your parents said things like “this will not catch on” or “nobody needs that”? Nobody could foresee how Tim Berners-Lee’s invention (the “world-wide-web”) would change our lives. Being twenty-four years old, I can’t even fully imagine a world without it. For me, it was just there. The Web has come a long way since then, from Web 1.0 where web developers produced content that users consumed; read, to Web 2.0, the era of social and interactive web: read and write. Web 2.0 has given rise to content creators, and some of the most valuable companies ever to have existed. Speaking of content creators – this brings us to one of the big problems in Web 2.0: user-generated content is almost exclusively shared on the platforms created and controlled by the big tech companies. It is often up to the arbitrariness of the operators whether shared content is seen or not, and it can be unrightfully censored as well. During the height of Web 2.0, we have also witnessed the beginnings of decentralization when Bitcoin came up in 2009.
Web 3.0: read, write, and own!
Here is coming the next evolution of the internet: Web 3.0 promises to bring significant changes to our lives once again. While many people are still skeptical of this hypothetical future, the potential impact of Web 3.0 has piqued considerable interest. As blockchain technology advanced with the rise of new coins and platforms, the web needed to adapt. Web 3.0, also known as the decentralized web, is a theoretical world that exists similarly to our reality but is owned and developed by the people. It is characterized by its decentralization, freedom, and integrated payment mechanisms. Because of its architecture, processes can be handled more efficiently and thereby often times more sustainable as well. Why is that? With blockchain technology, the need for a trusted middleman seized to exist. That’s why Web 3.0 is also described as being a “trustless” system. So how can our processes become more sustainable, based on this concept? Let’s take a look at how messaging works today. If I text you on my phone, the message will be sent to one of the providers servers, be encrypted, and then passed on to your phone. You need a lot of processing power to pull that off, and that mostly comes from big data centers somewhere in the middle of nowhere that produce tons and tons of CO2. With the help of blockchain tech, we are enabled to run the process in a peer-to-peer fashion, meaning quite simply: from my phone directly to yours. No middleman, less carbon, and a nice side effect is that the data you produce stays in your possession and under your control. And this not only applies to the messaging use-case but many others as well, which is one of the reasons so many investors and companies want to get on board the Web 3.0 train. Let’s try this as an easy definition:
Web 3.0 is the decentralized internet developed, owned, and controlled by its users – blockchain based and equipped with its own token-based economy.
Before the fun can begin, same as in Web 2.0, you need applications. These will be designed to run on blockchains, which are decentralized networks consisting of many peer-to-peer connections. These applications are called "DApps" or decentralized applications.
Enormous potential of Web 3.0
The impact of Web 3.0 on our daily lives is vast already. Decentralization is a significant aspect of Web 3.0, especially concerning the movement of money. With Web 2.0, we are used to banking apps that are centralized. However, Web 3.0 promises more freedom in this aspect, with peer-to-peer transactions being faster, more efficient, and more reliable. Web 3.0 will also create opportunities for content creators, developers, and users to interact in a decentralized space. “Community” is the keyword. This interaction will lead to more inclusivity and equity, where everyone will have a voice and be heard. And with the concept of DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) it even becomes possible to equip communities with their own governance mechanisms that can ensure fair and transparent collaboration, agreements, and friendly interaction.
In conclusion, Web 3.0 promises to be a game-changer, bringing about significant changes to the way we interact with the internet and each other. Yes, there have been (many) missteps and wrong doings in the space that make it even more so understandable why many people are still skeptical. Well, we’re just getting started, and of course are experimenting a lot. Trial and error seems to be the name of the game. But while Web 3.0 may still be in its early stages, its potential to shape our lives and the future is nonetheless enormously vast. Maybe in 2040, we’ll look back on this innovation the same as we do on all major changes.
