A Quick and Simple Guide to Web 3.0

It is a worldwide knowledge that internet has been a vital part of not just the technological industry, but of society as a whole. This usefulness paved the way for further development of the known internet today, and come up with different ideas that can facilitate exchange of information in a faster and much safer way. With web 1.0 that showcased information to the users, and the well-adored web 2.0 which enabled people to share their sentiments online, the next evolution of internet is now available – the web 3.0. Utilizing blockchain technology and tools of decentralization, web 3.0 is becoming the new face of Internet.

But before this idea of the third version of web set in, once upon a time in the 90s, Tim Berners-Lee envisioned a fascinating web of data, which was referred to as semantic web. This extension of the existing World Wide Web aims to provide software programs with machine-interpretable metadata. This became the very foundation of today’s known Web 3.0. 

You may notice that the sites you visit are usually owned and managed by corporations and even regulated by the government. Data is not distributed and relies on a single central server. With the aim to be free from government and company controlled internet, web 3.0 was developed. Combining the web 1.0 users’ autonomy from internet giants, and the interactivity gained from the web 2.0, the web 3.0 will be utilizing decentralized systems to accommodate its users while maintaining user interaction. Information and data collected from its end-users are not stored nor managed by huge tech companies. Rather, they are scattered throughout the internet, where it is more accessible for users wherever they may be. The process of data transfer will be registered in a digital ledger, which is referred to as a blockchain to encourage transparency and to hinder abuse.

But what is blockchain and how can it support web 3.0?

According to IBM, blockchain is a decentralized, immutable ledger that makes it easier to record transactions and track assets in a network. It is supported by the concept of encryption and distributed computing. Encryption allows only the authorized user to access the data stored in the blockchain. While distributed computing means the data is shared across many servers, and only allows access when a particular copy is the exact information stored on the other. Overall, these two helps blockchain to store data in a way that only the person who owns it can control the information, even if it is stored in a company owned server. And what’s more interesting is, even if the server is shutdown, the owner still have access to it because is also stored on hundreds of different computers that it is stored on. 

There is still a governing body, the Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO), which is a group bound by rules and regulations coded into a blockchain. Stakeholders of DAO will be the deciding factor, as no individual can change rules without permission. This also eliminates the use of “middle men” like lawyers and accountants for transactions. 

But huge names in technology industry expressed their hesitations in Web 3.0. Elon Musk even stated that Web3 “seems more like a marketing buzzword than a reality right now”. Likewise, Former Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey said that Web3, being owned by VCs and LPs, is “ultimately a centralized entity with a different label.”

According to Radian Social, some examples of applications that use Web 3.0 are Bitcoin, Diaspora, Steemit, Augur, and Uniswap.

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