Web 3.0

The next Generation of the Internet

Web 1.0

Web 2.0

Web 3.0

Green shoots of E-commerce Desktop browser Access Dedicated Infrastructure

‘Social’ networks ‘Mobile-first’ always on Cloud-driven computing

AI-driven services Decentralized data architecture Edge computing infrastructure

Source: Fabric Ventures

“The Semantic Web is not a separate Web but an extension of the current one, in whichinformation is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation.” Green shoots of E-commerce Desktop browser Access Dedicated Infrastructure ‘Social’ networks ‘Mobile-first’ always on
Cloud-driven computing AI-driven services Decentralised data architecture Edge computing infrastructure. “
– Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the internet

Source: Single Grain

Key Participants in Web 3.0

Web 3.0 in a Nutshell

Web 3.0 is about a web that is built on the blockchain and not under the control of a small number of key administrations such as governments or corporations. The goal of Web 3.0 is to put user data and web content in the hands of users instead. More specikcally, it offers a data-driven semantic web that uses a machine-learning understanding of data, with the aim of delivering a smarter and more connected web experience for users.

Web 1.0

Web 2.0

Web 3.0

  • Web 1.0 was dubbed the Static Web.
  • In the 1990s, it was the first and most trustworthy internet.
  • It used to provide minimal data with little to no interaction from the user.
  • It lacked algorithms for sifting through internet pages.
  • Users had a difficult time finding relevant information.
  • A small group of people created the content, and the majority of the data came from directories.
  • The social Web, or Web 2.0, made the internet a lot more interactive.
  • Web technologies such as CSS3, HTML5, Javascript, and others enabled the development of Web 2.0.
  • Interactive web platforms such as Wikipedia, Facebook, and YouTube were created thanks to Web 2.0.
  • It paved the way for the growth of social networks as well as user-generated content.
  • Data could be shared and distributed across a number of different apps and platforms.
  • .
  • .
  • Web 3.0 is the next step in the evolution of the internet.
  • It would make the internet smarter.
  • Through the power of AI systems that could run smart programmes to aid users, it would process data with near-human-like intelligence.
  • Both machines and humans will be involved in the content creation and decision-making processes.
  • The properties of Web 3.0 would include ubiquitousness, semantic web, and artificial intelligence.
  • .

The Essential Components of Web 3.0

Semantic Web

The semantic web is intended to make data easier to exchange and use between different computers. It is supposed to help unstructured data to be better structured by using additional information. For example, the German word “Zug” in a web document can be a transportation means or a city. The semantic web should assist in putting the data into the right context. While it is easy for humans to recognize the context in a natural way, machines have to learn this continuously and thus expand their knowledge base through Web 3.0. With semantic data, Web 3.0 will significantly improve data communication, ultimately taking the user experience to a new level.

3D Graphics

One buzzword you hear in connection with 3D graphics is the metaverse, like the futuristic gaming applications Decentraland. But it is not only the gaming world that will be affected, but also e-commerce, the pharmaceutical industry, the real estate industry or the automotive industry, to name just a few other examples. Thanks to improved technology and increased computing power, yoga classes on the summit of Mount Everest in a 3D environment could be possible in the near future by utilizing Web 3.0.

Artificial Intelligence

Web 3.0 can read and decode the meaning and emotions of data by applying artificial intelligence. Web 2.0 already offers some similar possibilities, but humans have their fingers in the pie which is not always used in a positive way. For example, one can imagine that there are companies that pay to receive masses of positive reviews for their services or products, or give masses of bad reviews to their competitors, thus distorting the true picture. Artifcial intelligence is supposed to detect such approaches on the Web 3.0 and reflect more honest reviews, thus guaranteeing a better customer experience.

Ubiquitous

According to the Cambridge Dictionary “ubiquitous” means “seeming to be everywhere”. Ubiquitous computing aims to provide people with a seamlessly connected computing environment in which they live, work and play. It is a world where people are surrounded by computing devices and computing infrastructure that can interact with each other and smoothly support us in our daily lives. Simple examples could be using your cell phone to give a presentation via a wireless projector while simultaneously using smart watch to control the presentation.

The Web 3.0 Difference

We rely on various platforms like Google or Facebook to communicate, collect data, watch movies, shop, order food, and more. All these platforms’ own users’ data, but once Web 3.0 is up and running, all services will run on blockchain, and these organizations will no longer have ownership of users’ data.

Web 3.0 is based on the fundamental ideas of increased utility, decentralization, and openness. Non-fungible tokens purchased with crypto coins are the perfect illustration of the Web 3.0 universe.

Annoying pop-up ads that appear on every website you visit are a thing of the past. Instead, with a Web 3.0 internet browser like Brave Browser, you can choose which ads you want to see in your browser and be compensated for your time with Basis Attention Tokens, a cryptocurrency. Brave Browser is already available today, and smart contracts that automate the transfer of data and value could be used to run these kind of applications

The Importance of Web 3.0

Web 3.0 uses blockchain technology to provide privacy and security as well as to foster collabo- ration, transparency, and innovation. The importance of Web 3.0 is that it gives data sovereignty back to people and does not put it in the hands of institutions. As an example Creators or Designers can use Web 3.0 to market their works themselves available via the Blockchain technology and can thus benekt from the transparency and security of the blockchain technology.

Source: NIST

Web 3.0 safeguards privacy through the use of cryptography technology that guarantees and protects the privacy of each individual, which is a more secure data protection framework. This will also make the work of advertisers more difficult in the future, as they will not be able to track potential customers at every turn.

In order to drive Web 3.0 forward and maintain it, various participants are needed, but they must be motivated accordingly.

There are also various reward mechanisms for Web 3.0 participants. Currently, Web 3.0 is largely based on extrinsic incentives. This can be, for example, a Non-Fungible-Token (NFT), airdrop for using a product, staking rewards or a token for a contribution:

Non-Fungible-Token
Non-Fungible-Tokens describe a specific token type. Each NFTs is unique and non-interchangeable, meaning an NFT is a one-of-a-kind unit of data stored on a decentralized public blockchain. Unlike currency coins and tokens which are fungible, each NFTs only exist once. NFTs are often used to sell unique digital goods like art pieces or membership access.

Airdrop
Crypto Airdrop is mostly used by crypto startups as part of their marketing strategy to promote the project and their new token. In this process, their own token is distributed to current or potential users for free.

Staking
Staking allows owners to deposit their cryptocurrencies and be rewarded with new coins. The deposit can take place during a fixed or variable period. With staking, the owners support the network and receive the corresponding rewards in return.

Key Participants shaping Web 3.0

Source: CoinMarketCap

Polkadot is an open-source sharded multichain protocol that connects and secures a network of specialized blockchains, facilitating cross-chain transfer of any data or asset types, not just tokens, thereby allowing blockchains to be interoperable with each other. Polkadot was designed to provide a foundation for a decentralized internet of blockchains, also known as Web 3.0.

Founded in 2017, Chainlink is a blockchain abstraction layer that enables universally connected smart contracts. Through a decentralized oracle network, Chainlink allows blockchains to securely interact with external data feeds, events and payment methods, providing the critical off-chain information needed by complex smart contracts to become the dominant form of digital agreement.

Filecoin is a decentralized storage system that aims to “store humanity’s most important information.” The project raised $205 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017, and initially planned a launch date for mid-2019. However, the launch date for the Filecoin mainnet was pushed back until block 148,888, which is expected in mid-October 2020.

Helium (HNT) is a decentralized blockchain-powered network for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Launched in July 2019, the Helium mainnet allows low-powered wireless devices to communicate with each other and send data across its network of nodes. Helium’s goal is to prepare IoT communication for the future, identifying inadequacies in current infrastructure from its birth in 2013.

Theta (THETA) is a blockchain powered network purpose-built for video streaming. Launched in March 2019, the Theta mainnet operates as a decentralized network in which users share bandwidth and computing resources on a peer-to-peer (P2P) basis.The project is advised by Steve Chen, co-founder of YouTube and Justin Kan, co-founder of Twitch.

BitTorrent is a popular peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing and torrent platform which has become increasingly decentralized in recent years. Originally released in July 2001, BitTorrent was purchased by blockchain platform TRON in July 2018. According to its official literature, BitTorrent is currently the “largest decentralized P2P communications protocol” in the world.

The Graph is an indexing protocol for querying data for networks like Ethereum and IPFS, powering many applications in both DeFi and the broader Web 3.0 ecosystem. Anyone can build and publish open APIs, called subgraphs, that applications can query using GraphQL to retrieve blockchain data. There is a hosted service in production that makes it easy for developers to get started building on The Graph and the decentralized network will be launching later this year.

Basic Attention Token, or BAT, is the token that powers a new blockchain-based digital advertising platform designed to fairly reward users for their attention, while providing advertisers with a better return on their ad spend. This experience is delivered through the Brave Browser, where users can watch privacy-preserving adverts and receive BAT rewards for doing so. On the other hand, advertisers can deliver targeted ads to maximize engagement and cut down losses due to ad fraud and abuse.

Stacks is a layer-1 blockchain solution that is designed to bring smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps) to Bitcoin (BTC). These smart contracts are brought to Bitcoin without changing any of the features that make it so powerful — including its security and stability. The mainnet for Stacks 2.0 launched in January 2021.

Arweave is a decentralized storage network that seeks to offer a platform for the indefinite storage of data. Describing itself as “a collectively owned hard drive that never forgets,” the network primarily hosts “the permaweb” — a permanent, decentralized web with a number of community-driven applications and platforms.

Conclusion on Web 3.0

With Web 3.0, the entire Internet will definitely move to a new level and the cards will be reshuffled. In particular, the issue of data sovereignty will be at the heart of it and will present companies with new challenges but also opportunities. At the same time, users will be able to enjoy a new web experience and, in the best case, take advantage of the new technology. Many of the leading Web 3.0 market participants have been in existence for some time, which also underpins the demand for the new technology and can give confidence.

There are also some critical voices, which claim that Web 3.0 is just Web2 with a different label. Among them are prominent people like Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey, who have expressed their discomfort with Web 3.0 in various Twitter tweets.

Chris Dixon
(Andreessen Horowitz)

“When you look back on every decade in tech, there’s one thing that really dominated. I think this will be the one in this next decade … I think you should take a hard look at this space. Because we’re not only changing the platform on what you build, but we’re changing what you can build. It’s a new kind of platform.”

Source: The DFINITY Foundation

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