Understanding Web3: Decoding Web 3.0
The internet has undergone significant transformations, progressing through distinct stages known as Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and the emerging Web 3.0. Each phase represents a significant shift in technology, user interaction, and control.
Web 1.0, also known as the read-only web, dominated the early 1990s to early 2000s. This era was characterised by static pages built with basic HTML, where users could only consume information without interaction or contribution. Websites served as digital brochures or information repositories with limited user engagement. Navigation relied heavily on hyperlinks, and content was delivered from centralized servers. User participation was minimal, and the web was controlled by content creators rather than users.
Web 2.0, which began in the early 2000s, marked the transition to a read-write web. Users were now not only consumers but creators and sharers of content. This gave rise to interactive, social, and collaborative websites and applications such as social media, blogs, and wikis. Technologies like dynamic HTML, JavaScript, and later AJAX made web pages more responsive and interactive. However, Web 2.0 also centralised control to large platforms and companies, raising concerns about data privacy, ownership, and control over user-generated content.
Web 3.0, or Web3, is the emerging phase of this evolution. It promises a fundamental re-architecture of the internet based on decentralization, giving users control over their own data and reducing the dominance of centralised intermediaries. Web3 leverages blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to create a semantic, intelligent, and user-empowered web. Users can own and manage their digital identities and data autonomously. The focus shifts towards enhanced privacy, security, and trustlessness, where transactions and interactions don’t require central authorities.
Key differences between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 include control and ownership, user interaction, technology, data storage, privacy and security, and the role of intermediaries. Web 3.0 empowers users by giving them control over their data and digital assets, whereas Web 2.0 centralises control to large platforms. Web 3.0 uses blockchain, AI, machine learning, and semantic web technologies, while Web 2.0 relies on dynamic HTML, JavaScript, and AJAX. Web 3.0 stores data on distributed, decentralised networks, while Web 2.0 stores data on central servers. Web 3.0 offers enhanced privacy and security through cryptography and decentralisation, whereas Web 2.0 is more vulnerable to data breaches and reliant on trust in platforms. Web 3.0 reduces the need for intermediaries, enabling peer-to-peer interactions, while Web 2.0 has many intermediaries controlling transactions or content.
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) in Web3 allow for collective decision-making and governance by the community. Web3 introduces cryptocurrency-based payment systems, allowing users to pay with digital assets instead of traditional credit card systems. Our website's solutions improve the user experience and reduce onboarding friction through reusable and interoperable Gateway Passes. Decentralized Applications (DApps) are expected to become more sophisticated and diverse as Web3 continues to evolve. Web3 reduces the need for trust between participants through the use of cryptography and smart contracts. Our website is part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and aims to contribute to a user-centric internet where users have control over their data.
Web3's rapid growth is driven by rising demand for decentralized solutions, enhanced data privacy, and advancements in blockchain and AI technologies. Web3, also known as Web 3.0, is the next generation of the internet, designed to create a decentralized, user-centric ecosystem. Our website provides businesses with a hassle-free verification process, open-source ecosystem, and on-chain and secure verification solutions. Web 3.0 introduces cryptocurrencies as a payment system, in contrast to the fiat currencies used in Web 2.0. Web3 is built on decentralized technologies like blockchain, addressing growing concerns over privacy and control that have emerged in the centralized world of Web 2.0. Unlike Web2, which relies on centralised platforms and services, Web3 empowers users by giving them control over their data, identities, and assets. Web 3.0 offers a more open, transparent, and user-controlled version of the internet, where users own their data and assets.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Web3 is used to enhance personalization and efficiency by analysing user data and preferences. Web 3.0 lays out the broader vision for a more personalized, efficient, and smarter internet, while Web3 is the actual framework that brings this vision to life. Web3's global market is expected to grow significantly, from $2.25 billion in 2023 to potentially $33.53 billion by 2030. Web 3.0 uses blockchain immutable ledger technology for data storage and management. Web 3.0 uses decentralization to promote transparency, privacy, and security, ultimately empowering users as individuals in their online world. A key feature of Web3 is interoperability, which enables seamless interaction between different platforms and decentralized applications. Web 3.0 offers permissionless access, allowing users to engage with the web without needing approval from central authorities.
In this evolving web landscape, Web 3.0, or Web3, leverages blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to create a semantic, intelligent, and user-empowered web where users can own and manage their digital identities and data autonomously. This shift towards decentralization, as compared to the centralized control in Web 2.0, aims to address growing concerns over privacy and control that have emerged in the web's previous phases.
