A Fairer Web; WEB3
Some people must have never known there was more to the Web than meets the eye. They understand that the term "Web" is a character for WWW (World Wide Web), which is a place where you can get valuable information and socialize. However, they think that the Web has just existed all along. They had missed the part where everything has to evolve at a point in time. Everything, including the Web.
How It All Started.
Source: Fabric Ventures
Back in the late 90s, Tim Barners Lee started working on building the World Wide Web. This was with the intent of creating something open, decentralized, and that will allow for easy information access and sharing from all over the globe.
Web1
The first web, Web1, had come with some flaws. It was neither open nor decentralized. Instead, it was a static website usually owned by companies who only post contents that no one could interact with. But you can only read contents from them. This brought about being called- Read only.
Web2
The second inception of the web was termed as Web2, which is the internet most of us recognize today. This version of the internet isn't as perfect either, but fair, evolving from a read-only to a read-write. This time, companies did not only post content, they began building platforms (like Facebook) that support interactive experiences and providing services in exchange for users' personal information and confidential data.
This version of the internet that we all know today requires the public to trust in private companies and entities to make decisions in their own interest. These flaws instigated the need for a private and less dependent version of the internet. The need for a Web3.
Web3
This version of the internet is fairer and better; transiting the internet from a read-write to a read-write-own version. Majorly, Web3 has given power to the users through blockchains and cryptocurrencies, as a form of ownership.
What makes web3 Fairer
With Web3, the internet will become permissionless, open, decentralized, secured, safe and trussless, while maintaining users' privacy.
Decentralized
Web2 was centralized, leaving a huge part of the internet to be controlled and owned by a specific group of people and entities. It created the server - user infrastructure, restrained information to centralized servers only, while corporate entities acted as intermediaries between the server and the users.
An illustration of the above can be seen today in Web2 banking. For instance, a person looking to send some money from one bank to the other would need to do this via the centralized servers of both banks. He/she will provide all the data needed to the bank involved and trust them as the intermediary to complete this transaction correctly.
Web3, however, is decentralized. It has set out to diffuse the market power of these centralized players by giving everyone equal rights to ownership, either as a user or a builder. Web3 has replaced the centralized servers with distributed ledgers like blockchain. This means you can now send your transactions through decentralized blockchains like Ethereum or Bitcoin. Since banks no longer serve as intermediaries, everyone has full control over their own data.
Permissionless
Web2 brought a lot of restrictions to the users but Web3 opens doors of possibilities to everyone. You do not need anybody's authorisation to join in or participate in Web3. Everyone, including you, has equal access to contributing in Web3. It's open to anyone and no one is left out.
Payment
In Web2, payments are made in fiat currencies like Dollar, Pounds or Naira. These government issued money requires you to turn in your sensitive data and credentials before you can use them. Web3 uses digital currencies like ETH, BTC or NFTs that are encrypted. Instead of banks, crypto wallets like Metamask allows you run a easy, anonymous, secure and safe transactions from anywhere on the globe into Web3 applications.
Identity
For every platform you use in Web2, you will be required to create an account. For instance, creating a Facebook or Instagram account, you would want to add a profile name and upload a profile picture, including an age, next of kin, family members and where you're based. Other platforms might even go as far as asking you to trust them with some personal information before you can own an account. And to think they have the censorship to lock you out of your life online at any point in time is a problem.
Web3 solves these challenges by giving you the power to control your own digital identity either with an ENS profile or Ethereum address. This way you can make a secured, safe and anonymous login across all platforms.
Decentralized Autonomous Organisations (DAOs)
Web3 has also created an opportunity for people to own the platform collectively, using tokens as a form of power to every persons in the platform. It turns out DAO might replace traditional companies, with a better form of decision making.
Decisions in DAOs are made democratically by voting and voting rights are exercised based on the number of tokens each person possess (tokens are like individual shares in DAOs). Instead of getting salaries like in the traditional settings, contributors in DAOs are compensated based on the level of their contributions, in the organisation's token.
Although people refer to many Web3 communities as DAOs, it is worth to note that these communities vary in their level of decentralization and automation.
…And The Future.
Even though Web3 had recently made the limelight, there has been a lot of buzz around the topics of cryptocurrency, governance, digital identity and others. This is barely the beginning of a decentralized future with Web3. There are still more to build and a lot to explore. While at it, the future remains promising.
Wow... really impressive
I just learnt something intriguing, didn't know about Web3 before... thank you for sharing the knowledge