Wondering what is web3.0? Web 3.0 concept is new iteration of internet which will be based on decentralization based on blockchain technology. It is assumed to be not controlled by any specific tech giants. Individuals like us can own the things belong to this internet. It will understand all our inputs in a much better way than now and provides with personalized results.
Some early adopters are calling this as Web3 or Web 3.0. There are some Web3 applicatios live as of today but those are in initial phase and their real potential will revealed when new internet infrastructure is in place.
What is Web3.0
Web 3.0 is next generation of intenet where we can use websites or apps which are fully decentralized or not owned by anyone, much more intelligent and process the huge amount of data. It will provide another dimension to internet where people can interact with each other virtually.
It aims to create more open (accessible by everyone),decentralized (not concentrated to single entity), connected(more social than now) and intelligent web(machines understanding users data)
Wide Web inventor and director of the World Wide Web Consortium (“W3C”) Tim Berners-Lee called it as Semantic Web.
Evolution of Internet
Web 1.0 (1991 to 2004) was Static Web, first and most reliable internet in the 1990s. It was offering access to limited information with no or very little user interaction.
Web 2.0 (2004 to present) is lot more intertactive & social, thanks to web technologies html, javascript, css which helped to build interactive platforms like facebook, youtube, wikipedia and many more.
Web 3.0 (Yet to be implemented) is next generation internet. It will more relies on machine learning, AI, blockchain, virtual reality, IOT technologies. People can own the things & can control how their data is being used.
Web 3.0 Technologies
To have small glimpse of future internet, we need to have basic understanding of below technologies
- Blockchain
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
- 3D Graphics or Metaverse
BlockChain
It is basically a chain of blocks which stores the information in digital format. New block will store the newly added data and each block stores the information of previous block, timestamp & transaction data. This way it becomes a ireversible timeline if implemented in a decentralized manner. There is no single server where this information lies. These blocks will be stored and validated via group of nodes. It is difficult to tamper the information present in this chain of data as it is based on strong cryptography.
Classic example built on blockchain technology is Bitcoin. There is not single entity that controls this cryptocurrency. Transaction information is present on many network nodes using cryptography. It is public distributed ledger. Anyone can check this ledger but can not identify which address belongs to whom. There are miners who holds hardware which is capable of validating the transactions done in Bitcoin. These miners will get a reward in exchange of doing that piece of work.
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence is area where machines or computers mimic the humal like intelligence and perform tasks. Smart assistants like Google assistant can be a good example of AI. It helps humans with multiple queries, scheduling reminders, send mails of messages etc.
While machine learning is subset of artificial intelligence and it focuses on learning past data and make predictions on present data. Product recommendation is one of the example of it. Models are trained on computers to learn the buying pattern of users and recommend products to them. Finally it increases the chances of buying and in turn the sales of companies.
Web3 will use these technologies to understand the data present on internet to give more accurate and unbiased suggestions or results to user.
3D Graphics or Metaverse
Web 3.0 will use virtual reality concept which will allow users to enjoy virtual 3d environment aka Metaverse using multiple tools like goggles, full body suits etc.
Multiple tech giants like Meta & Microsoft are rushing to take their lead in Metaverse race with huge investments. There are early movers like Decentraland and Sandbox whos metaverse are already live and available for users.
Web 3.0 Cons
- Web 3 will give whole new dimension to internet but it will be having privacy concern. No single entity owns or governs the data which leads to wrong use of it. Also it is difficult to set any regulation on it.
- Web 3.0 core technology, Blockchain is still evolving and there are lots of loopholes which leads to hacking of data and digital currency.
- Metaverse concept is amazing. People can experience amazing things just by sitting on desk. But it will make them away from real world, real people. Its very addictive and young generation can have lots of impact on their physical & mental health due to this.
Final Thoughts
We are making very fast progress on all the technologies mentioned above. It will be a reality at some point of time when these technologies will be evolved and integrated into each other to have new web 3.0 a reality. It will be easily accessible to everyone like we are using Web 2.0 on our mobiles today.