You may have heard the term “Web3” more than once by now and wondered what exactly it is.
A bit of history. Web1 refers to the old era of the internet – decentralized open protocols, and individual static web pages. Web2 is the current era, dominated by Big Tech, subject to very little regulation. Web3 is a concept meant to represent the future of the internet.
In short, Web3 refers to a decentralized internet that is easily accessible to everyone, while respecting their privacy and anonymity:
- It runs on public blockchains that allow for direct online transactions, without the financial intermediaries, like PayPal, Bank of America or Chase.
- It is integrated, where instead of having to keep track of 100 different passwords, you only need one account to log-in to all the sites you use.
- It is decentralized, meaning that instead of accessing the web through services controlled by Google or Facebook, it would have new services owned directly by their users.
Another possibility of the future is “metaverse”. This is a concept of a virtual space where users interact with each other in real-time via 3-D virtual environments, made possible via virtual or augmented reality. Theoretically, I will be able to meet with my clients and make presentations in the metaverse via a VR headset.
Will Web3 make Big Tech obsolete? Not likely but it will give more power to privacy and individual freedom and I expect that it’s something that Big Tech will have to learn to live with.
By the way, I already started working on my avatar to represent me in the metaverse, should this become a reality:) What do you think?