The internet has revolutionised the world. Turning the whole planet into a global village and connecting people across the poles with the ease of a single touch is a monumental success for us. However, ever since the launch of the Internet, things started emerging that people wouldn’t have thought of before. The conventional Internet was termed as Web1 and right after that Web2 was launched. However, an emerging concept is said to be the future of the Internet and it’s termed as Web3. Let’s have a look to see what Web3 is and how it is different from Web1 and Web2.
What is Web3?
Even though terms like Web1, Web2, and Web3 seem complex, they’re not. These are elastic suitcase terms for the idea behind the internet and its functionality. Web1 was the initial form of the internet. It merely allowed users to read and view content posted on a handful of servers of websites. This isn’t as friendly as people thought it would be and the internet seemed rather dry. You can view Web1 as a ‘Read-only’ type of internet. Only a handful of users could post content and the freedom of posting was not completely integrated.
After some time, Web2 was launched, it’s usually termed as the intermediate phase of the internet. It’s the internet you use today. In Web2, users could not only read content but also had the ability to create content freely and post it. Along this timeline, powerful platforms like Meta’s facebook, Twitter, and Youtube were launched. It gave users the freedom to create content alongside reading it.
However, giants of the tech-world started preying on the content and using it for their personal gains. Privacy of millions of users is violated as we’ve seen in recent times how our search queries and data has been used to refine the content shown to us. This led to facebook inculcating a penalty of $5 million, the largest penalty ever till date.
With this, a new idea was born, the launch of Web3. In Web3 users not only had the right to read and create content but also OWN it. This was new, this new integration allowed users more freedom and ownership on the platform. People who OWN more content can be like the Board of Directors and this stripped companies from controlling the internet. Rather normal users, like you and me are allowed freedom of ownership and with great ownership, we can decide the fate of Web3 and its decisions taken for the future.
What is the Relationship of Web3 and Cryptocurrency?
Since you now know the basics of Web3, you must’ve heard people talking about cryptocurrencies and Web3. Bizarre words like ‘Blockchains’ must also be thrown in to give a twist. It’s not complex either.
Think of it this way, with this big a platform, there must be some currency to run it for transactions. As Web2 relies on Banks for transactions and other exchanges, Web3 is turning to cryptocurrency. The infrastructure of banks is not just outdated but also seen as corrupted by some.
This urged the officials of Web3 to ensure that the toxicity of Banks should not spread in Web3. Therefore, they ensured that for ownership and transactions, cryptocurrencies are used in Web3. Moreover, the idea behind Web3 was to eliminate the hold of third-parties like in Web2. This made cryptocurrency the ideal choice for providing financial infrastructure for Web3.
How is Web3 related to NFTs?
You must be thinking “Ah! Another elastic suitcase term”. NFTs aren’t complex either. They’re called Non-Fungible Tokens. Even though NFTs are not cryptocurrencies, you can think of them that way to grasp this topic. They’re used to prove ownership of a digital asset. So if you have a digital asset, NFTs will allow you the ownership, they’re not replaceable and can’t be replaced.
Here’s how NFTs differ from cryptocurrency. NFTs have a unique and special value due to their specific information. The process of understanding the success of NFTs is undoubtedly complex. You’ll need to understand important aspects of NFTs such as they’re creation, launch, and the promotion of NFTs.
The promotion is further subsidised into two categories, paid and unpaid. You can either promote your NFT collection for free or you can use social media channels to promote NFTs through influencers. As NFTs are distinct and they allow ownership for digital assets, it allows the users to be more in control and the sole proprietor of that asset which goes perfectly with the aim of Web3.
The Blend of Web3 and Metaverse
Metaverse and Web3, this is definitely going to be the future. If you’ve ever played Minecract or Roblox, you’ll be familiar with the idea of virtual spaces. They are an example of Web2 metaverses where you have a virtual space, which is entirely yours. Web3 metaverses will be totally different due to one very important factor. They have NFTs and Blockchain.
With the inclusion of NFTs and Blockchain, instead of having ownership of virtual spaces in fake currencies, now you’ll have true ownership which is going to come through NFTs and Blockchain. This again aligns perfectly with the aim of Web3 to allow users as much ownership as possible without the reliance on third-party applications.
Why is Web3 criticised?
As everything else in the world, Web3 is still being refined and hasn’t reached full potential as of yet. It’s criticised due to some reasons. The critique is mostly based on the currency and ownership. In simple terms, it states that when something is launched on Web3, whoever buys it first and invests more in it has more ownership and more assets.
As soon as the launch happens, Venture Capitalists and giant investors rush to buy everything they can get their hands on, this makes inequitable ownership of Web3. As of yet, this is the biggest challenge being faced by Web3 right now.
Web1 and Web2 might’ve left room for exploitation but the whole idea behind Web3 is to ensure that users are not exploited and they have a say regarding the rules and regulations and major decisions about the platform. This has created an immense amount of hype for Web3 and the integration of Blockchains such as Ethereum, and NFTs has made it even more popular. With a few tweaks, Web3 might actually reach its complete and true potential.
