Digital technology has been evolving for decades, and we’re now at the point where we can talk about distinct eras of the Internet. The first generation of the web was dominated by companies like AOL and Yahoo!, which focused on centralized services and portals. In contrast, Web 2.0 dramatically changed how people interact with each other online. But what exactly is Web 3.0? And how will it affect our lives?
Web 1.0 – The Past
The first version of the web was Web 1.0, and it was pretty simple: it was a static web that began to take off in the late ’90s. The way we accessed this version of the internet was through our local computers connected to an ISP (Internet Service Provider), who provided us with access to this centralized system. As you might imagine, this made using the internet quite slow because each request had to go through various intermediaries before reaching its destination.
In addition to being slow and inefficient, there were other problems with Web 1.0 as well: it wasn’t encrypted so all data sent over the network could be read or intercepted by anyone with access; there were no proper protocols for authentication so users often shared passwords; even though there were privacy laws in place, they weren’t enforced very strictly at all!
Web 2.0 – The Present
Let’s start with the basics. What is Web 2.0?
For those who were not paying attention in their history class at school, Web 2.0 refers to an evolution from static web pages on which users could only read content made by others into interactive websites or apps where users could also create content themselves, interact with other users etc.. In short: social media!
The term Web 2.0 was coined in 2004 by journalist Tim O’Reilly, who defined it as “the version of the web that embraces collective intelligence, user-centered design and the open exchange of information.”
The concept of Web 2.0 is often used to describe “a new generation of online tools” that allow for collaboration and sharing. These tools include social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram; blogging sites like WordPress or Blogger; instant messaging services like Yahoo! Messenger or Skype; and eventually, video sharing websites such as Vimeo or even YouTube itself.
Web 3.0 – The Future
The future of the Internet, as has been discussed for years, is Web 3.0. This is the next generation of the internet and it’s here to stay.
So, what is Web 3.0?
Web 3.0 is a decentralized, trust-based, secure, private and tokenized Internet protocol that allows users to own their digital assets and monetize them using blockchain technology. It’s also commonly referred to as the crypto web or the Web 3.0 since it’s built upon the same principles that make Bitcoin possible — namely peer-to-peer transactions without an intermediary like banks or governments involved in every transaction along with cryptography for security purposes.
Huge opportunities have opened up for those looking to build for the future. Web 3.0 allows anyone to build applications on top of it and leverage its capabilities without any central authority controlling everything that happens on it (think how many apps are built using Google’s APIs); this could also be called “decentralized web” or even “blockchain web” because blockchains form a core part of both innovations around smart contracts.
Web 3.0 is the next step in the evolution of the Internet, and it’s already happening. The Web 3.0 era will be characterized by a shift from centralized control over information to more decentralized interactions between people around the world. This decentralization will allow us to build communities that are more inclusive, resilient, and fair than ever before. Digital World looks to capitalize on that, stick around to see how we do.
