Web 3, also known as "Web 3.0," is a term we hear a lot these days. It means the next Internet that promotes decentralized protocols and seeks to reduce reliance on tech giants such as YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon. But what exactly is Web 3 and why is it being talked about?

The History of Web

Web 1.0 (1989-2005)

Web 1.0 or also called the Static Web or read-only web, was the first and most reliable internet of the 1990s. It consisted of a collection of links and homepages. Web 1.0 only offered access to limited information with little or no user interaction. Web 1.0 lacked algorithms that could filter internet pages making it very difficult for users to find relevant information. Simply put, the old web generation was like a one-way highway with narrow pathways where content creation was done by a select few and information mostly came from directories.
 

Web 2.0 (2005-present)
 

The Social Web, or Web 2.0, made the internet much more interactive thanks to advances in web technologies such as Javascript, HTML5, CSS3, etc., which allowed startups to build interactive WebApps platforms. Some call it a "read/write" type of internet. It's a name that comes from computer code that allows you to open and edit files, not just browse. These developments also paved the way for social networking and user-generated content production to flourish as data could now be distributed and shared among various platforms and applications. With this version of the Internet, people can not only consume content, but also create their own and publish on blogs such as tumblers, Internet message boards, and marketplaces such as Craigslist.
Later, with the rise of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, content sharing reached new heights. Shortly thereafter, people realized that their personal information was being collected by tech giants and used for targeted advertising and marketing campaigns. Facebook, in particular, has drawn criticism for violating data privacy laws, with a $5 billion fine in 2019. This was the highest ever fine by the FTC.
Web 2 has brought great free services to the world, but people are tired of the new Walled Gardens created by big tech companies and want to take control of their data and content. That's where Web 3 comes in.
 

Web 3.0 (In The Future)

Web 3 can be understood as the "read/write/own" phase of the Internet. Rather than using a free tech platform in exchange for their data, users can participate in the governance and operation of the protocol. This means that people can be participants and shareholders, not just customers and products.
In Web 3, something like a stock is called a token or crypto asset (virtual currency) and represents the ownership of a decentralized network called a blockchain. If you have enough tokens, you can have a say in the network. Governance token holders can use their assets to vote on the future of decentralized lending protocols, for example.

Characteristics and Features of Web3

As Web 3 becomes mainstream, the way data is handled will shift from centralized to decentralized. Web3 is the future of the internet. It is still very much in development, but it has some very prominent features that differentiate it from other blockchain protocols.

Decentralization

In Web3, this is no longer the case. We will rely on decentralized networks to provide an open, free and decentralized web. We have developed tools that allow us to connect to these new networks, as well as to bring back the power of the original web, through a token-based protocol.
With the development of Web3, a new concept of decentralization is being explored called ‘distributed ledger technology’, also known as DLT. In this, information would be stored based on its content and hence be decentralized.
 

This would give people more power over their own data. It would mean less power in the hands of corporations like Facebook and Google.
The World Wide Web has always been a web of interconnected information. Now it’s going to be a web of interconnected information generated by dispersed and increasingly powerful computing resources, including mobile phones, desktops, appliances, vehicles, and sensors, that are all owned and operated by individuals rather than large companies.

Trustless and Permissionless
 

In addition to decentralization and being based upon open source software, Web3 will also be trustless (i.e., the network will allow participants to interact directly without going through a trusted intermediary) and permissionless (meaning that anyone can participate without authorization from a governing body).
If Web 3 is going to run on blockchains or peer-to-peer networks, or a combination thereof, decentralized web applications are called dApps.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning
 

The computer understands information the same way that humans do. These technologies are based on Semantic Web concepts and natural language processing. Web 3.0 is the future of the web. It uses machine learning to create smarter user interfaces and content for consumers. Computers will soon have capabilities to create faster and more relevant results in many areas such as drug development and new materials, rather than only targeting specific types of users or advertisements.
 

Connectivity and ubiquity

Web 3.0 is a network of connected information that is now available from anywhere at any time through many different devices. You can access information and content through the Internet, in your cell phone, on your laptop, and on your television.—one example of which is the Internet of Things. 
 

What can you do with Web3
 

Web 3 will allow for the spread of collaborative governance structures for products that were once centralized. Memes, works of art, personal social media output, tickets to conferences hosted by famous entrepreneurs, anything can be tokenized. A typical example of a paradigm shift can be found in the gaming industry. Gamers complain endlessly about bugs left by developers in their favorite games, or about the latest patches that have upset the balance of their favorite weapons. 

With Web 3, gamers can invest in the game itself and vote on how it will operate. Two major web companies, such as Meta and Ubisoft, have created virtual worlds supported in part by Web3. NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) also play a major role in reinventing the gaming industry by allowing players to become irrevocable holders of the items they collect.

Read More About NFT : What is NFT , and How Does it Work?
 

Criticism of Web3
 

The main criticism of Web 3 technology is that it falls short of its ideals. It is also said that ownership of blockchain networks is not distributed equally, and tends to concentrate on early participants and venture capitalists. Recently, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Block, and various venture capitalists have sparked a public debate over Web 3, and the topic has been brought to the forefront.
 

At the heart of the criticism is the idea of a Decentralization Theater. This means that blockchain projects are nominally decentralized, but in reality they are not. Private blockchains, venture capitalist-backed investments, and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols, where few hold the key to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of money, are examples of decentralized theater.
 

And despite the community of protocols that are supposed to be leaderless, there are clear leaders. For example Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin continues to have on the Ethereum network, even though he's no longer involved in development. Vitalik Buterin himself is a strange and contradictory phenomenon, acting as a spiritual leader in a system without a leader in effect, while retaining an astonishing amount of influence over the leaderless system he creates and oversees.
Even within decentralized financial protocols, things are not so good. Absenteeism of voters is rampant and often relies on centralized infrastructure. Considering that blockchain creation looks like esoteric magic that only the most specialized engineers can do, the barriers to entry for creation are still high.
But despite these problems, Web 3 has a lot of potential. Whether it is too idealistic to realize will be discovered by ordinary users in the next 10 years.