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EricoMartin
EricoMartin

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A simple comparison of Web 2.0 with Web 3.0

The internet has evolved from what it first was to what it is today. This evolution has been through a couple of phases mostly classified by how a user interacts with the internet. The web as we know it today is in the web 3.0 phase and I want to identify some of the major improvements to the web over the web 2.0 phase.

The web 1.0 refers to the first phase of the internet evolution. In this phase web pages were static and users could not directly interact with content over the internet. However, this discussion is more geared towards the comparison of web 2.0 and web 3.0.

The web 2.0 phase is where users could interact with content on the web. Users could also post and create content that could be saved on a centralized server. In this internet model, the server is governed by a trusted administrator who ensures the security and integrity of data saved on the server. Web 2.0 is also called the "Social Web" and some of its applications are blogging, social media, internet banking, e-voting, e-commerce and much more.

The main goal of Web 3.0 is to make the internet a lot more intelligent, autonomous, trustless and open. It consists of a lot of advanced technology like Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, 3D Graphics, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality. The web 3.0 blockchain is a decentralized network where different computers that connect together to form the network must all have the same copy of data such that if a change occurs on a single node the change is immediately replicated on every node in that network. This eradicates the need for a centralized server and thereby administrator(s). The blockchain is so called because it uses a distributed ledger system to store transaction data and each of these transactions are stored as blocks, each of these blocks hold a reference to a previous block creating chains of blocks to ensure the integrity of the distributed ledger. The blockchain uses cryptography and certain rules to ensure that each block is secure and untampered. In Web 3.0, with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) computers can distinguish information like humans in order to provide faster and more relevant results. It uses 3D graphics with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to make user experience of the web a lot more like the physical world. Web 3.0 is also called the "Sematic Web".

Overall, an interesting explanation of these phases is one given by Tim Berner-Lee, the founder of the World Wide Web:

  1. Web 1.0 is the "readable" phase of the web. We see limited interaction between users.

  2. Web 2.0 is the "writable" phase of the web, one where users can interact with the site, and with each other.

  3. Web 3.0 is the "executable" phase of the web, and here, computers can interpret information like humans, to then generate personalized content for users.

web2 vs web3
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To learn more about web 3.0 its benefits, cryptocurrency and blockchain check out the following links
Blockgames, Nestcoin, Zuriteam. Thanks for reading.

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