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Emmanuel Uchenna
Emmanuel Uchenna

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WEB 2.0 & WEB 3.0 - Overview

Overview of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0

The internet has seen a great deal of evolution since it was created in 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee. It has gone from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and now, it is transitioning into Web 3.0.

I believe you have come across these terms and might be wondering what all the fuss is all about.

When the internet was created, it consisted of static web pages retrieved from servers where users only consumed information. This was what was known as Web 1.0 which presented users with features such as email and real-time news retrieval, pages were built using Server Sides Includes or Common Gateway Interface (CGI). Also, aligning or positioning of items on the web pages were done using frames and tables - these were the characteristics of Web 1.0.

In this post, I am going to walk you through a quick overview of what Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 are and also, the differences between both.

Web 2.0

Over the years, the uninteresting bland web pages of Web 1.0 has been completely replaced by Web 2.0 features-rich web pages.
The Web 2.0 is characterized
by interactivity, social connectivity, and user-generated content, usability, and interoperability for end users.

The development of Web 2.0 was aided by innovations such as mobile internet access and social networks, as well as mobile devices such as iPhones and Android-powered devices. These developments enabled the dominance of web 2.0-centric biggest companies termed FAANG.

Characteristics of Web 2.0

  1. Free sorting of information, permits users to retrieve and classify the information collectively.
  2. Dynamic content that is responsive to user input.
  3. Information flows between the site owner and site users by means of evaluation & online commenting.
  4. Developed APIs to allow self-usage, such as by a software application.
  5. Web access leads to concern different, from the traditional Internet user base to a wider variety of users.
  6. Web 2.0 is used for activities social media, blogging, podcasting, web content voting, among others.

Web 3.0

Web 3.0 refers to the evolution of web utilization and interaction which includes altering the web into a database. It enables the upgradation of the backend of the web, after a long time of focus on the front-end (Web 2.0 has mainly been about AJAX, tagging, and another front-end user-experience innovation). Web 3.0 is a term that is used to describe many evolutions of web usage and interaction among several paths. In this, data isn’t owned but instead shared, where services show different views for the same web and the same data.

Characteristics of Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is characterized by the following:

  1. Semantic Web: The succeeding evolution of the Web involves the Semantic Web. The semantic web improves web technologies in demand to create, share and connect content through search and analysis based on the capability to comprehend the meaning of words, rather than on keywords or numbers.

  2. Artificial Intelligence: Combining this capability with natural language processing, in Web 3.0, computers can distinguish information like humans in order to provide faster and more relevant results. They become more intelligent to fulfill the requirements of users.

  3. 3D Graphics
    The three-dimensional design is being used widely in websites and services in Web 3.0. Museum guides, computer games, e-commerce, geospatial contexts, etc. are all examples that use 3D graphics.

  4. Connectivity: With Web 3.0, information is more connected thanks to semantic metadata. As a result, the user experience evolves to another level of connectivity that leverages all the available information.

  5. Ubiquity: Content is accessible by multiple applications, every device is connected to the web, the services can be used everywhere.

As promised earlier, below is a tabular difference between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0

Web 2.0 Web 3.0
Wildly Read-Write Portable
Community Focus Individual Focus
Blogs / Wikis Live-streams / Waves
Web applications Smart Applications
Cost Per Click User Engagement
Interactive Advertising Behavioural Advertising
Wikipedia The Semantic Web

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