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Jessica-Agorye
Jessica-Agorye

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What is Web3 … Anybody?

Web 3.0, what does this mean?
I decided to do a little research because I needed to understand the concept of web3.
Before diving in, let us take a brief history lesson of how it all began.
The internet came into existence in 1986, and two versions of the WWW(World Wide Web) have been available to the occupants of the earth ever since.

First came the evolution of the internet called web1, where it all began.
During this phase of the internet, interaction was narrow and was referred to as the "Read Only" web.
To simplify, we could search for information and read it, but interaction and content generation was little to non.

It was created and used by large companies and organizations, and very few people knew how to operate and use the internet. These corporations had to hire computer experts to use the internet and implement its use across the company for employees’ use.
Also, it was expensive, and people rarely used computers in their homes. This version lasted from 1989 to 2005.

Then came web 2.0 , it sprung in 2004 till now, and we are currently on this version of the internet. Web 2.0 allowed for the interaction between the internet and individuals. We didn't only receive information from web pages, web pages started getting information from us.
This brought about social media sites e.g. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and much more.
This time the internet was less expensive, nearly everyone could afford to use it, and we were not limited as the web1.0.

Now there's web3.0, imagine the possibilities of the internet, to simply put, this is the future of the internet according to Gavin wood, Ethereum co-founder who coined the term web3 in 2014. What would we be able to do with web3 when we can already do all these awesome things?
The concept behind 3.0 is having decentralized and token-based economics rooted in blockchain technology. Some experts say that the internet would be run by DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization).
According to Investopedia, DAO is not controlled by a single institution like a government or central bank but is divided among many computers, networks, and nodes.
In many cases, virtual currencies make use of this decentralized status to attain levels of privacy and security that are unavailable to standard currencies and their transactions.
Web 3.0 is the internet that interconnects data in a decentralized way giving users a more personalized experience. Its technology would give users the ability to own our data and also get compensation for time spent on the web.
let's assume you post content and you want to take it down, you will be able to do so. Currently, If you post a content on the internet and you realize you do not want to have it there anymore, you will not be able to completely take it down because you have have no control over that decision. So even if you delete it from your own device or personal page, that information is still hovering somewhere in the web. A lot of big companies make a huge profit from sharing data of users with other companies so they can sell their products, with this new technology, people would get compensated for the data they share.
To mention some features of web 3.0:

  1. Open: It's open-source that means that it's developed by a community of developers in full view for everyone to access.
  2. Trustless: Users would have the freedom to interact publicly or privately without a mediator or middle man.
  3. Permission less: Anyone would be able to engage without the need to seek permission or access from organizations.

Another feature is that your digital identity would not be connected to your web identity, that means that you can do things on the internet without being traced.
I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing but I'm looking forward to the outcome.
There is still so much to uncover, but I hope this helps a little, and I have been able to simplify what web 3.0 is all about.

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