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Adetunde Adesunbo
Adetunde Adesunbo

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MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEB2 AND WEB3

First of I will like to briefly explain what Web2 and Web3 are:

Web2 can be explained as the version of the internet that most of us know today that is dominated by companies that provide services in exchange for your personal data

Web3 can be explained as a decentralized apps that run on blockchain in the context of Ethereum. These are apps that allow anyone to participate without monetizing their personal data.

Firstly, Web2 has a low network diameter (all participants are connected to a central authority); information propagates quickly, as propagation is handled by a central authority with lots of computational resources while in web3 the furthest participants on the network may potentially be many edges away from each other. Information broadcast from one side of the network may take a long time to reach the other side.

Also, in Web2 coordination among network participants is much easier, and is handled by a central authority. Central authority can compel network participants to adopt upgrades, protocol updates, etc., with very little friction. But in web3 Coordination is often difficult, as no single agent has the final say in network-level decisions, protocol upgrades, etc. In the worst case, network is prone to fracturing when there are disagreements about protocol changes

In addition, in web2 participation in the network is controlled by the central authority. For example, payment service may decide to not allow payments for certain types of work whereas in web3 anyone can participate in the network; there are no “gatekeepers.” Ideally, the cost of participation is very low. Web3 payment apps require no personal data and can't prevent payments

Furthermore, in web2 you can be blocked or denied from accessing the services. Central authority can censor data, potentially cutting off parts of the network from interacting with the rest of the network. But in web3 no one can block or deny you access to the services because anyone who is on the network has permission to use the service or in other words permission is not required and censorship is much harder, as information has many ways to propagate across the network.

Also, in web2 servers for gig-economy apps could go down and affect worker income, payment service may decide to not allow payments for certain types of work whereas in web3 servers can't go down because they use Ethereum, a decentralized network of 1000s of computers as their backend and payment apps require no personal date and can’t prevent payments.

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