MAR 18
“THE WEB IS HUMANITY CONNECTED BY TECHNOLOGY.”
-
SIR TIM BERNERS-LEE, INVENTOR OF THE WORLD WIDE WEB
UNDOUBTEDLY, THE INTERNET HAS BECOME AN ESSENTIAL PART OF OUR DAILY LIVES. EVER SINCE ITS INVENTION IN 1983, THE WORLD WIDE WEB HAS CONTINUED TO EVOLVE AND CHANGE THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE AND SHARE INFORMATION. WEB 3.0, THE NEXT ITERATION OF THE WORLD WIDE WEB, IS PROVIDING USERS WITH MORE CONNECTIVITY, INDEPENDENCE, AND OPPORTUNITY THAN EVER BEFORE. BUT WHAT EXACTLY DOES WEB 3.0 OFFER, PARTICULARLY WHEN COMPARED TO PRIOR ITERATIONS OF THE INTERNET?
LET’S BEGIN WITH WHERE IT ALL STARTED: WEB 1.0.
(EXAMPLE OF A WEB 1.0 WEBSITE. IMAGE COURTESY OF TECHRADAR.)
IN ITS FIRST GENERATION, THE WORLD WIDE WEB WAS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE READ-ONLY WEB. THE INTERNET EFFECTIVELY SERVED AS A SYSTEM THROUGH WHICH BUSINESSES COULD BROADCAST INFORMATION TO CONSUMERS FASTER AND EASIER. STATIC WEB SITES AND PERSONAL SITES WERE MOST COMMON AT THIS TIME, VIEWABLE WITH ACCESS TO DESKTOP COMPUTERS AND DIAL-UP INTERNET. BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS COULD REACH FAR WIDER AUDIENCES THAN POSSIBLE THROUGH PHYSICAL PRINT. INDEED, THE WAY IN WHICH INFORMATION COULD BE SHARED AND ABSORBED WAS CHANGED FOREVER.
MAKE WAY FOR WEB 2.0!
(EXAMPLES OF A WEB 2.0. IMAGE COURTESY OF INTENSECLICK.)
THIS ITERATION OF THE WEB ADDED A NEW LEVEL OF INTERACTION THAT CHANGED THE WAY WE SOCIALIZE FOREVER. WEB 2.0, OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE SOCIAL WEB OR READ-WRITE WEB, ALLOWED USERS TO DIRECTLY INTERACT WITH OTHER USERS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. THE INTERNET WAS NO LONGER ONLY A MEANS OF DELIVERING INFORMATION TO CONSUMERS. BEGINNING IN THE EARLY 2000’S, THE INTERNET WOULD SERVE AS A HIGHLY SOCIAL SPACE IN WHICH COLLABORATION AND USER-GENERATED CONTENT WOULD REDEFINE THE WAY WE SHARE INFORMATION AND EXPRESS OURSELVES. SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS LIKE SIX DEGREES AND MYSPACE WOULD MAKE WAY FOR FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM. NOW, THE INTERNET COULD BE ACCESSED GLOBALLY VIA MOBILE DEVICES — THE WORLD WIDE WEB’S BOUNTY OF DATA, AT YOUR FINGERTIPS! WEB 2.0 BROUGHT WITH IT HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATION, A HOST OF SPECIAL APPS, AND CAMERAS CAPABLE OF EASILY CAPTURING HIGH-QUALITY PICTURES AND VIDEO. WE CONTINUE TO UTILIZE WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGY TO THIS DAY.
(IMAGE COURTESY OF ZNETLIVE.)
AS USERS CONTINUED TO CONNECT AND SHARE INFORMATION WITH OTHERS ON THE INTERNET, MONETIZATION OF OUR DATA BECAME INEVITABLE. CORPORATIONS COULD NOW SELL OUR DATA AND LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR INTERESTS AND PURCHASING HABITS. HACKERS COULD STEAL INFORMATION AND COMPROMISE OUR ONLINE IDENTITIES. JUST HOW SAFE IS OUR PERSONAL INFORMATION? IF YOU SHARED SOMETHING ONLINE WITH A FRIEND, WHO ELSE COULD SEE IT? PRIVACY AND SECURITY ON THE WEB CONTINUE TO BE SERIOUS ISSUES IN A WORLD INCREASINGLY RELIANT ON INTERNET DATA-SHARING.
LUCKY FOR US, THE INTERNET WOULD SOON PROTECT AND EMPOWER ITS USERS IN EXCITING NEW WAYS. MAKE WAY FOR WEB 3.0!
(IMAGE COURTESY OF MEDIUM.)
IT’S TIME FOR US TO TAKE BACK CONTROL OF OUR DATA! ALSO KNOWN AS THE SEMANTIC WEB, WEB 3.0 HAS PROVIDED A SPACE THAT IS TRANSPARENT, IMMERSIVE, AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE. A DEMOCRATIZED INTERNET, WITHOUT CENTRALIZED OWNERSHIP OF DIGITAL ASSETS, SERVICES, OR PLATFORMS. WEB 3.0 UTILIZES BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY, WHICH PROMOTES TOKEN-BASED ECONOMICS WITH PEER-TO-PEER SALES AND HEIGHTENED USER SECURITY. THIS ITERATION OF THE WEB IS WELL KNOWN FOR ITS USE OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES AND THE COMPLEX TECHNOLOGY THAT PROTECTS AND PRESERVES NFTS ON THE BLOCKCHAIN. INDEED, WEB 3.0 HAS CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DIGITAL ASSETS AND HOW WE PROTECT OUR DATA ON THE INTERNET.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL — WEB 3.0 IS TRANSFORMING THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER IN NEW AND EXCITING WAYS!
ANOTHER DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC OF WEB 3.0 IS ITS CONTRIBUTION TO BUILDING A MORE CONNECTED AND IMMERSIVE DIGITAL SPACE FOR ALL. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS BEING USED IN A PLETHORA OF APPS AND SERVICES THAT CAN RAPIDLY TRANSLATE LANGUAGES, ANSWER QUESTIONS, AID CREATIVE PROCESSES, AND MANIPULATE PHOTOS OR VIDEO WITH EASE. ENHANCED VR TECHNOLOGY IS PAVING THE WAY FOR EVEN GREATER IMMERSION IN VIRTUAL WORLDS CREATED BY USERS FOR USERS. ALL OF THESE EXPERIENCES SUPPORT THE IDEA OF A METAVERSE — A PERSISTENT, FULLY REALIZED DIGITAL SPACE THAT WILL SOON BECOME AS REAL AS THE WORLD WE LIVE IN. AS WE CONTINUE TO ENHANCE THE VIRTUAL WORLD THAT CONNECTS PEOPLE ACROSS THE GLOBE, SO DO WE REDEFINE THE FORM AND FUNCTION OF THE WORLD WIDE WEB ITSELF.
THE INTERNET IS A CONSTANTLY EVOLVING PLAYGROUND FOR THE BOLD AND THE CURIOUS. IT IS CLEAR THAT CONTINUED INNOVATION WILL BREED EVEN GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE WHO UTILIZE THE WORLD WIDE WEB’S MANY DIVERSE OFFERINGS. WE CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT OTHER EXCITING CHANGES AWAIT THE VIRTUAL WORLD THAT CONNECTS US!
REFERENCES
HTTPS://WWW.GEEKSFORGEEKS.ORG/WEB-1-0-WEB-2-0-AND-WEB-3-0-WITH-THEIR-DIFFERENCE/
HTTPS://WWW.XRTODAY.COM/VIRTUAL-REALITY/WEB-3-0-VS-METAVERSE
HTTPS://WWW.INVESTOPEDIA.COM/WEB-20-WEB-30-5208698
HTTPS://WWW.NPR.ORG/2021/11/21/1056988346/WEB3-INTERNET-JARGON-OR-FUTURE-VISION
HTTPS://MEDIUM.COM/FABRIC-VENTURES/WHAT-IS-WEB-3-0-WHY-IT-MATTERS-934EB07F3D2B
HTTPS://COINMARKETCAP.COM/ALEXANDRIA/ARTICLE/WHAT-IS-WEB-3-0