Web 3.0
What Exactly Is Web 3.0? Examples, Definitions, and Features
There are so many different interpretations of "what Web 3.0 is" that it's impossible to pinpoint a single definitive definition. But that's OK; it means we can come up with our own Web 3.0 definition.
It's as follows:
The third generation of the Internet is Web 3.0, which is a worldwide network that allows intelligent interactions between all of its users and devices.
Let us now explain ourselves
The early Internet was known as Web 1.0, and it lasted until around the year 2000. Websites used to be just places where you could read information stored on servers and interact with them in basic ways. Search engines existed, as did e-commerce sites such as Amazon and eBay.
Following the turn of the century, Web 2.0 arose. It was significantly more participatory, collaborative, and capable than before. There were technical reasons for this, including the rapidly increasing bandwidth available to consumers and servers. Smartphones and mobile computing are products of this online generation. Web 2.0 allowed for near-real-time interactions, making collaborative work possible. This included social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, as well as graphical multiplayer games. It also saw the birth of Big Data and the machine learning algorithms that processed it.
Intelligence is the defining feature of Web 3.0. This intelligence can be found not only in interactions between people and websites but also in interactions between software. Plus, there's a lot more. The distinction between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 is multifaceted.
We'll go over each one individually.
The Underlying File System
The HTTP protocol and the simple file systems to which it allows access define web 1.0 and web 2.0. The protocol allows for the access of resources (through a URL) as well as files, particularly HTML documents.
It is a client-server protocol that today serves as the foundation for all Internet data transmissions. The phrase client-server describes a situation in which a client (typically a web browser) requests information from a server (generally a machine that serves up web pages or parts of web pages).
Domain Name Servers (DNS) servers are used to make the protocol work. These are distributed across a wide network, which includes thirteen root servers.
You may think of DNS servers as a sort of postal service for the HTTP requests you make from your browser. They send it to the address you specify, which will be something along the lines of:
http://www.thewebsite.com/the-page-I-want
When thewebsite.com receives this message, it uses the same postal service to send you a message with the page you requested.
It may be more difficult than that. In actuality, it could be a combination of messages, including advertisements that you don't want to see. Nonetheless, it all takes place via postal service.
That technique will change with Web 3.0. We may refer to it as Internet 3.0.
The InterPlanetary File System, or IPFS for short, is the technology that will most likely replace the present DNS system.
Why wasn't it called the InterGalactic File System or the InterStellar File System? It's possible that its creators lacked ambition.
The IPFS is a postal system, but unlike the HTTP protocol, it is not based on a collection of root servers. The purpose of designing IPFS, a blockchain-based peer-to-peer file system, was to develop a peer-to-peer file system that worked similarly to BitTorrent, a popular file-sharing program for downloading and sharing videos and music.
IPFS distinguishes between the process of looking for information and the act of retrieving it. It accomplishes this through the wonders of content addressing.
Material addressing is a math trick in which a hashing algorithm is applied to some content (such as a web page) and a unique key is generated that serves as the address. To cut a long tale short, you provide the network that address and the information is sent to you via a server.
Compared to HTTP, IPFS has several advantages. Here's a rundown:
It's safer (and SSL is no longer required).
It saves all of a file's versions as well as the file itself.
The information can be disseminated in a variety of ways. A website, for example, may not dwell on a certain server or even have a specified origin server, but it exists someplace in the file system.
The address does not need to be altered when the content is relocated because it is linked to it.
There isn't much of a difference between client and server. Remember, it's similar to BitTorrent, where numerous servers, including your own, are both holding and requesting data.
It is considerably quicker than HTTP.
It is transport-layer agnostic, meaning it can operate on any transport layer (from TCP to Bluetooth)
All of these advantages become Web 3.0 advantages if IPFS is successful.
Digital Identities
Identity in the Digital Age
Another technology created by the blockchain is digital IDs, which may become the most crucial element of Web 3.0. The argument is that Web 2.0 is rife with cybercrime, which includes anything from identity theft to click fraud.
It occurs because the connection between two computers has not been properly validated and cannot be authenticated at this time. Allow me to explain.
With web 2.0, a server can never be certain that the client software accessing it is what it claims to be—a browser controlled by a human being. On the other hand, the browser has no way of knowing whether the server and files it is visiting are the ones it wants to access.
Fraud and deception would be significantly more difficult to conduct if everyone participating in such a transaction had a verifiable identity. Individuals can only have one verifiable identity using Digital IDs since each ID must be linked to a unique credential, such as a birth certificate. Organizations, likewise, can only have one recognized identity. Everything else (hardware and software) that is involved in the interaction between a client and a server can be linked to a unique ID that belongs to an individual or an organization.
Furthermore, thanks to a wonderful technique known as zero-knowledge proof, it is feasible for either side to establish their authenticity without even exposing their identity.
Two key elements of Web 3.0 are enabled by digital IDs:
The significant reduction of cybercrime to the point of eradication.
Individuals will be able to control their personal data and authorize access to it.
(As you might have guessed, Permission.io's business model is heavily influenced by this component of Web 3.0.)
Micropayments
In various aspects, the blockchain is critical to Web 3.0. Bullet-proof Digital IDs and a distributed file system are the two we've mentioned so far. Its core purpose, the ability to generate cryptocurrencies, and especially the ability to utilize such currencies to make micropayments, is perhaps its most essential contribution.
The low cost of a bitcoin transaction is the reason behind this. A credit or debit card transaction's cost is computed as a percentage of the value plus a fixed amount in the non-blockchain world (say, 10 cents). The vendor is the one who pays. As a result, vendors are unlikely to accept credit cards for products with a ticket price of less than $10.
A blockchain payment is typically substantially less expensive. In actuality, it differs significantly amongst cryptocurrencies due to the way the blockchain is set up. A $0.0105 EOS transaction and a $0.0000901 TRON transaction are two instances of low-cost transactions (measured in March 2018).
It is possible to sell items for a few cents due to the minimal transaction fees. The cost of reading an item from a national or local newspaper or magazine could be as little as a few cents. The ability to charge per piece in this manner will transform web publishing. With Web 3.0, low-cost product and service sales will become a reality.
Trust
Some may argue that the most significant contribution of the blockchain is automated trust. By establishing a web of trust, the blockchain can go beyond the protection that digital IDs can provide.
Some blockchains allow for the construction of "smart contracts," which are blockchain-attached programs that run when triggered by a specific blockchain event. The main thing to remember about smart contracts is that the contract is the software code.
As a result, smart contracts are significantly more reliable than legal contracts. Legal contracts are enforced by the legal system, which varies in their trustworthiness from one location to the next but is never perfect. The outcome of a legal contract challenge is never definite.
Smart contracts, on the other hand, maybe completely trusted. The transportation of commodities through a supply chain is a simple example of a smart contract. When an RFID tag is scanned, it reports the location of the goods being shipped. When the items arrive at certain places, the smart contract can initiate payment—for transportation, warehousing, or import duties—automatically. Payments are so predictable and can be relied upon to occur without fail.
Smart contracts, in reality, can be significantly more complicated than that example. They can cover a wide range of situations not now covered by traditional contracts, reducing the risk of fraud.
Data and Information with a Semantic Twist
Another feature of Web 3.0 is the semantic presentation of data. We won't get into the technology behind it here, but Google's Knowledge Graph, which inserts blocks of organized material to the right of some of your search results, gives you a sense of it.
If you're not sure what I'm talking about, look up "Galileo's trial." You'll notice that Google provides you with a brief overview of your search topic, as well as the normal list of links. Google's Knowledge Graph is responsible for this.
Try searching for "Who was there at Galileo's trial?" now.
For the time being, Google is unable to answer such a question. It could, though, if it had a better understanding of the question's meaning and if the websites it analyzed arranged their metadata in a more semantically friendly way.
That's fine, but it's not economic.
Consider the following scenario: you're looking for a product. This is where Web 3.0's commercial magic kicks in. In the United States, Amazon now has more product searches than Google. Despite this, neither of these Web 2.0 behemoths can answer specific product inquiries like "what is the best bargain on a 55" HD TV that can be delivered in two days?"
From the standpoint of the customer, a sensible response to such a question would include a variety of options rather than merely a list of online links.
Because of semantic technology, this feature will be part of Web 3.0. It will save both buyers and sellers a significant amount of time during the sales process.
Bots for Everyone, Software Negotiating with Software
The "browser and website" model is what we've been accustomed to.
We have browser plugins that provide us with specific functions (clipping copies of web pages, filling in passwords, ad blocking, and so on.)
Except for the web giants with the big dollars that can afford Big Data AI and hence software that responds to the user in real-time, websites have been fairly sluggish in communicating with their visitors.
Web 3.0 will have a different paradigm. Individual users will start to think of what we now refer to as a browser as a type of operating system that runs programs. What we presently refer to as plugins will become applications, and while they will still be able to display documents and videos, some will be considerably more sophisticated.
A shopping application, for example, will assist its owner in purchasing a car by gathering data from him or her and then going out to discover appropriate links for the user to visit. Finally, such software should be capable of assisting the user throughout the entire purchasing process, including negotiating a fair price.
In Web 3.0, users will be able to buy and configure bots that serve them directly, just as hackers and certain websites do now. After all, bots are merely applications.
This evolution could take some time because it is dependent on the growth of digital IDs as well as proper semantics.
Everyone can benefit from AI and Big Data.
Most web users are acutely aware of digital adverts that follow them around the web, Facebook banners that appear in front of their eyes, and Amazon's attempts to persuade them to buy something else "they might enjoy" when they are ready to place an order. The twin weapons of Big Data (mostly your data) and AI deliver commercial firepower to websites with large budgets, putting the customer at a disadvantage.
Intelligence, on the other hand, cuts both ways. Individuals could benefit from AI as well if they take control of their data and work together to identify efficient methods to utilize it. In short, the potential of AI is expected to expand with Web 3.0, but to the detriment of the big players.
3D Graphics
The advancement of graphical software led to the development of 3D graphics. Here's an example of 3D graphics if you don't know what it is. WebGL (Web Graphics Library), a JavaScript API that can generate interactive 2D and 3D graphics within web browsers without the need for a plug-in, is largely responsible for this animation. It is built on the OpenGL graphics language and incorporates HTML5 components. It can use GPUs and hence performs well, which is a crucial technological element.
Outside of the obvious fields of online games and entertainment, 3D graphics will have an impact. It will almost certainly be employed in education, health care, real estate, and other e-commerce fields. Individuals are also expected to develop and utilize their own 3D avatars in the future.
While blockchain-related technology (distributed file systems, digital IDs, micropayments, and so on) can be considered related developments, 3D graphics are merely an evolution. It was certain to evolve at some point; it just so happens to be maturing at the same time as these other Web 3.0 technologies.
Complete Connectivity (Ubiquity)
Web 3.0 will eventually eliminate many of the drawbacks of Web 2.0.
We may expect the Web to work effortlessly on every device (tablet, smartphone, or desktop). Every household gadget will be programmable from anywhere and, where appropriate, will be able to be utilized as a web access device, thanks to the Internet of Things.
In the end, your identity, most of the items you own, all of your data, and every software capacity you have a right to use will all be linked and able to function together.
When Will Web 3.0 Be Released?
Generations of new technologies are never born on a certain date. Even Web 1.0 did not occur on a certain day.
It might be said to have started the moment the first browser was released in a usable state. However, there were few websites available at the time. As a result, you could argue that it was born when the number of websites began to increase. But that didn't happen until the advent of the first search engines. However, you may argue that it happened later when the first true e-commerce websites went live.
The point is that it appeared gradually. It took a long time for Web 2.0 to mature, with its social networks, multiplayer games, and big data analytics.
Perhaps one day you'll wake up and discover that your browser contains a collection of bots that perform a variety of tasks for you, that you have a Digital ID, and that you can interact intelligently with the Internet. When that happens, you'll be able to proudly proclaim, "Oh sure, this is Web 3.0."
