Web3 envisions a decentralized web: here’s what it wants to achieve

Web3 or Web3.0 is a hot topic of discussion in the tech world these days. It generally refers to the next generation of the World Wide Web, which should take over from Web 2.0, which is more centralized and focused on user-generated content. Web3 is supposed to be a more decentralized web that challenges the dominance of tech giants by concentrating power (and data) in the hands of users rather than large tech corporations. This means that the data is distributed across the network and no single entity owns the information, although this idea is very difficult to execute.

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, explained the idea in 1999: “I have a vision for the Web in which computers become able to analyze all the data on the Web – the content, links and transactions between people and people.” Computers. A “semantic web”, which makes this possible, has not yet emerged, but when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of business, bureaucracy and our daily lives are controlled by machines talking to machines. Will be done.

And it seems that there are more and more believers in Lee’s vision.

“Web3 is not just another buzzword or jargon that can be written. It is the future of the Internet. It is the new infrastructure layer that will power the next generation of computing innovations,” said Sarat Chandra, an emerging tech evangelist and a blockchain expert. told indianexpress.com

Some of the use cases for Web3 are decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), private and digital infrastructure, and proponents of maker economies such as NFTs and blockchain-based games.

But Web3 is moving beyond its financial core such as cryptocurrencies. “Applications are huge and wild. Be it for building transparent organizations, or for building privacy. With massive data breaches during the Web2 era, data protection should be central to the next wave of technological innovations. IET Krishna Kumar, a member of the Future Tech Panel’s Skill Development Working Group, said that the privacy infrastructure will enable a more protective suite of applications, adding that Web3 will enable low-cost, near-instantaneous, borderless, peer-to-peer transfers of real-world applications. Allows. Prices. They are not subject to the business hours of mainstream financial institutions.

Web3 applications, sometimes referred to as DApps, are built on decentralized peer-to-peer networks such as Ethereum and IPFS. Rather than being run by a company, these networks are built, operated and maintained by users. With Web3, it is possible to split large files into smaller pieces that can be individually encrypted and stored in other locations, making it nearly impossible to hack.

“Web3 Will Power the New Financial World Order”metaverse’ and fostering innovation in online gaming, tokenization of assets in virtual spaces and empowering users to exercise complete control over their identity and data,” Chandra said.

breaking centralization

While centralization has helped billions of people gain access to amazing technologies, many of which were free to use, it has also stifled innovation.

“Right now, companies that have networks have unilateral power over important questions such as who gets access to the network, how revenue is divided, what features are supported, how is user data secured, And so on. This makes it difficult for startups, creators and other groups to grow their internet presence as they must worry about centralized platforms changing the rules and taking away their audience or profits,” Kumar pointed out.

The classic challenge of decentralized networks is that they are public goods. Without a central entity to control decisions and capture profits, it is difficult to encourage their maintenance and development. Crypto helps solve this problem by providing an economic incentive for decentralized coordination and development.

Web3: ‘Privacy back’

Today’s web is full of concerns about data privacy, fake news, identity theft hacks. Web2 is centralized and few corporations power the data. Kumar quote: “If you’re not paying for it, you’re not a customer. You are the product.” He believes the problem is that we don’t own or control that data, and that concept changes at Web3.

Instead of repeatedly making your Personal Data available to each Platform you sign up for, you will instead authorize the Platform to use only Your Data. If something changes, like your address or credit card number, you only need to change it once on your part, and all of your sites will be updated. This will make the web more user friendly.

However, laying the foundation for Web3 takes a lot of work – which means users, developers, tech companies, and others will have to come to an agreement on how the Web3 protocol will work. Only when this work is underway, and when financial incentives align behind it, will Web3 begin to become real.

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