It seems like every other word we hear nowadays is technical jargon related to crypto and blockchain, ethereum—how do we make sense of it all? Well, I’ve decided to break down what a few important subjects are (Web3, cryptocurrency, and blockchain) and hopefully make it easier to understand, so the next time you’re in a conversation, you can take the lead.
What is Web3?
We are experiencing a much different internet today than we were just 10 years ago, and if history has taught us anything, it’s that these changes will have a profound effect on our web experience in the future.
Web 3.0 will be a reiteration of the web, with Web 1.0 being the first version, which lasted from 1991 to 2004, and Web 2.0 being the current version, known as the social and interactive web.
There are a few fundamental differences between web2 and web3, but decentralization is at its core. Web3 proposes a decentralized internet that is much less dependent on large companies like Google or Facebook.
The Web 3.0 would rely on blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies (which I’ll talk about later in the year) to break the chokehold big tech companies have on the internet. Of course, we’re still a long way from Web 3.0 being a “thing” as much of the technology is still nonexistent.
Blockchain and Web3
The Web3 movement relies heavily on blockchain technology. Blockchains act as distributed databases that store electronic information. They are usually associated with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
However, blockchain can also be used to securely create records without the need for a third-party entity, such as Google.
Unfortunately, Web 3.0 is now somehow intertwined with the sketchier aspects of the blockchain network, such as new cryptocurrencies every day, and NFTs. The latter feels puffed up, and in the long term meaningless, but I do believe in the fundamental soundness of blockchain technology. Those immutable addresses can become a thing regular people can hold onto as online identities and a way to control their online experience across platforms.
I am beginning to see that modern Web 3.0 isn’t simply one thing or another. It’s a compendium of technologies and ideas that emerged almost as soon as Web 2.0 did. Among Web 3.0’s benefits may be the fact that we control our interactions and results, since our identity remains constant across all systems, and we can read the data since it isn’t a proprietary, only-readable-by-humans format.
If you’re interested in learning more about the potential of Web 3.0 and its implications for businesses in Canada, be sure to subscribe to my blog. And don’t forget to check out the other blogs I’m doing this month on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, where I break down what these tech advancements are and how they could impact the Canadian economy.
