Web 3.0 - Unlocking the Future

Introduction to the Web

World Wide Web (or) Web is a way of accessing information via the internet. In a nutshell, the web is a collection of websites you can access through the internet. Websites are made of texts, media, and other resources. Whereas the Internet is a globally connected network of smaller computers and other devices. People often tend to bewilder that the web and the internet are the same.

Evolution of the Web

Since the advent of the Web, it has constantly changed from time to time and passed many generations. There are three generations of web namely Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0. Web 1.0 is the web of documents where you can only read the information. Web 2.0 is the web of people. Here the user can produce content and interact with other web users. Web 3.0 is the web of data or semantic web. In simple words, the web allows users to read, write and own.

What is Web 1.0

The early version of the World Wide Web also known as Web 1.0 was founded by Tim Berners Lee at CERN, Geneva. It was active from 1990 and remained until 2004. For Berner's Lee Web 1.0 is read-only. The web is used only for searching for information and reading it from anywhere. It helped businesses develop static websites to present their business to people much like a catalog or brochure, to everyone on this earth. Web 1.0 provided less limited user interactions and content contribution.

Web 2.0

The next version of the Web started in 2004 and still exists. Web 2.0 facilitates a new way of connecting with people. The arrival of social media paves the way for users to generate content by themselves instead of the content generated by companies. Web 1.0 pages are replaced by web2 interactivity, connectivity, and user-produced content. This results in user-to-user interactions. Web 2.0 give birth to the advertising revenue model. This web introduced the internet giants like Google and Facebook(now called Meta).

Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is the third iteration of the web. The method of internet service is built using the decentralized network. Web3 gives special value to decentralized applications and makes vast use of blockchain technologies. It also uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to create high-intelligence and adaptive applications. Web 3.0 is defined as a semantic web by Tim Berners-Lee. The semantic web interacts with systems, humans, and home devices automatically. This involves both humans and machines to do processes like content creation and decision-making. Web 3.0 is expected to bring a change in website creation and user interaction with them.

Key Objectives of Web3

There were some reasons beyond the creation of web3 which becomes its key ideas or objectives.

Decentralization: Web3 strongly emphasizes the concept of a decentralized network that provides ownership to the user pulling it from the hands of centralized giant entities.
Invite for anyone: Web3 is open for everyone to participate and provides equal access rights.
Native payment methods: Web 3.0 uses cryptocurrency to spend and transfer money online. You don't need any third-party payment processors or banks.
Trustless: It helps withdraw the vast dependency on third parties.

Web 3.0 Features

Even though there is still not a rigid definition, Web3 can be defined from the following features:

Semantic Web: The semantic web improves web technologies by lettings users create, share and link content via search and analysis focused on the meaning of words rather concentrated on keywords and numbers.
Artificial Intelligence: Integrating semantic capabilities and NLP(Natural language processing) allows computer machines to better understand the information manlike level. So that it can provide rapid and precise results.
3D Graphics: In web 3.0, 3D designs take part majorly in websites and services. Some examples of this are computer games, eCommerce websites, and museum guides.
Connectivity: Information is more connected with the use of semantic metadata. This enhances the user experience to enter into a new level of connectivity that utilizes all information.
Ubiquity: Helps access internet services anytime from anywhere through any number of devices. As web 2.0 is also ubiquitous but the increase of IoT devices in web3 will take it to the next level.
Blockchain: Web3 uses blockchain technology to protect and encrypt users data being used or controlled by centralized corporations for their benefit.
Decentralized: Users can own their data and digital assets where the data is stored in a decentralized network in a peer-to-peer connection.
Edge Computing: Web 3.0 depends on the growth of edge computing. The apps and data are processed closer to network devices like mobile phones, laptops, sensors, appliances, and smart cars.

Web 3.0 Architecture

The Web 3.0 architecture is quite different. Here the database and servers are not centralized. This makes it different from web 2.0. The absence of a centralized network does not allow querying data and performing business logic. To do this, Smart Contracts were introduced. Smart Contracts are written to communicate with the Ethereum blockchain.

Blockchain

The Ethereum blockchain or world computer can be accessed globally. This is a shared state machine and is maintained by peer-to-peer network nodes. Anyone can access or write to this state machine that it is not owned by a single entity. It is owned by everyone who participated in the network. Data can be added to the blockchain by users but the data remains immutable.

Smart Contracts

A program is written in the Ethereum blockchain. To define the logic on which state changes are made, the applications are written in high-level languages such as Solidity and Vvyper.

Ethereum Virtual Machine

EVM(Ethereum Virtual Machine) performs the logic defined in the smart contract and takes the state changes that happen on the decentralized state machine.

EVM couldn't understand the high-level languages used for Smart Contracts. You need to compile the language into bytecode so that the EVM can process it.

Front-End

The Front-end area defines the User Interface logic. It also interacts with application logic in smart contracts.

Web 3.0 Use Cases or Applications

Having blockchain as a base, Web3 has so many different types of applications and services that are growing to survive, which are specified below:

NFT: NFT is a short form of Non Fungible Tokens. These tokens are stored in the blockchain with a hash which makes them unique and cannot be exchanged.
DeFi: DeFi is the most prominent use case of Web3. DeFi enables decentralized finance services to make efficient and hassle-free transactions without restrictions.
Cryptocurrency: Digital currency like Bitcoin, revolutionalizes the payment method by making it all digital(exchange through a computer network, not depending on central authority).
dApp: The application operates independently through the use of smart contracts and runs on a peer-to-peer blockchain network.
Cross-chain bridges: Bridges multiple blockchains in web3 and allows to transferring of assets and data between them.
DAOs: Decentralized Autonomous Organizations or Corporations(called sometimes). It is a blockchain-based community group in Web3. They are organization members who control and work for a shared mission or common goals.