What is Web 3.0?
Back in April, 2014, the show, Silicon Valley, launched and quickly became a cult classic for its quirky take on technology. Pitting tech giants modeled after some big name companies against a small group of programmers, the show dives into technology that mirrors the real world by creating a compression algorithm to building a new internet, involving itself in cryptocurrency, developing a decentralized network utilizing user’s phones to prevent a hostile takeover, and eventually into establishing an artificial intelligence capable of machine learning and, subsequently, becoming a threat. Ironically, much of the show details plot points very much in line with the creation of a metaverse as the platform they build constantly incorporated additional elements all together to immerse users. Essentially, the show and many of its plot devices centered around the conversation of web 3.0 and web 3.0 technologies.
So what is web 3.0? In short, it is a semantic web being built which would allow machine learning to process interpretable metadata. It functions using blockchain technology and the usage of blockchain platforms by being decentralized. It is meant to be a trustless and permissionless version of web 2.0, providing better connectivity and ubiquity with the combination of artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide faster, and more relevant results to users. It seems to break limitations associated with cloud storage space as well where institutions provided the storage for a large number of users (since, with decentralization, storage space would be found across multiple nodes).
Web 3.0 And Its Predecessors
Similar to how all sequels attempt to build off of the foundation of an established and successful movie, the web operates very similarly with the evolution into web 3.0.
The World Wide Web was originally founded by Tim Berners-Lee who promoted and helped develop open-source Solid platforms that web pages use; however, it was Berners-Lee that also postulated the idea of having a web that was run by machines (he determined them to be “intelligence agents”) which would mirror (or at least attempt to mirror) the same way that humans process content. While this idea was first introduced back in 1999 and then promoted in the Scientific American in 2001, many of the original ideas that Berners-Lee came up with have begun to come to fruition and is chronicled throughout the various web iterations below.
Web 1.0 was the web of personalized web pages, static, and hosted through web servers of ISPs. The technology of web 1.0 was mostly based around providing content which would be fetched when users would ask for information.
Web 2.0 was the web of user-generated content which would primarily be involved in participatory, social engagements. Computers use HTTP protocol to fetch HTML documents designated from users. Using AJAX and JavaScript as a popular way of creating content, web 2.0 was focused on the way Web pages are designed and used. Web 2.0 was effective for social media platforms and social networks as it was influenced by both collaboration and interaction—key influences for this version.
Web 3.0 seems to be focused primarily on user freedom and utility rather than the traditional method of collecting big data. The search engine for this will be decentralized which will result in content being organized differently. Exchanges of information will be more like a peer to peer network where accessed content which pulls from a peer will then make the user accessing the information being a distribution point for others’ searches (sort of like how bittorrent operated in file sharing).
Where previous iterations of the web where centered around the user and database repositories of information, artificial intelligence will engage in natural language processing (NLP) which will allow computers to better understand human language, think in symbols, etc (which will help in text analysis, sentiment analysis, video captioning, dialogue systems, and much more).
When did Web 3.0 start?
Web 3.0 first began in 2006 when John Markoff coined the idea in the New York Times and identified that the newer iteration of the web would be considered as the “intelligent web” due to the various technological advancements being able to contribute to an evolving AI and user interaction. From John Markoff, Gavin Wood coined the term and it then began to advance into the cryptocurrency world in 2021 (with an argument being made that some of this web 3.0 was being integrated as far earlier as 2016).
Technically speaking, web 3.0 hasn’t officially “begun” as it is still being worked out and if web 1.0 and web 2.0 are any indication in terms of time for its application, it may be close to around a decade until we are able to claim that web 3.0 is here (though there is an argument to be made that, perhaps, with all of the various kinds of technology we have right now that the materials of this new web are already here…they just need to be put together effectively).
Interoperability of Web 3.0 and The Metaverse
Many have claimed that what makes web 3.0 so exciting is its interoperability. The web will work a bit like DeFi did with centralized banks (by removing the hold that institutions and banks have on finance); rather, as the network will be decentralized, applications will be able to work on different devices and platforms—cutting out the hold that institutions (companies) have.
With the various Web 3.0 applications in the metaverse, we get to see how future gaming can change. For example, if someone has an avatar in a game that is an NFT, this same avatar can into different games; thus, providing a fuller immersion of a digital representation of the self in a cross-platform manner. It integrates a value exchange model through smart contracts via blockchains so that content creators, businesses, applications, and more can interact and exchange value without the need of regulation or intermediaries (which can constraint, limit, and even prevent innovations).
Another benefit of web 3.0 is that it flips the script on who “owns” you. With web 2.0, this traditionally fell on the shoulders of tech giants where you, as the user, provided information and data to the company and then logged in to access your “self”—with web 3.0 and, specifically within the metaverse, you will own your “self” by relying upon your crypto wallet (which becomes your identity).
Web 3.0 Cryptocurrency Trends in 2022
The cryptocurrency trend that seems to be popular concerning web 3.0 seems to be, well, getting involved in the various coins and tokens that are rooted around this iteration of the web. Finding these web 3.0 tokens with low market caps and getting in early seems to be all the rage.
Popular Web 3.0 Coins
While there are some popular web 3.0 coins out there, there are a few that are a bit more interesting that some of the others. Looking at market capitalization specifically to gauge interest, filecoin (fil) and helium (hnt) strike out as big contenders (with filecoin being in the top 3 and helium close behind in the top 5 as of this writing).
The relation of Web 3.0 with NFTs and DAOs
It is really neat with the impact that web 3.0 has on non-fungible tokens (NFT) and fellow decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). While DAOs have already been working on a decentralized finance model (and continue to do so) that provides autonomy, web 3.0 assists in providing a more secure, open, transparent, and permission-less feature that aligns to the aim of DAOs (which is to remove the need in relying on more traditional means of securing finances).
While there are a multitude of ways that NFTs can connect with the intent behind web 3.0, a few instances are found within the cross-platform avatars within particular video games, the securing of NFTs providing special access to events, the collection of NFTs that provide subsequent rewards, and more (verified through your wallet holding them).
How To Buy Web 3.0 Tokens?
For a quick and easier way to secure web 3.0 tokens, you can go to CoinMarketCap. From there, you search up Web3Inu to get a list of the various web 3.0 coins and tokens and view the places and currencies needed to purchase them. You could also always lookup specific platforms already associated with web3 technologies as they tend to also offer their own native tokens.
