What is Web 3.0?

There’s a good chance, you’ve heard the terms Web 3.0 or Web 3 used recently, especially in conversations about the blockchain, decentralization, the metaverse and the semantic, or even spatial web. So what is Web 3.0? Why are we talking about it now? And what does it mean for you?

Quick history lesson

Web 1.0 refers to the original web where communication float in one direction from primary sources typically corporations, media producers and larger organizations to the visitor. Think new sites, search indexes and online encyclopedias.

Web 2.0 refers to the social web where communication flows in many directions and information is created, shared, and maintained by everyone. Think blogs, social media and crowdsourced knowledge platforms. Web 2.0 has been around for a long time and it’s still where we are today.

Web 3.0 or Web 3 is a broad umbrella term referring to the future web made possible by empowered by a combination of current and emerging technologies. It’s been referred to as the human first web and the semantic web and the spatial (空间) web. And within these different descriptions, we can get an idea of what Web 3 is all about.

Definition of Web 3.0

Well, there is no one true definition of Web 3.0 yet. All the different definitions tend to land on the same key principles and technologies.

• Web 3 is Open and equitable, allowing everyone to take part and eliminating the need for a non-value adding middleman like social media platforms or search engines.
• Web 3 is decentralized and trustless (无信托), leveraging blockchain technology to create immutable data records, allowing each user to control their own data and trust the data created by others without having to go through a central trust authority.
• Web 3 is semantic, enabling computers, in particular AI and machine learning to understand data and make meaningful connections without human or authority intervention.
• Web 3 is platform agnostic, treating data as pure data and allowing the user to choose their own means of data consumption.
• Web 3 is spatial, allowing users to interact with data and information through AR and VR, as well as in the real world through integration with materials and objects beyond the screens.

The central premise of Web 3.0 today shifts power from intermediaries like hosting companies and social media platforms to the individual. You own and control access to your own data, the system makes it possible for you to trust person to person and person to company interactions like payments without having to have an intermediary like a bank or a payment portal. And you can access, filter and parse data in whatever way and means are meaningful to you without having to go through a big company. In short, the Web 3.0 concept is a return to the original promise of the web platform. Ubiquitous (无处不在的) access for everyone through trustworthy systems, without being exposed to monitoring, surveillance and predatory features like behavior based advertising.

Sound a bit like science fiction? Well that’s because it is. Current estimates say the first meaningful implementation of Web 3.0 is still 5 to 10 years down the road. So for now at least when people talk about Web 3 or Web 3.0, they’re using trending marketing jargon to talk about one possible future.