FACE OFF: WEB2 vs. WEB3

A web has many meanings.

Fabric woven on a loom… A snare or entanglement... A tissue or membrane…

 A network…

A structural element... The barbed vane of a feather…

A continuous ream of paper that rolls endlessly off a machine…

Or the World Wide Web

– in which each of these nuances is a barb of its own.

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Poised on the razor-edge of a socio-tech evolution, we find ourselves at a critical cusp where Web2 intersects with Web3.

Web2 and Web3 are vastly different ecosystems. Although several characteristics may appear similar on the surface, they are polar opposites.

Web2 is based on the concept of centralization, wherein consolidation is the driver behind user engagement. However, the entire premise of Web3 is woven around the idea of decentralization, wherein dispersion is the key. And therein lies the difference.

WHO’S IN CONTROL?

Web2 anchors control within the platform, while Web3 gives control to the user. A Web2 platform e.g. Meta, dictates policy, censorship and user-rights.

A Web3 platform e.g. STEEM, empowers users to take responsibility for what they consume, and compliance becomes a choice.

WHO’S MAPPING THE DATA?

Web2 centralizes data storage on a common server, which is controlled by the platform and a small group of people who own the server (Think Microsoft, Amazon or Google).

Web2 sucks up data the moment you use it, and the owners of that data monetize it through analytics and advertising. With Web2, Data Privacy (or the lack thereof) has emerged as a burning issue.

Web3 decentralizes data, distributing it across a nodal network of data blocks, which is what we call a blockchain. It puts the control of the user’s data back into the user’s hands, enhancing privacy.

THE TRUST FACTOR:

Web2 implies trust in the owning entity, while Web3 is grounded in verification through cryptographic proofs and transparency.

THE FINANCIAL FACTOR:

Web2 monetizes content through the platform, while Web3 empowers the user to monetize their own content without any intermediaries taking a cut.

THE IDENTITY CRISIS:

Web2 uses the platform as a basis for identity, whereas Web3 frees you up to create a sovereign identity.

For the average user, scrambling to make themselves heard on Instagram or LinkedIn, Web2 is still the go-to schema. But behind the scenes, Web3 has already begun a quiet revolution.

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Think of Web3 as a river. One into which many “decentralized” streams of technology flow, before it reaches the ocean.

Decentralization underlies the Web3 interface and blockchain lies at its core, but there are many skeins in this web. If blockchain is the warp on the loom, several other interfaces form the wefts, such as…

Artificial Intelligence. Blockchain. Internet Of Things (IoT). Tokenization. Decentralized Finance. Oracles. Smart contracts. DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations). Decentralized Identities. Decentralized Exchanges. Aggregators. Decentraland. Metaverse. Decentralized Prediction Platforms… the list goes on and on.

At its finest, decentralization opens up a Utopian universe. Autonomy. Innovation. Participation. It puts the power in the hands of the individual.

At its worst, it’s pure anarchy. A meltdown into chaos. The decimation of structure.

The question is: Are we ready?

The defining factor of Web3 is its ease in navigating semantics and its Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities. This is known as The Semantic Web, a term coined by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the original godfather of the original World Wide Web.

The Semantic Web is a web of data vs. a web of documents, and the fundamental premise lies in the idea that the data is given meaning, driven by semantics, so that computers can rapidly research a topic and “reason” in response to user inquiries.

That’s where AI and Machine Learning add a different edge to the game. Web3 harnesses the power and capabilities of Machine Learning (ML) to mimic how a human being reasons and learns.

All web applications are code. And all code is a language. In the beginning there was the Word… and as we move into Web3, its time to watch our words (or should we say prompts?) and reflect carefully upon what we really want to say.

Web3 is still a work in progress. And all that glitters is not gold – there are several pitfalls. Web2 on the other hand, is a flourishing garden and has become fairly well-entrenched across the world. But is it reaching a point of saturation? Are the hacks reflecting the cracks in the system?

Well… things have to first fall apart, before they come together, and Web3 is already showing us the path ahead.

Time will tell. But that clock is ticking faster and faster. Web3 has already made its entry into our lives. It may morph and evolve as society begins to embrace it, but I believe that it is here to stay.