10 Web 3.0 Examples 2022.
WEB 3.0 (or “Web3” as it’s more commonly known) is a relatively loose set of ideas about how the future Internet should look and work. We are currently somewhere between the world of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0. The exact shape of the future web is in no way defined. We’ll look at what Web3 is and look at some specific examples of technologies that fit the Web3 pattern.
The Internet and the Web are Different
One important fact that you need to know before we start discussing the Internet is that it is different from the Internet. The Internet is the physical network equipment and computers that communicate with the world. And the Internet protocol that describes how all these devices communicate with each other. If you want to learn more about the architecture of the Internet, check out Who Owns the Internet? Web architecture explained.
The Internet is one type of service (or group of services) that operates on the Internet. This is the most common part of the Internet that a user encounters, but other services (such as FTP or BitTorrent) are not part of the Internet. They just have the same bandwidth.
The Evolution of the Web: Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 Explained
The World Wide Web first appeared in the mid-90s. This is what is now considered Web 1.0. Early websites were hosted in many places. Some were hosted on large servers within the company’s IT department, while others were hosted on people’s home computers. Web content has not yet been centralized in the giant data centers we know today.
Web 1.0 content was mostly “read-only” static web pages that were not interactive. In other words, you visit a website to get information, but you don’t return any data to it. This is the defining difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.
With Web 2.0, information began to flow in both directions. This was the era of social media and user-generated content. In this social network, end users post their photos, personal information and more on social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn where everyone can see it.
Hosting services have begun to be centralized in data centers owned by a small handful of powerful technology companies. Web browsers became so advanced that they could run web applications with complex 3D graphics.
User data is the most valuable commodity for these organizations, which use it to develop e-commerce or sell to third parties. Search giant Google is perhaps the most famous example. However, companies such as Microsoft and Amazon are investing in providing centralized web services that collect personal data and turn it into profitable information.
The Values of Web3
At its core, the idea behind Web3 is a network that is not controlled by a small number of central authorities. Whether they are governments or corporations, Web3 is (theoretically) putting user data and web content in the hands of users. It also allows for a network where users can profit directly from their data and all that money moving around the network daily.
The term “Web3†was coined back in 2014 by Gavin Wood, the co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, which we will talk about in a moment.
Web3 is designed to match certain values. Firstly, it is decentralized and does not have a central authority that owns all the data and profits from it. Web3 applications are open source. This means that everyone can transparently view the algorithms and software functions in the application without the possibility of stealth access.
To summarize, Web3 is a democratized web based on an open source application that gives users full control over their data and the ability to share the profits generated from their content.
Tim Berners-Lee and the Old Web 3.0
There is some confusion because another completely different concept, called Web 3.0, was coined by the “Father of the Internet” Tim Berners-Lee. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has defined Web 3.0 (“Semantic Web”) as an extension of the web technology standard.
The Semantic Web can be harder to understand than Web3. However, it all comes down to formal metadata standards that allow for all sorts of machine-to-machine operations, which in turn enables semantic understanding of web content.
Time of Berners-Lee, photo by Uldis Boyars, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
In practice, this Web 3.0 never became a reality, although modern web technologies can already do some of the things that the idea of ​​Web 3.0 describes. We won’t talk more about the Semantic Web here, but keep in mind that some of the things you might read under the Web 3.0 label refer to something completely different from Web3, while “Web3” only refers to what we are discussing here.< /p>
Now that we’ve figured out the difference between Web 3.0 and Web3, let’s take a look at some of the web technologies that can be attributed to Web3.
1. Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology is arguably the single technology that most inspired the idea of ​​Web3 and is therefore the most obvious example. Many other Web3 technologies rely on the blockchain to function, which is why it is the backbone of Web3.
For a detailed explanation of blockchain technology, check out HDG Explains: What is a Blockchain Database? But if you don’t have time, here’s the gist.
Blockchain is a ledger or record of transactions. The blockchain exists entirely on a few computers scattered across the internet. Whenever a new “block” of transactions is added to the chain, all copies of the database must be reconciled and modified. All transactions are open to the public and are permanent.
Any attempt to tamper with the record breaks the chain, and since verified copies of the database are scattered all over the Internet, no central authority can control it. Blockchain technology can be used in any transaction accounting application, but most people associate it with cryptocurrency, which we will talk about next.
2. Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency (also known as “cryptocurrencyâ€) is decentralized digital money that is not controlled by any government or central authority such as a bank. it uses blockchain technology to record how much currency exists and who has what amount.
The supply of cryptocurrencies is increased by “miningâ€, which provides computing power to run the blockchain in exchange for a new currency. At least that’s how it works with “classic” cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. For example, in the case of the Ethereum blockchain, end users pay a “gas fee” that is received by Ethereum miners processing transactions.
3. Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
Initial coin offerings are associated with cryptocurrencies because the “coins” being offered are cryptocurrencies. When you invent a new type of cryptocurrency (presumably with exciting innovations), you need seed money to get started.
People who invest in ICOs buy your cryptocurrency while it’s worth nothing. Hoping that as with bitcoin and Ethereum. The value of cryptocurrencies will skyrocket and they’ll get rich overnight.
ICOs are sometimes sold more like shares of a company, although they do not transfer ownership to buyers. The value of the coins is then linked to how valuable the company or its products promise to be. This is why ICOs are so popular with startups looking for alternative funding without the involvement of a bank, business angels or venture capital.
There was a lot of hype around ICOs, but scams also plagued them and many people lost their money. This is because ICOs are not yet regulated in the same way as IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) and anyone can launch an ICO.
4. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
You’ve probably heard of this already, but NFT is another cornerstone of Web3. NFTs are essentially a form of crypto, but each NFT is unique and cannot be exchanged for another. That’s what the non-interchangeable part of the name means. NFTs are related to digital or physical assets in the same way that a title deed to a house represents a title to property.
One big catch is that any legal body won’t necessarily recognize NFTs, so ultimately all you’re buying at this point is control over a string of letters and numbers. However, as NFT technology and possibly legislation evolves, this may change.
If you are interested in learning more about NFTs, take a look at 5 apps to create NFTs on your iPhone and how to sell them.
5. Decentralized Apps (dApps)
When you use a cloud service like Google Docs, you are using a centralized application. Google has access to all the information in your documents, can read it and control it. The trade-off is that we can store our information in the cloud, collaborate with others easily, and enjoy a long list of other cloud app conveniences.
But what if you could enjoy the benefits of these cloud services without being subject to a central authority? This is where decentralized applications or “dApps†come in. Most decentralized applications use the Ethereum blockchain to perform their online calculations, so these calculations are paid using Ethereum gas fees.
However, dApps comply with Web3 requirements to be public, open, and secure with cryptography. In this way, dApp users are in control of their data and who can see it, while benefiting from cloud computing power to run any function that a particular dApp is designed for. If you’d like to know which dApps are available, check out our dApps Status, which lists the most important ones.
The Ethereum blockchain is designed to support Web3 technologies from the ground up and even has a dedicated JavaScript library called Web3.js to help developers get started quickly on their Web3 projects.
6. Smart Contracts
If you buy a car today and take out a loan from a bank, you will need a lot of paperwork. The bank concludes an agreement with you that describes the rights and obligations of both parties. In accordance with the agreement, if you are late in payment, the bank must take certain measures (for example, return the car to possession) in accordance with the agreement.
Smart contracts can do exactly the same job, but they don’t need a central authority to enforce or monitor anything. Everything happens automatically according to the rules and logic of the contract.
Smart contracts make it possible to provide financial services or draw up legal agreements between parties in a much more accessible way than traditional contacts. In addition, they are more fair and cannot be manipulated once activated.
Of course, like any contract, a smart contract is only as good as its terms and logic, but as long as the contract is fair, the smart contract will be applied impartially.
7. Distributed Computing (Edge Computing)
Edge computing is the provision of online data and services as close as possible to where they are requested or generated. Edge computing is almost the exact opposite of big data computing in large centralized computing centers, while edge computing takes place literally at the edges of the network.
For example, the data may be processed on your local PC before being sent to a central location for aggregation. This means you can pool the computing power of the devices at the edges of your network into one giant decentralized supercomputer. With billions of IoT (Internet of Things) devices gathering information in smart homes, factories and retail stores, having enough computing power to process that data is a real challenge. Edge computing allows you to meet these requirements, save bandwidth, and complete data queries quickly.
8. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)
An organization, like a business or a charity, has a centralized structure. Leaders and managers at all levels exercise command and control to coordinate all the people who contribute to the work that needs to be done.
DAO flattens all this structure. There is no CEO, CFO or anything like that. Each member of the organization has the right to vote and decides when and what to spend money from the treasury.
The rules of the organization are encoded using innovative contract technology on a permissionless (aka insecure) blockchain. There is no need for the complicated and expensive administrative departments that traditional organizations have set up to keep everything up and running. DAOs also make fraud nearly impossible as every transaction and its history is open to public scrutiny
9. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
In the past few years, we have seen the rapid growth of machine learning technologies and other important areas of artificial intelligence. Our smartphones are equipped with these technologies, and that’s how apps like Apple’s Siri work. Thanks to natural language processing (NLP), you can talk to an intelligent agent and he can analyze what you ask.
Machine learning is also used to process huge amounts of data in real time to predict our needs and behavior. Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT), we have smart devices connected to the network everywhere. This creates a lot of opportunities to collect data and create something of value from it.
Let’s look at services like Wolfram Alpha that use artificial intelligence to get knowledge from data. We’re getting a glimpse of what a democratized web could be like with public data open to everyone.
10. The Metaverse
It is another ill-defined concept that looks set to overlap and intertwine with Web3 concepts if they are ever implemented.
The Metaverse is a vision of what our future web interface will look like. It relies heavily on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to create a consistent and integrated user experience.
In the Metaverse, the digital items you own merge with the natural world, and you interact with the network in a much more real way. It’s a bit like the virtual world from Ready Player One, but hopefully a little less grim.
Web3 Has Serious Challenges
The projected third generation of the Internet sounds exciting on paper. But practical problems stand in the way of its implementation, at least in its pure, idealistic form. Web3 represents a level of connectivity that has never been seen before on the Internet. As complex as the modern web is, it is nothing compared to the sheer number of nodes involved in a Web3 scenario focused on a decentralized web.
However, the biggest problem with Web3 is not technology, but politics. There are serious privacy issues. Despite being open to public scrutiny, what new methods of fraud and manipulation does it make possible? Can we completely move away from certain central authorities? The concept of Web3 is so radical that it will be some time before we know the answers to these questions. Another way in some cases the risk of abandoning proven systems may be too high to experiment.
10 Web 3.0 Examples 2022
10 Web 3.0 Examples 2022