Web3: The Next Generation Of The Internet, And Its Defining Features

Anything that was once revered ground shattering, turns obsolete in the tech world. That’s the nature of the industry and the cycle of technology. WWW is no different. It was a revolutionary technology that changed the way people communicate and do business. From the late 1980s to the early 2000s to today, we have seen the web evolve from a static document to a rich interactive experience. The internet has transformed the way we communicate and how businesses interact with each other. With the proliferation of mobile devices and the rise of social media, the web is even more useful than ever before.

After using web technology for decades, we are now entering the next phase of the evolution of the internet. We are moving into a world of the Internet of Things, decentralized networks, and other intelligent and interactive forms of technology. Web 3.0 is going to be the network of user empowerment, openness, and privacy. It will unleash a new paradigm of technology that will revolutionize the way we communicate, share information, and interact with one another.

Web 3.0 is still pretty new, and its characteristics will get clearer with its evolution. While Web3 is still in the development stage, there are specific characteristics that will certainly make it the future of internet. The following are some of the established characteristics of Web3:

1. Decentralization: A close study will show, in many ways, Web 3.0 is a convergence of the original idea of the internet, proposed by Tim Berners-Lee, where no central authority approval is required and the web relies on a peer-to-peer network built upon a community of users. The idea is to distribute power from organizations that control the data today and give ownership back to the end user.
2. Semantic Web: The ultimate ambition of the semantic web is to enrich the web with a layer of machine-interpretable metadata so they can understand humans and what we are trying to communicate. It will enable computers to examine data and extract meaningful interpretations from it. Similar to how humans process information to achieve their goals.
3. Artificial Intelligence: Web 3.0 envisages a digital space where machines can communicate with one another and other users. However, communication can't happen without deploying a cognitive layer of Artificial Intelligence that can interpret digital content. AI, as an interface, will equip the Semantic Web with deep learning algorithms and analytical capabilities to make machines understand and translate information on a human-like level. This is a continual process and the machines get better over time as they learn more and more. The combination of semantic and NLP (Natural Language Processing) capabilities allow computers to provide faster and more relevant results. Artificial intelligence algorithms are evolving to learn and adapt faster to satisfy the needs of users and companies.

   POV: You are using Web 3.0 

   • Talking to friends without worrying about data being sold to advertisers
   • Browsing the internet without censors or surveillance
   • Not obliged to share data with giant corporations like Meta and Google
   • Privately transferring money and assets without being tracked
   • Have more control over your digital assets (NFTs)
4. 3D Graphics: Web 3.0 is often referred to as spatial web for its ability to create and manipulate space and time. In this wave of the future, the lines between the physical and digital worlds will become increasingly blurred and 3D graphics will play an important role in creating more realistic virtual environments with features like texturing, lighting, and motion capture.
   
   It will use the untapped potential of graphics technology to create a totally immersive experience that will let users sink into a world that is not only multi-dimensional but also hyper-realistic. Also, gaming experiences, eCommerce, and other geospatial applications will step up and become more sophisticated with AR and VR technology. The advances in graphics technology will facilitate the efficient creation of realistic 3D graphics, interactive media, and other applications that require the visualization of data. It will revolutionize the way we interact with and perceive digital objects.
5. Ubiquity: The underlining purpose of Web 3.0 is to enhance connectivity and make it more pervasive than ever before. Ubiquity will ensure that these features are available from any device, any location, and at any time. In many ways, Web 2.0 is already defined by its ubiquity; given the ease of access and sharing available via social media networks. The prevalent technology already allows Instagram or Meta users to share anything, almost instantly, from any geography. However, the surge of IoT devices will take this feature to next level. It will take the internet beyond your desktop and smartphones and pave the way toward a smart world where computational intelligence will be distributed throughout.

Web 3.0 will make the internet accessible from anywhere, anytime, and any place 

Conclusion

The Web2 that we use nowadays is highly centralized and doesn't give the users absolute ownership over the content created and posted by them. The ultimate ownership and data lie in the hands of big corporates, and conglomerates. Experts believe Web3 will be fairer to the users and help them build a strong online identity. The newer version of the internet will improve connectivity, provide an immersive experience, and allow users to have greater control over every aspect of their digital space.

The update is expected to bring a broader paradigm shift that will fundamentally alter the ways in which people interact with the internet and, more importantly, with one another. In Web 3.0, information will become open, decentralized, and secure. It will have a profound impact on the way we live, work, and play. This new iteration of the internet will also usher in a new era of smarter applications that can learn and evolve over time.

The blockchain-based framework will enable users to interact with online services and own, control, and monetize their content. These services, unlike Web2, will be owned and governed by peer-to-peer networks.

However, decentralized and open internet still looks like a long way to go. Experts suggest that the internet can't be completely decentralized as long as internet providers are under the government or other powerful players like financial institutes and telecoms. Censoring content or monitoring its use is still a click away. The hopes, however, are from some blockchain-based protocols that could be built into the internet to protect users' privacy and allow them to take control of their data. These protocols would disseminate the data storage and calculations needed for web pages away from centralized sources and into users' devices.