The certainty of change for everything, including the internet, is a given. The changes we witness in the evolution of the Internet means significant new exciting services are driving the growth of many online applications.
The
first iteration of the Internet, web1 was static, made up of weblinks and
homepages; then web2 came along, enabling users to create their own content
seamlessly. Though web2 helped user content generation, the large tech
companies providing services on the Internet had greater control and ownership
of this user content. Web3 which describes the manifestation of a new iteration
of the Internet anchored on blockchain technology, decentralisation and
tokenisation among others, offers a unique opportunity to bring the Internet
back to the control of users.
The
term “Web 3.0” was coined by Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum, in 2014 to
describe his vision of the future of the Internet. Currently, web3 remains an
evolving idea, and a work in progress therefore, it is difficult at this stage to
pinpoint an exact definition. However, we can describe its vision as a new
internet that relies on emerging technologies such as blockchain, and
artificial intelligence to drive new services online based on a public ledger
blockchain leading to machine-based data-driven and semantic Internet.
One key distinction of web3 is the
shift of focus from online and social companies to Internet users since, in
this context, they become the actual owners and managers of their personal
data, and by extension, the Internet.
One
variation of web3 could also be described as an Internet where cryptocurrencies
and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are integrated on the online planforms users
make use of.
Web3
is characterized by four main elements namely openness, “trustless”,
permissionless and ubiquity. One of the key features of web3 is openness; its
design is based on an open-source software concept meaning it is
community-driven by a group of developers with visibility in its protocol and
pathway for new enhancements to be made to it with ease.
Secondly, web3 is permissionless, that
is, there is no centralized controlling entity or individual, meaning all users
can engage on the platform with no need for permissions. Also, Web3 runs on the
principle of trust, which ensures the freedom of all users to interact with
other users without the need for an intermediary or any third party, here all
participants involved do not need to know or trust each other for the system to
function. The core element of the system runs on “trustless” data, which removes
the element of risks in a very robust manner.
Another
key characteristic of Web3 is that it is ubiquitous, meaning it is available to
the world at large without any limitation of time, location or device. For
example, IoT (Internet of Things) technology supports the availability and
development of a wide range of Internet on any type of device, giving them many
intelligent functionalities.
The
overriding application on web3 is tokenisation; any item can be tokenised, for
example a building, work of art, social media output, tickets, music etc. The
power of this sort of tokenisation is the creation of opportunities. For
example, a work of art worth millions of dollars, can be tokenised and sold to
multiple owners. In essence a work of art can have thousands of owners, instead
of a single owner. These joint owners of the work of art, can freely trade or
exchange their part of this art.
Secondly,
web3 is expected to bring radical changes to the gaming industry where users
can invest in their favourite games, giving them a chance to vote on how the
game is operated. Using non-fungible tokens (NFT) can also facilitate
irreversible ownership of games. Video games can be designed to reward players
with NFTs and Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies if they win at aspects of a game.
One
of the key criticisms of web3 is that, in reality, its notion of user ownership
of the Internet through a blockchain network does not in fact guarantee
end-user ownership, since big early adopters or investors can still maintain a
single large ownership concentration defeating the promise of distributed
ownership. In this sense, big companies can still maintain control and
ownership of the Internet, making the idea of individual-owned Internet a pipe
dream. Also, true decentralization will mean a leaderless community of
protocols since leadership is distributed. In reality however, there is always
going to be an influential figurehead such as on early adopter or even a
project initiator.
In conclusion, web3 is moving from a
mere idea to some form of reality, and although its promise of distributed
ownership may be too idealistic, nevertheless, it holds a lot of potential to
shape the Internet of the future.
The writer, Kwami Ahiabenu (PhD) is a Technology Innovations
Consultant
E-mail: kwami@mangokope.com
Source: Graphic.com.gh