Web 3.0 & Web 3

A bit of history

Today we are witnessing a new revolution in the digital world that promises to subvert the way we live: Web 3.0 and its actualization in Web 3.

We hear about it through the concepts of blockchain, crypto-currencies, tokens and Metaverse, but how it works and what exactly is the difference between Web 3.0 and Web 3 is still not clear to everyone.

To understand this, we must take a few steps ‘back’ and go back to Web 2.0 and its ancestor Web 1.0 by retracing its evolution over the time.

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The birth of the Web

The years from 1991 to 2004 were the years of Web 1.0 (1), or the ‘read-only web’.

This was the first form of Internet content, marked by static websites, built in plain HTML, with a low refresh rate.

Only webmasters had the technical skills and tools necessary to update the pages of an Internet site, while users could only enjoy the contents without being able to create any type of interaction. The web pages could be just consulted and, therefore, the only contact points were made up of the classic means of communication such as e-mail, fax, telephone, and the advertising contained therein.

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The evolution of the Web

In 2004 we entered the ‘read-write web’ phase, and we witnessed a rather important change: the interaction limit of Web 1.0 was broken down by Web 2.0 which transformed into a ‘dynamic web’ or ‘social web’.

With the transition to Web 2.0 it was no longer necessary to be a programmer to promote content online. The platforms and apps on the web were built with the aim of making each user a ‘creator’ able to easily share any type of content around the world, interacting with anyone using the same platform. Even if relationships continued to be mediated by centralized platforms, interactions increased more and more and offered everyone the possibility of using the most interesting contents in real time, as well as sharing them with other network users through the blogs, social networks (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, etc.), forums, etc.

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The new perspectives

A few years after the beginnings of Web 2.0 (precisely in 2006), people also started talking about Web 3.0 and its history has come down to the present day.

Web 3.0 defined a new evolutionary stage of the Internet based on the immersion and decentralisation of data and represented the latest generation of Internet applications and services, called the 'decentralised web', which offered people more control over their online data.

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It was no coincidence that the term 'read-write-interact web'

came out, i.e., a web in which the user could 'read' and 'write',

but also 'interact' in a wider and freer way.

Web 3.0 has contemplated a plurality of possible

technological applications: from its transformation into a

database, the first realization of the so-called ‘semantic

web’ (2), up to the elaboration of applications for the

development of software that could carry out tasks with

intelligence requirements. The goal was to produce ‘open’

websites and applications, connected to a network through

decentralized, peer-to-peer and intelligent technologies,

with a better understanding of data by machines to foster

an increasingly immersive relationship with humans.

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Web 3

Although today there is still no single definition of Web 3.0, a term that can mean different things to different people, embodying a mix of ideas that allow us to understand only broadly what the future of the web could be like, however, it is very important that this is not confused with Web 3. The first one, in fact, represents the evolution of the previous Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 and aims at the creation of content semantically connected to each other, improving the existing network, making it increasingly connected, engaging and interactive, while the second one wants to ‘reinvent’ the Internet, changing the assumptions that still give life to pages, sites and platforms (3). Although having wide boundaries and indicating different aspects, Web 3 outlines the new face of the web in the eyes of many enthusiastic people.

A few core principles guide its creation:

• Web 3 is decentralized: instead of large swathes of the internet controlled and owned by centralized entities, ownership   gets distributed amongst its builders and users.

•  Web 3 is permissionless: everyone has equal access to participate in Web 3 activities, and no one gets excluded.

•  Web 3 is trustless: it operates using incentives and economic mechanisms instead of relying on trusted third parties.

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Therefore, Web 3 is the key to laying the foundations for a revolutionary approach to the Net, based on peer-to-peer interactions, without intermediaries, and on concepts such as freedom of expression and full control of personal data and one's physical and digital assets.

Without blockchain technology and its possible applications, which now make it possible to store data on-chain on an immutable ledger accessible at any time by all, to protect the privacy of users, to ensure the equal participation of all actors involved in the governance of the system, and to create new business, interaction and sharing models, this approach would, however, be unthinkable.

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We can, therefore, say that although there is still no concrete definition of Web 3.0 and the evolution of the Internet seems to be a long journey towards further iterations (4), innovations are already on the move and the direction is clear; the blockchain and the technologies derived from that are the driving forces behind a radical new movement that will change the way we see and interact with the digital world.