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Ifeanyi Fredrick Okwuobi
Ifeanyi Fredrick Okwuobi

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Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 what's the Difference

Only yesterday we were learning about the web and today we are learning that the web we knew or thought we knew about had a version and its called web 2.0 or is it web 1.0, only to find out we are headed for web 3.0 already and some of us just started getting a hang of this web 2.0 or is it web 1.0 wait what's the difference hmmmm.

web1 - this simply a read only phase of the Web.

The first generation of the World Wide Web existed between 1991-2004. It was also known as the read-only web. It enabled the broadcast of information and it allowed users to search for it and read it. It mostly consisted of static webpages, and there weren’t many content creators around. Although it was revolutionary for its time, interaction and functionality was rather limited.

Web2 – a stream of interaction

The current version of the Internet as we know it – less static and more dynamic. Web2 started to become popular in 2004, when the first Web2 conference was held. The system behind it aims to actively engage users, and the content itself is more user-generated.
The way we share and deliver information has been transformed with Web2 components like blogs, wikis and social media platforms. Take Facebook or Twitter as examples: users can not only read information, they can also share thoughts, perspectives and opinions by liking, sharing, tagging, tweeting etc.
Undoubtedly, there is a dependency on “Big Tech” companies to provide the infrastructure and services we need – a reliance Web3 hopes to remove. Web2 refers to the version of the internet most of us know today. An internet dominated by companies that provide services in exchange for your personal data.

web 3.0 – a stream of interpretation
Web3, in the context of Ethereum, refers to decentralised apps that run on the blockchain. These are apps that allow anyone to participate without monetising their personal data.Web 3.0 is the future, and a more intelligent, autonomous and open version of the Internet.
Computers will be able to interpret information in a way that is more similar to humans, and by using technologies like Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), users will be given more personalised content and experiences.

Practical Comparisons

  • web 2.0 Twitter can censor any account or tweet Web 3.0 tweets would be untouchable because control is decentralised
  • web 2.0 Payment service may decide to not allow payments for certain types of work, while in Web 3.0 payment apps require no personal data and can't prevent payments
  • web 2.0 Servers for gig-economy apps could go down and affect worker income while in Web 3.0 servers can't go down they use Ethereum, a decentralised network of 1000s of computers as their backend

In a nutshell the differences between Web2 and Web3 is Web2 is dominated by companies while web3 is dominated by everyone.

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