Imagine an internet that does not only interpret your inputs but can also tailor all your data to suit your personal preferences. We are presently at the latest stage of the evolution of the internet, and some early pioneers already termed it Web 3.0 or Web 3 for short. The introduction of Web 3 has drawn a lot of attention, as investors and enthusiasts alike are eager to discover the many possibilities it holds. However, one might ask: what exactly is Web 3.0? What are the investment potentials? How will it shape the future of the internet?
These and many more are some of the questions facing Web 3.0 enthusiasts and potential investors. In this guide, we shall be providing answers to some of the top questions regarding Web 3.0, presently heralded as the future of the internet.
What Exactly is Web 3.0?
Web 3.0 is considered the next generation of the internet as we all know it. Web 1.0 was the first internet generation that spanned from the 1980s to the early 2000s. It was established by the United States Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 1973. This was followed by Web 2.0, which is the second generation of the internet and the current version of the internet we use.
Web 3.0 is the upcoming generation of the internet that allows applications and websites to process data in a smart human-like manner using technologies like decentralized ledger technology (DLT), Big Data, and machine learning (ML), among others. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, previously referred to Web 3.0 as Semantic Web, and was focused on being a more open, intelligent, and autonomous internet. Web 3.0 allows for data to be interconnected in a decentralized manner, which is vastly different from what obtains in our present generation of the internet, Web 2.0, where information is stored in a centralised way.
Furthermore, machines and users in Web 3.0 will communicate with data. However. For this to take place. Programs need to conceptually and contextually understand information. With all these in mind, the two building blocks of Web 3 are artificial intelligence and the semantic web. Web 3.0 networks will function through decentralized protocols, which are the cornerstones of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies.