“Reality is the only place you can get a decent meal.” — Ready Player One
Semantic Web: when machines began to understand what was happening
Web 3.0 is literally everywhere. Yep, the transformation from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0, aka Metaverse, has already started. FB set the pace by transforming to Meta, and CryptoPunks NFT collection hit $1 bln in sales a year ago. To date, NFT is a mega trend in art and gaming virtual scenes. We’re also witnessing the blockchain transformation that originated from ICO and blossomed into the DeFi sphere.
After Tim Berners-Lee first introduced the concept of the Semantic Web in September 1998, artificial intelligence began to understand the language of the Internet on par with humans. The global semantic web-enabled hardware started to process information, analyze it and draw useful conclusions. For example, the presence of metadata enables more accurate and careful online search.
If you’re looking for a list of Pentagon employees, you probably won’t find it via a normal search. But all you’ve got to do is put the word allinanchor in the search string (in the <a name>-tagged text), and you’ll get what you’re looking for. Artificial intelligence will help you get the proper result.
Hooray for semantics, thanks to which the advent of Web 3.0 becomes possible! Intelligent algorithms and machine learning will continue to help users find content. Only now that content will become much more in-depth customized. The search itself will be similar to personalized advertising on Facebook and Instagram, taking many factors and preferences into account.
But that’s not all the prospects for Web 3.0 in the 21st century. Web3 is about to rule the world in terms of:
- Social networks are already taking the first steps toward the new Internet by introducing NFT avatars. However, such innovations as Twitter Blue are just testing the waters.
- The blockchain-based social network will bring more income to creators, as all the content they produce will belong only to them.
- There are already companies on the market that allow you to make money from your content on social networks by converting it into NFT. But when Web 3.0 comes into its own, creators will be able to do without such companies as props.
Now let’s dive into the topic.
Why does WEB 3.0 matter?
Decentralization
In fact, the inventor of the Internet, Tim Berners-Lee, and the first supporters of the Blockchain approached each other using the idea of decentralization as a basis.
The biggest drawback of Web 2.0 is that the content the user produces doesn’t belong to them. Everything belongs to His Majesty, the server. Censorship, blocking — all of this is evidence of the bias of the 21st-century Internet. You never know when you might be blocked for your words and thoughts. And the current state of affairs in the world is the clearest confirmation of that.
Blockchain technology allows you to control your data without an intermediary. However, there’s been a lot of discussions about Web3 as a controlled and centralized system. For instance, in one of the latest Messari reports, experts stated that the majority of tokens attached to one of the most popular Web3 projects is controlled by venture funds and insiders.
“Defi has a dirty secret. While the smart contracts themselves are fully decentralized, developer teams still have substantial control over the user through their control of the frontend. We’re excited to be announcing Homescreen, a new application on Skynet that allows users to fully decentralize their web3 frontends.” — David Vorick, Skynet
Another concern lies in discussions and even squabbles between top crypto gamers. At the end of 2021, Jack Dorsey, ex-Twitter CEO, tweeted “You don’t own “web3”. The VCs and their LPs do. It will never escape their incentives. It’s ultimately a centralized entity with a different label. Know what you’re getting into….”
That was the beginning of the storm. Elon Mask joined with the famous
Chris Dixon, the venture investor, joined the discussion by stating, “The dogs may bark, but the caravan moves on.”
Well, both Square and Twitter, founded by Jack, are the Web2 past, so we can fully understand his disappointment. However, Web3 can be fully decentralized, and it’s absolutely transparent in such L2 projects as Optimism with its non-token governance (the Citizen House).
Recently, Vitaliy Buterin applauded Optimism for that with his tweet:
The conclusion is clear (regardless of the opinions): decentralization is the future of the core system. Now think about what is of the utmost importance for you in such systems? It’s your privacy.
Anonymity
“Think of Web 3.0 as Magna Carta, the foundation of individual freedom against the arbitrariness of a despot.” — Dr. Gavin Wood, Founder of Polkadot
A single digital identity in the metaverse is a good way to stay anonymous online. You won’t have to enter logins and passwords anymore. All you need is to register a wallet that will become your main identifier. All your files in the form of assets will be written to the wallet, and deals will be made in the form of transactions.
The anonymity origins lie in the DASH and Monero ecosystem improvements.
The basis of DASH is a digital personality in a single wallet. The project’s system stood at the forefront of the Web3 movement creating the technology you can use for everyday life: have a cup of coffee, buy a plane ticket, or pay your phone bill.
Just like DASH, Monero was also concentrating on private and censorship-resistant transactions. It was the first cryptocurrency providing 100% anonymity to all users of the system.
Later DASH and Monero examples became the basis for such systems as:
- Zcash
- PIVX
- Komodo
- Zcoin
- NAV Coin
- ZenCash (aka Horizon)
- Verge
Such examples set the basis for all further Web3 developments and implementations. An opposing moment for the current Web 2.0 is “individual search results.”
Individual search results
When you ask, “What’s showing in movie theaters?” the search engine gives you a list of premieres that can be watched on various streaming platforms and in movie theaters. Web 3.0 will treat you much nicer and offer you a list of movies after analyzing your tastes, preferences, and social media likes. We hope that by the time Web 3.0 is fully implemented, the coronavirus will have been forgotten so that the system would calculate the route to the nearest cinema while offering the best tickets.
A logical relationship based on “subject — a type of relationship — another subject” type information will be the basis for improved machine search. That can minimize the time you spend searching.
To sum it up, Web 2.0 human is a PRODUCT. Web 3.0 human is an OWNER.
A new “diskette” plus advanced cockpit for “Storing and Servicing” Web 3.0
Right now, companies like Amazon and Facebook own the lion’s share of servers that store terabytes of information about user data. However, server data storage only benefits these companies, as it allows them to predict your queries and offer individualized ad units based on them, which many are already fed up with.
In Web 3.0, data is stored in decentralized cloud services. This means you’re no longer dependent on large companies and their servers. The only question is how long it’ll take the brave online architects to create such a conventional network.
As a result, you have a huge foundation for self-identification and development. You’ll no longer be dependent on the concepts and templates big companies offer. Web3 will help you to identify yourself both visually and intellectually, without imposing but making accents instead. Mankind has always needed such identification since our ancestors learned how to make fire from rocks and stuff. Lullabies, ritual masks, and piercings make the link to all our needs for expressing ourselves. And now it will be possible thanks to Web3.
Everything from your game experience to your social media profile will be customized, aka individualized.
Monetization. Oldies in Web 3.0
Many people who are used to Web 2.0 are scared of losing monetization in Web 3.0. However, Web 3.0 is giving even more EXTENDED ways to monetize everything that couldn’t be classically monetized before.
Of course, banking systems have no interest in surrendering power and losing control over financial flows. Decentralized income, in its turn, requires that middlemen between seller and buyer go into oblivion. Such a model is possible in a capitalistic world on the condition that everyone who’s producing content and goods is provided with the theoretical and practical base for easy transformation from the banking system to decentralized income.
To date, people seek new decisions. TripleA statistics showcase how many people are already into crypto.
Top 20 countries with crypto owners
Last year, Grimes sold her NFT records for over $6 mln on Nifty Gateways. Huge, right? Next stop: the CryptoPunks blast with the recording $1 bln sales!
Thus, the new monetization system can be implemented everywhere: music, cinema, science articles, screenplays, books — everything can be monetized. You can be rewarded, and no third parties are needed!
Social networks => Metaverses
“Web3 social media seems like an inevitability these days, and may already be here with the advent of projects like the literal Decentralized Social (formerly Bitclout), Twitter’s BlueSky, and gm.xyz. It isn’t obvious which early networks will take an early lead or demonstrate true staying power, though.” — Messari report
Social communication made the quantum leap in the last decade thanks to new technologies. Now, it’s time for another leap of Web3 faith. We’re witnessing Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Discord, Patreon, OnlyFans, Reddit, Tumblr, Tik Tok transform and implement new services within the existing huge ecosystems.
Here are just some of the transformations that have already happened. FB=>Meta; Insta=>NFT; Twitter=>NFT.
Actually, Mr. Zuckerberg’s vision was the turning point for all entrepreneurs who looked at the Web 3.0 differently. The Facebook founder accelerated the transition, especially PUSHING the big business.
Thus, the user experience becomes more personalized and virtualized across all social media. For instance, Meta is looking to become a brand new VR world where one can chill, have fun, buy goods, etc. That’s how all social media will transform after a while.
Zoom stands at the forefront of the Web3 movement as it became a guardrail for all the offices in the world when COVID started to spread. Zoom stock began to grow immensely in February 2020 and reached its peak in October 2020 with a record $559 per stock.
NFT world
To date, we’re living in a primitive world where generated content belongs to everyone and no one at the same time.
However, the future world will look different. Let’s say a meme created by your best friend will belong solely to him/her, and each time someone uses it, he/she will have to pay a royalty.
Can we move on?
Even the pixel combination can be the product of someone’s beautiful mind.
That’s the essence of NFT.
In fact, by joining the NFT community today, you get all the chances to be at the forefront just as your ancestors did at the Bitcoin dawn.
Don’t become the Bitcoin pizza man!
Let’s take Opensea — the definite leader who emerged from “zero to hero” within a year. From 2 mln / mo -> 125 mln / mo < in just 365 days. Millions of NFTs are being SOLD, and even auction houses like Christie’s jumped in, which is, by no means, the litmus test for the perspectives of the sphere.
The vanguard of NFT technology is the concept of NFT marketplaces. More than 20 mln users all over the world sell and buy digital art, including Anthony Hopkins, Eminem, Elon Musk, and many more!
Again, seriously, don’t be a Bitcoin pizza man.
Say hi to metaverses
Just look at how many metaverses have appeared in the digital world recently:
META, Decentraland (MANA), Sandbox (SAND), Highstreet (HIGH), Floki Inu (FLOKI), Metahero (HERO), Terra Virtua Kolect (TVK), Star Atlas (ATLAS), Enjin (ENJ), Epik Prime (EPIK), CEEK VR, Otherside by Yuga Labs, Metavillage, Somnium Space, Shiba Inu.
That’s just a small part of what you can dive in and get a new experience as a user.
In 2019, Facebook unveiled Horizon, an advanced virtual reality sandbox where you can create your own 3D avatar. In 2 years, Zuckerberg would announce the creation of Meta and the course towards virtual reality, setting the trend for all major companies.
One of the flagships in this area is Decentraland. In this metaverse, users can buy land, real estate, and collectibles. Global brands from Skechers to Samsung are opening stores in the metaverse, and many fashion houses are hosting fashion shows virtually.
If social networks are a two-dimensional virtual reality, then metaverses can be called a full analog of the real world. Big brands like Nike, Meta, and Disney are creating their own metaverse business units. There are already 1 billion active augmented reality (AR) users worldwide, which will almost double by 2024.
Thanks to the use of VR, AR technologies, and virtual and augmented reality immersion devices, you can easily make purchases, play games, and go to concerts — in general, do everything you’re used to in everyday life.
GEN-Z and PLAY2EARN
Speaking of metaverses, we cannot but mention the GEN-Z and PLAY2EARN sphere. P2E became one of the most trendy phenomena in 2021 thanks to such games as Axie Infinity, Decentraland, and The Sandbox.
At the moment, there are ~4–5 bln gamified mobile users in the world, and this number grows in a geometrical progression.
Potentially, all cyber sports addicts (100–500 mln) can join the movement enlarging the number of users up to 1 bln!
They all strive to play, and there’s a lot to be offered.
Thus, all the gamified people in the world are already becoming a part of the metaverse ecosystem with NFTs, crypto as cash, and VR technologies.
Three isn’t a crowd
Web 3.0 can become a place where all assets can be protected by the laws of mathematical computation rather than the state. Lively activity without intermediaries may well become the basis of a new, more independent world. And, of course, the introduction of such technology should be preceded by several steps, including the training of people who want to become part of this ecosystem and the creation of decentralized cloud storage.
Of course, the topic of Web 3.0 also attracts the attention of skeptics. Elon Musk often makes ironic comments about this system on Twitter.
However, to help Elon and many others who’ve lost their way find Web 3.0, one needs only point out the full range of its possibilities, which is already being done by the world’s leading scientists, programmers, and business people. The Web3 Foundation, Ethereum Network, Polkadot, and many other companies are already hard at work bringing elements of the new Internet to life.
So, seriously, join the movement, and don’t be the next Bitcoin pizza guy 🙂
Julia Moore.
© Bitorbit Press.
