What is Web 3.0 and will it change our lives?

Web 3.0 and the dawn of the metaverse

Suppose you had the chance to buy a piece of the Internet in 1995, when only 16 million people were using it, and own a slice of what would become the world’s communications network. Would you pass up on that deal today?

The Internet is about to enter its third phase, and the earlier people understand this, especially creators and businesses trying to make money, the more successful you’re likely to be.

Web 3.0 will give you digital property rights in a secure marketplace. So instead of renting websites and social media pages from big tech companies, you can own assets on blockchain networks like Ethereum or Solana.

Just like companies rushed to get online decades ago, future businesses will issue NFTs to customers. Some may sell goods and services in a virtual reality metaverse. As an entrepreneur, you might be wondering how a decentralized Internet will affect your livelihood.

Let’s dive into Web 3.0 and discover why it matters.
Web 3.0, simply explained


Before explaining Web 3.0, we need to understand how the Internet has evolved since the 1990s.
Web 1.0: read
Web 2.0: read / write / share
Web 3.0: read / write / own
Web 1.0

Web 1.0 (1991 to 2004) was when people went on the Internet to read information and look at pictures, such as Wikipedia. You went online by dialing in with a landline telephone, and there was no way of sharing content apart from email.

Blogs, journals, and chat forums were the village halls of the early Internet.

The seeds of web empires began to bloom during this era, including Yahoo, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

You might remember Web 1.0 as the read-only Internet.
Web 2.0

Web 2.0 (2004 – present) is when the Internet became social. With the advent of the iPhone in 2007, we moved from going online a few hours a day to an “always-on” state — the Internet was now in everyone’s pocket.

Unlike in the 1990s, where you passively read websites on a personal computer, you could now share content, talk to friends, and interact with strangers on smartphone apps.

But that’s where many of today’s problems began as Meta (formerly Facebook), Google, and Twitter have become unaccountable monopolies selling your data, disregarding your Internet privacy, and controlling your ability to make money online.
Web 3.0

Web 3.0 looks to give power back to users.

In the Internet’s third phase, you won’t have to rent space from Big Tech companies anymore. Instead, you can own digital property on blockchain software like Ethereum and Solana and receive compensation for the value you create on them.

Let’s say you’re a musician or a tech podcaster. You can create a private record label and distribute content directly to listeners instead of giving a cut of your sales to Spotify or SoundCloud.

Creators and businesses are building decentralized apps (dApps) on peer-to-peer blockchain networks, selling items to their followers, including exclusive access to virtual goods like NFTs.

Wrapping up Web 3.0

As the metaverse starts to take shape, there’s a feeling that IoT technology is inching closer to a transformative moment in the Internet’s history.

Decentralizing technology is blazing through the economy, and businesses that don’t understand digital ownership will fall behind. History is full of defunct companies that failed to adapt to change.

If you told a florist in 1995, they would sell flowers on a website. They would probably dismiss you as crazy. Well, it’s only a matter of time before small business traders issue NFTs and set up shop in the metaverse.

Web 3.0 is the future of the Internet, and it’s coming faster than you think.