Since Web3 emerged in 2014 as a term to describe the new types of protocols that enable decentralized consensus, it has now come to describe an entire ecosystem of public blockchains, applications, and even design philosophies. As with other great esoteric ideas, the question “What is Web3?” elicits a torrent of answers that are as varied as the people articulating them. For some, new jargon can be alienating, so in this blog post, we cover nine ideas that describe Web3 with plenty of examples to understand these ideas in practice.
- Web3 is the new trendy name for the decentralized web.
- Web1 is read-only, Web2 is read-write, Web3 is read-write-own.
- Web3 is a money layer for the internet.
- Web3 is an identity layer for the internet.
- Web3 is a reaction to social networks not keeping our data secure, and selling it for their own profit.
- Web3 is a way for artists and creators to not only own what they produce on a platform, but the platform itself.
- Web3 is a new patron model for the internet.
- Web3 makes it easy to set up cooperative ownership and governance structures.
- Web3 is still not entirely decentralized.