Development of the World Wide Web: web1.0, 2.0 & 3.0
Development of the World Wide Web: web1.0, 2.0 & 3.0
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Over the past couple of years, Web3 has become one of the top sectors for investment by major VCs. In 2022 alone, web3 projects attracted more than $10 billion in investment. Most of you have repeatedly heard about the prospect of Web3, but not everyone understands what its real value and how it differs from the current 2.0?
The concepts of web1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 are used to classify the possible operations that characterize the network at different points in time. Let’s break it down in more detail…
Web1.0.
Web 1.0 refers to the first stage of the evolution of the World Wide Web, that is, it was the first version of the Internet. In 1.0 there were only a few developers and content creators, and the vast majority of users were consumers of information.
Personal web pages were common and consisted mostly of static pages hosted on web servers operated by ISPs or free web hosting services. This web existed from 1990-2004.
Characteristics:
1. Read-only content;
2. It is possible to create only websites;
3. Aimed at working with companies;
4. absence of any advertising.
Web2.0.
Web 2.0 was an important step forward that changed the idea of the Internet. It became more pervasive because it offered significantly more information, interaction between users, and the ability to create customized content. 2.0 also spawned an advertising-based revenue model.
Popular social networks (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, etc.) were launched during this very time when the Internet became less expensive and more pervasive.
Characteristics:
1. Content can be read and created;
2. It is possible to create Apps;
3. Aimed at working with all people at the same time;
4. Ability to communicate via WWW.
Web 3.0.
After 2.0, a third version based on decentralization, blockchain and the semantic web – Web3.0 – will enter the ring of fighters. Its main purpose is to increase the security and privacy of the web.
The semantic web (semantic web) is a publicly accessible global semantic network formed on the basis of the World Wide Web by standardizing the representation of information in a form suitable for machine processing (AI).
With the arrival of more and more mass adoption, projects from 3.0 will inevitably have an impact on their 2.0 progenitors. At this point, there are already potential web3 competitors for most of everyone’s favorite services. A few examples:
– Spotify -> Audius
– Google -> Presearch
– WhatsApp -> Status
– PayPal -> Metamask
– YouTube -> Livepeer
– Chrome -> Brave.
The main problem is that such projects still have a long way to go, which is almost impossible to pass without more adaptation of crypto for people (or vice versa).
One of the main differences between Web2.0 and 3.0 is the technology that each supports. Web2 runs on programming languages such as HTML5, PHP, CSS3, JavaScript, etc., while Web 3 will run on artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain technology.
