Web 3.0 Studio
Web 3.0 builds upon the foundation of Web 2.0, which is characterized by user-generated content, social media, and interactive web applications.
Web3 is a vision for the Internet that is slowly taking shape in front of our eyes.
Or rather, it’s not in view, but behind the scenes, and the shape it is taking is not predetermined.
One thing is for sure though – change is coming. And to understand the change it’s important to understand the past.
Web 1.0
The first stage of the public internet – the World Wide Web lasted from 1994 to 2004 and was all about reading content that others had put online. Data lived in may places but was static.
Web 2.0
The second stage started in 2004 with Facebook, which was followed by other services like Twitter and YouTube. Advances in technology made it possible for them to create ‘free’ but proprietary services that you could interact with. Not only could you read content but you could also add it. Companies like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google (FANG) amassed huge amounts of data, which they then sold to advertisers. Their data was centralized in few locations.
Web 3.0
Concerns over personal information and the continued evolution of technology are enabling the Internet to change again. The vision of Web 3.0 is one where you own your data, which is shared over services that are open source (not proprietary), and harness AI to create the ‘semantic web’. Data will be distributed through a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system – Blockchain. It is these characteristics that enable the existence of cryptocurrency. However blockchain will also improve the business processes that occur between companies, and between those companies and the consumer.
Dangers
While Web 3.0 is attractive because of it’s potential, it is not without it’s risk. For example, being decentralized, there is no government oversight or regulations for blockchain – it’s a bit like the Wild West and large blockchain players could monopolize the data storage just like others have in Web 2.0. Investors in cryptocurrency should also be very careful at this point. Though it will use AI and Machine Learning, Web 3.0 is being built by humans, and, well, we aren’t perfect.
The Leap of Faith
Your team at Dunham is watching and learning so that we can guide and advise our clients when smart opportunities arise. We are excited to see how Web 3.0 will help us “connect people through design and technology.”