What is Web3? Web3 is termed as the "read/write/own" phase of the internet, building on its predecessors.

Web1 offered basic, static websites with limited interaction, akin to reading a magazine. Web2 evolved into a more interactive space, enabling users to both consume and create content across platforms like social media, but raised concerns about data privacy and control. Web3 addresses these concerns by allowing users to own and govern the digital spaces and assets they interact with, through blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, marking a shift towards decentralized control and ownership.

What were Web 1.0 and Web 2.0? Web 1.0 is often referred to as the “read-only” web.

Web 2.0 was the next phase of the internet, which has been largely defined by a move to the mobile internet, and led by social media platforms and large financial institutions. Most of the internet is still using web 2.0’s platforms and institutions. If you’re wondering if you’re using web 2.0, ask yourself which apps you used to communicate with your friends and family today, and how you most recently checked the balance of your checking account.

The advent of web 2.0 saw people co-creating content with the websites and apps they were using (think: filling out and customizing your social media presence). But even if you’ve customized your profile and have made it feel like it’s your own, the images, data, and information you share on these platforms belong to the corporations that own them — not to you. Many refer to web 2.0 as the “read-write” web.

What are the core principles of web3? First and foremost, it’s decentralized. Instead of being controlled by corporations and other large entities that can take users’ information and utilize it however they choose, web3 allows users to own their own information and items and distribute them how they see fit.

The blockchain is basically a large, digital, public record. The most popular blockchains are distributed across many nodes (read: people’s computers), which is why you’ll hear them described as “decentralized.” So instead of a central company-owned server, the blockchain is distributed across a peer-to-peer network.

This ensures that the blockchain remains immutable. And because the blockchain records and preserves history and acts as an unbiased party, transactions on it can be “trustless” in that they don’t require you to put your trust in someone in order to transact. Similarly, because the transactions are carried out by a network of computers, they are “permissionless” in that they don’t require the permission of a third party.

What can you do on Web3?

Web3 makes the proliferation of cooperative governance structures for once-centralized assets. Anything at all can be tokenized, whether it’s a piece of art, a gaming item or tickets to an event.

The future of web3 As Web3 evolves, it is expected to revolutionize digital interaction and ownership, with advancements in decentralized digital storage, secure and efficient internet browsing, financial system interactions, gaming, social networks with data ownership, and new operating systems, integrating these technologies into everyday use, making "Web3" a fundamental aspect of digital life.