Transferring from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0… How is it?

Unlike Web 1.0 where users are limited to just acting as passive internet viewers that take in information (e.g. Mp3.com, britanica Online, and Personal websites), Web 2.0 which is the second generation of the internet which also happens to be the current state of the internet allows for more user generated content and utilization for end-users.

Web 2.0 does not involve continuous updates to the internet rather it refers to a higher level of information sharing and interconnectedness and total participation among users. This new version does not only allow users to only view and take in information passively. Hence, participating actively on the user experience.

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OptriSpace Team

In general, Web 2.0 refers to websites that encourages user-engendered content, functionality, participatory, collaborative, experiential routine and responsiveness for users.

Examples of Web 2.0 platforms include the following: hosted services such as (e.g. Google Maps), Web applications (e.g. Google Docs, Flickr), Video sharing sites (e.g. YouTube, Vidmate), blogs (e.g. WordPress, blogger, Joomla), social networking (e.g. Facebook, Wechat, Myspace), folksonomies (e.g. Delicious), Microblogging (e.g.Twitter), podcasting (e.g. Podcast Alley) & content hosting services and so on.

Where as, Web3 is an idea, vision, and development of a decentralized web that is nearly free of centralized third-party intermediaries. This feature essentially makes it secure in terms of privacy. And this property makes it more user sensitive. The idea was first presented by no other person than inventor of the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee in 1999 as a Semantic web that would involve AI.

Brief history of the Web

The World Wide Web (www) was invented  by a British scientist, Tim Berners-Lee in 1989, while working at CERN. The Web was originally designed and structured to meet the demand for automated information-sharing between scientists in universities and institutes around the world.

Web 1.0  was  thefirst implementation of the web and it lasted from 1989 to 2005. It was described as web of information connections. According to the innovator of World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee regards the Web as read-only Web.

The term Web 2.0 was formulated by Darcy DiNucci, an information architecture consultant, in her January 1999 article “Fragmented Future“.

Writing when Palm Inc. introduced its first web-capable personal digital assistant (supporting Web access with WAP), DiNucci saw the Web metamorphosing into a future that extended beyond the browser/PC combination it was identified with. She focused on how the basic information architecture and hyper-linking technique established by HTTP would be used by a variety of devices and platforms. As such, her “2.0” nomenclature refers to the next version of the Web that does not directly relate to the term’s current use.

The term Web 2.0 did not reappear until 2002. In 2004, the term began to make waves when O’Reilly Media and MediaLive hosted the first Web 2.0 conference. In their opening remarks, John Battelle and Tim O’Reilly outlined their definition of the “Web as Platform“, where software applications are built upon the Web as averse to upon the desktop.

Web 3.0 on the other hand was first originated by John Markoff of the New York Times and he suggested Web 3.0 as third generation of the web in 2006. Web 3.0 can also be known as “executable Web”. It is one of modern and evolving topics associated with the following innovations of Web 2.0. Web 3.0 is also known as semantic web. Semantic web was established by Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web. There is already a dedicated team at the World Wide Web consortium (W3C) working to improve, enhance, extend and standardize the system, languages, publications and tools have already been developed.

About Web 1.0

For us to have a broader understanding about the evolution of the future versions of the web, we need to have an overview of the very first version of the web which is the version  1.0.

Web 1.0 is described as a read-only type of web, the user can’t interact with the page content, it is limited to what the Webmaster uploads to the website. It is used to describe the first stage of the Internet. At this point, there were few content creators; most of those using the Internet were mere consumers. Static and inflexible pages were more common than dynamic HTML, which contains interactive and animated and more lively websites with specific coding or programming language. Content in this phase came from a server’s filesystem rather than a database management system (DBMS). Users were only able to sign online guestbooks, and HTML forms were sent to users only via email. 

Technologies & Characteristics of Web 1.0

Web 1.0 Technologies includes core web protocols: HTML, HTTP and URI.

The major characteristics of Web 1.0 are as follows:

  • The use of frames or framesets
  • It  consists static web pages and use basic Hypertext Mark-up Language.
  • Presence of Guestbooks
  • They have read only content
  • Presence of GIF buttons
  • HTML forms are sent via e-mail
  • The presence of a server’s file system
  • The use of inflexible HTML extensions, such as the <blink> and <marquee> tags

Limitations of Web 1.0

The major limitation of Web 1.0 include the following:

  • It is possible to acquire only static information. And it was not possible to create dynamic events in Web 1.0
  • The Web 1.0 pages can only be understood by humans (web readers) they do not have machine adaptable contents.
  • The web master is solely responsible for updating users and managing the content of the website.

About Web 2.0

The term Web 2.0, characterized by Tim O’Reilly in 2004 refers to a second generation of version of Web pages. It is a read and write type of web understood as a new course of action, another method of participating in the network. This new configuration encourages and facilitates active participation, involvement and contribution. The user is no longer limited to access to information, rather creates it.

Web 2.0 encourages major properties like association, participatory, collaborative, sharing and distributed practices which enable official and unofficial domain of daily activities to progress successfully on the web. Instead of merely reading a Web 2.0 site, a user is invited to contribute to the site’s content by commenting on published articles, which increases users participation. They encourage users to rely more on their browser for more user experience.

Web 2.0 established new features, such as multimedia content, interactive and responsive web applications, which mainly consisted of two-dimensional screens. Tech platforms Such as Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, and Google, made it easy to connect and engage in online transactions courtesy of these aforementioned features of the web 2.0.

Web 2.0 has now makes it possible for users to be using the platform for different purposes based on their immediate needs;

  • Technology Purpose: Web 2.0 has become a platform with software above the level of a single device system. Technologies relating to RSS feeds, blogs, wikis, podcasts, and so on are now connected with the Web.
  • Business Purpose: A way of structuring software and businesses. The business remodelling in the computer industry caused by the shift to internet as a platform now makes it possible for business transactions to take place on the internet platform.
  • Fun and Entertainment Purpose: The Social Web is often used to characterize sites that comprised of relevant communities. It is mostly about content management and new means of communication and interaction between users. Web applications that encourages collective information production, social networking and maximizes user to user information exchange, entertainment and fun fare. Are all part of web 2.0 projects.
  • Education Purpose: The evolution of the internet which has given room for other purposes, did not in any way exonerate the main purpose and reason for its discovery which is majorly for educational purposes.

Technologies & Characteristics of Web 2.0

Web 2.0 as an improved version of Web 1.0 uses the latter’s foundational HTML framework.

The major Technologies of Web 2.0 include the following:

  • XML or JSON is typically used in formatting data fetched by an Ajax request in Web 2.0

The major Characteristics of Web 2.0 include the following:

  • The use of Database Management System (DBMS) other than the traditional filesystem used by Web 1.0.
  • Folksonomy: folksonomy is one of the major characteristics of web 2.0. It is also one of the advantages web 2.0 has over the 1.0 version of the web. Examples of folksonomy is the tagging of websites, images, videos or links on the websites. The use of “# tags” on twitter is made possible due to the possibility of folksonomy attribute.
  • Mass involvement: There is more reasonable number of users of Web 2.0 than the earlier version of the web. It was structured to accommodate millions of users at a particular period of time.
  • Loaded user experience: Web 2.0 has more interactive and responsive user interface (UI) (e.g., a user can click on an image to enlarge it or get more details).
  • User contribution: Web 2.0 is structured in a way that users are deeply involved in knowledge sharing and content creation. Users are major stake holders in information flows through assessment, review, and online commenting  and contribution. (e.g., Wikipedia, which is an online encyclopedia that allows anyone to write and edit articles).
  • Software as a Service (SaaS) : Web 2.0 allows for software licensing business model which involves subscription on a cloud-based software.

Limitations/ Challenges of Web 2.0

Just as we all know that no machine is 100% efficient, therefore Web 2.0 on the other hand has its own inefficiency. And below is the following shortcomings encountered by Web 2.0 technology:

  • Continuous repetition  sequence of substitute and Updates to services
  • Debating issues relating structure and usage of Web 2.0
  • Interconnectedness and information dissemination between platforms across community boundaries are still restricted
  •  it also increases the incidence of “spamming”, “trolling”, doxing, identity theft and can even create an avenue for hate speech, cyberbullying, and defamation.
  • There is still limitation to total privacy of clients data. making users to  be at the mercies of the Webmasters

About Web 3.0

Web 3.0 which is also referred to as executable Web is predicted to be called the Semantic Web because it will be programmed to be sensitive to every user’s needs. The basic ideology behind web 3.0 is to define structured data and connect and align them in order for more effective discovery, automation and robotization, integration, and re-utilization across different applications.

It is able to improve data management, encourages accessibility of mobile internet,  ingenuity, originality and innovation, supports factor of democratisation agenda, enhance customer’s satisfaction and help to organize collaboration in social web. where data isn’t owned but shared instead, where services show different views for the same web or the same data. Those services can be applications (like browsers), devices or others, and have to be focused on context and customisation, which can be achieved by using vertical search.

The main purpose of the Semantic Web is driving the modernization of the current Web by allowing users to find, disseminate and combine information more easily. The Semantic Web, as originally envisioned, is a system that enables machines to comprehend and respond to complex human requests based on their meaning and content. Such a “comprehension” requires that the important information sources be semantically arranged.

Web3.0 encourages world wide database and web aligned structures which in earlier phase was labeled as a web of document. It involves majorly with static HTML documents, but interactively oriented pages and alternative formats should follow the same suppositional layout standards whenever possible and links are between documents or part of them.

Hence, According to the W3C,“The Semantic Web provides a common framework that allows data to be shared and reused across application, enterprise, and community boundaries “.

Applications of Web 3.0

With blockchain at the foundation of Web 3.0, it allows a growing number of different types of new applications and services to exist, including the following:

How Web 3.0 will Affect our current use of the internet

At some point in our lives, we have all heard of data being leaked, sold or hacked, and there was nothing that could be done about it. Why? Because we do not completely own our data even though it belongs to us. Once our data is online or otherwise shared through centralized digital medium, people or corporations are free to do whatever they wish with this information, which has a direct effect on us.

Therefore Web 3.0 is here to introduce to us a decentralized web approach that will help us to at least completely own all the  data that belongs to us and free to use however we like. As if this is not enough, the decentralized web will also enable us to trade, transact, communicate, and work better without the involvement of any third party, be it a government, corporate, or any individual of any kind. Unlike the centralized system where there is an arbitrary central authority, instead of a form of distributed consensus.

Another major benefit of the Web 3.0 concept is the idea of compensating users for their data and time invested on the Web 3.0 platform. Tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft are some of the few companies currently making an enormous profit from user data. But web 3.0 will enable all of us to be compensated for our time and data. People have been majorly exploited by tech firms, deceived into giving valuable data away with little or no compensation from the firms who collect and benefit from it. Instead, with web3.0 people should be paid for the data they share.

The role of Web 3.0 in Cryptocurrency

Web 3.0 has been envisioned and programmed to also basically work with cryptocurrency, more so than with fiat currency. Finance and the ability to pay for goods and services with a decentralized manner of payment is authorized  across Web 3.0 with the use of cryptocurrencies, which are all built and enabled on top of blockchain technology. However, Web3.0 heavily involves cryptocurrencies and blockchain to keep the dream in motion. Today, there is a lot of rumors and speculations concerning NFT or Countries ( e.g. El salvador) making crypto a legal tender. While there is no timeline on when these might be fully implemented, we can still see multiple companies and platforms building the pieces of infrastructure that are key to Web 3.0.

For instance, OptriSpace is a freelance platform built on top of blockchain that implements DAO mechanisms and uses crypto as a payment method. It also makes use of Smart Contract deployed on the blockchain, which each customer (freelancer) have to sign with their own wallet. Customers can not alter the state of the Smart contract without the knowledge and approval of the Freelancer and vice versa. Why? Because all steps are protected by code on the blockchain And no one can make a change to Smart Contracts except participants. Doesn’t it sound interesting?

We all can attest that Finance is the fundamental entity of everything that we do today across the globe. Currently, there is  involvement of third parties if you have to trade or transact. In the coming years, decentralized finance (DeFi) will be the future, and platforms like Binance will then come in fully to build DeFi hubs.

But as a Layman, we may not have to bother much to use Web 3.0. Because services will be generally taken care of by organizations and platforms like Binance and OptriSpace. But come to think of it, it is virtually similar to the web version we currently use but more advanced, effective, open-source, skeptical, and decentralized.

Take an example of a service payment. If OptriSpace was not built on top of the blockchain technology and there has to be a service payment of USD 1000 between Customer and Freelancer who are in different countries, the process will be lengthy and potentially costly. One has to go through a time-taking process and pay a bulky fee to finally complete the transaction. But Since OptriSpace is based on blockchain and cryptocurrency ideals and models (just as Web 3.0 will be more likely to), the process will be fast, cheap and secure as there will be a direct transfer of funds through borderless, global decentralized applications (dApps) and services in form of Smart contracts.

Technologies & Characteristics of Web 3.0

The HTML framework of the first generation (Web 1.0) of the internet will continue to be the foundational layer of the future generations. Though Web 3.0 is still evolving, but it is clear that there will be emphasis on decentralized applications and make extensive use of blockchain-based technologies. Web 3.0 will also make use of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to help empower more intelligent and adaptive applications. And also integration of semantic technology.

The major Characteristics of Web 3.0 include the following:

  • SaaS Business Model: One of the major characteristics of this version of the web is the existence of software-as-a-service or SaaS. This model entails selling cloud-based software for a monthly subscription fee. This is operated through a web browser, and businesses pay a monthly fee to have access to this software.
  • Open Source Software : Any one can inspect, edit and enhance the the content of the web without restrictions unlike the earlier version.
  • Web Customization:  In web 3.0, the web will be sensitive to every users need.
  • Resource Pooling : Multiple clients are served at one time due to resources and spaces that are combined in a resource pooling process. Depending on a client’s resource utilization, usage can be set to provide more or less at any given period.
  • Intelligent Web: More automation and Robotization is a critical feature of Web 3.0, and that automation will largely be powered by Artificial intelligence(AI).
  • Distributed Database (Decentralized): In contrast to the first two generations of the web, where execution and applications were largely centralized, Web 3.0 will be decentralized. Applications and services will be controlled in a distributed approach, where there isn’t a central authority. Therefore, the users of the web are no longer at the mercies of the webmasters.
  • Blockchain-based: Blockchain is the building block for the creation of decentralized applications and services. With blockchain, the data and connection across services are distributed in a manner that is different from a centralized database architecture. Blockchain can also authorize a rigid ledger of transactions and activity, helping to provide unambiguous originality in a decentralized sphere.
  • Cryptocurrency-enabled. Cryptocurrency usage is a key feature of Web 3.0 services which is largely in contention to replace the use of fiat currency.

Challenges of Web 3.0

Just like any technology has its shortcomings, Semantic Web as well faces several challenging issue like:

  • Enormity: The World Wide Web comprised of billions of pages. Then Verbosity in Data is possible, and it has always been difficult to abolish all semantically replicated terms.
  • Obscurity: This is due to the lack of definition of user queries. trying to combine different knowledge bases with traversing but subtly different ideas.
  • Unpredictability: These are logical contravenes which will unavoidably occur during the development of enormous rationalism, and when rationalism from different sources are joined together.
  • Deception: This arises when content creators are intentionally misleading the users with fake information.

Conclusion

This article provided an overview from the evolution of the web. Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 were described as the three generations of the web. Their characteristics, technologies as well as their applications were extensively highlighted.

Then transferring from Web 2.0 to 3.0 we have seen and noticed that there are much added user benefits, ranging from total data ownership and privacy, ending users exploitation by gifting them digital assets as a compensation for their time and data invested on the platform, providing a User personsonalizable platform that specifically attends to each Users needs and providing a very fast delivery service with the help of AI. Hence all of this where unable to be achieved by the 2.0 version of the web.

Author: Mark Godswill

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