Web 3.0: Definition, Opportunities and Challenges

Web 3.0 is the next iteration of the internet that will redefine the way we interact with the web. It promises to bring massive changes and calls for the reconstruction of IT infrastructure and the Internet. Web 3.0 incorporates concepts of decentralization, trust lessness, artificial intelligence, semantic web, etc

Definitions

Since Web 3.0 has not yet been implemented and is not embedded in the internet infrastructure, there is no solid definition of it. There are different perspectives on the future of the web, which lead to the confusion about terms Web3, Web 3.0, Semantic Web, and Spatial Web. The majority of articles and research papers on this topic talk about Web 3.0 either in blockchain and decentralized web context, or in the context of the Semantic Web. Because of this different interpretation of terms, it can lead to misunderstanding in readers and may also contribute to the general vagueness around Web 3.0.

Tim Berners-Lee and Semantic Web

The first concept concerning the new iteration of the web belongs to the creator of Tim Berners-Lee. In his 2001 paper, he mentioned the concept of the ‘Semantic Web’[1]. This is a vision of the web where computers can understand and interpret the context of data which will make the search more enhanced and intuitive. Tim Berners Lee expressed his view of the semantic web as follows:

               I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become capable of analyzing all the data on the Web – the content, links, and transactions between people and computers. A "Semantic Web", which makes this possible, has yet to emerge, but when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy, and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to machines. The "intelligent agents" people have touted for ages will finally materialize.[9]

However, as time passed Web 3.0 went beyond just semantic web and encompasses AI, decentralization, and other matters.

John Markoff and Intelligent Web

The term Web 3.0 appeared first time in 2006 and was coined by a New York Times journalist John Markoff[2]. He referred to the third generation of internet-based services (such as those using semantic web, natural-language search, microformats, machine learning, recommendation agents, and AI technologies) as ‘Intelligent Web’.

Gavin Wood and Web3

Nowadays the term Web 3.0 is mostly associated with the concept of a decentralized web-based on blockchain technology. The term Web3 was coined by the co-founder of Ethereum Gavin Wood in 2014 and refers to a ‘decentralized online ecosystem based on the blockchain’[3]. It should be noted that in 1990 Tim Berners-Lee, has also underlined the importance of a decentralized web and explained this term in the following way:

“Decentralisation: No permission is needed from a central authority to post anything on the web, there is no central controlling node, and so no single point of failure … and no “kill switch”! This also implies freedom from indiscriminate censorship and surveillance.”[4]

It should be noted that often writers use notations Web3 and Web 3.0 interchangeably, which causes much confusion between these two concepts. In reality, Web3 should refer only to the decentralized web in the context of blockchain, while Web 3.0 comprises many concepts and technologies, including blockchain, semantic web, AI, IoT, etc.

History of the Web

The history of the internet has roots originating from the combined efforts of international researchers from France, the UK, and the United States. During the 1950s, the United States was concerned about the Soviet capability to attack the existing defense communication networks built on the telephone and electric lines.

The ARPA(Advanced Research Project Agency) Network, or ARPAnet, project was born to connect computers capable of withstanding a nuclear event. By 1965, packet switching technology made data transmission possible through the development of routing devices. In 1981, the National Science Foundation Network expanded ARPAnet to computer science (CS) researchers. Adopting the Transmission Control Protocol(TCP) in 1983, ARPA assigned a subset of the military network for public research to connect CS departments around the US. 1989 saw a technological leap in Internet communications when Tim Berners-Lee a researcher at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) created the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), an open standard that allowed different computer platforms to access the same webpage. [5] From an obscure idea to becoming an essential part of our daily lives, computers have gone from monolithic devices functioning effectively as an island to connecting billions of people through the Internet.

Web 1.0

In 1989, the term ‘web’ was coined by Tim Berners-Lee who contributed to the technical concepts of: HTML - Hypertext Markup Language, where web browsers can read and display web pages and applications. URI - Uniform Resource Identifier, a unique address used to identify the location of a web resource on a computer HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol, a set of rules which allow the exchange of files over the world wide web.

Characteristics

Web1.0 served a set of static web pages which displayed only text and images. Although the page may serve useful information, users are not incentivized to return since they were unable to interact with the website.

What was shown was only the number of visits the page had and often these web pages were hosted on ISP-owned web servers [6]

Many Web1.0 applications were proprietary where users could download the software, but how the program worked or was modified was kept secret. [7]

Limitations

Due to the proprietary nature of Web1.0, the different HTML tags meant that users had to use different browsers to access web content. [8]

The static nature of Web1.0 meant that the client(browser) can only pull data from the server and any data will not be pushed automatically without client interaction.

Web 2.0

Web2.0 introduced interactive pages where users could share their comments, opinions, and thoughts. From web content voting, and blogging to curation with RSS, Web2.0 allows users to interact with each other.

Characteristics

Enhanced User Interaction The introduction of AJAX, asynchronous Javascript, and XML allows a video to be played without waiting for the entire file to load. [9] Web2.0 as a platform A trend-driven by Facebook(Meta), is to host other web applications and games on its platform by sharing their APIs. This enhancement allows Facebook users to play games together without creating a new account on other websites. [10]

Targeted Advertising and Interactive Banners With tools such as Search Engine Optimization(SEO) and Google Ads, the use of visitor fingerprints allows websites to serve relevant advertisements that the user will likely be interested in. This allows platforms and website owners to earn revenue and advertisers better targeting when serving advertisements to visitors.

Limitations

Continual updates  - Improvements in technology have made hardware upgrades mandatory.

Information overload and filter bubble - Web 2.0 provides users with a vast source of information. However, the astroturfing of page ranks in Search engines by companies could mean that users are presented with web pages that may not be the most relevant. In addition, social media companies are incentivized to keep users on their platforms. The amassing and sale of their data to advertising companies raises the issues of digital security and personal privacy. [11]