Web 3 and blockchain are all the rage these days. Whether you want to jump on the bandwagon or not, it’s good to have a basic understanding of web 3. But we need to start at the very beginning - Web 1.

Web 1 was a basic connection of documents through hyperlinks. The internet was read-only.

Web 2 came in the late 90s and early 2000s. This is the internet we know today. It’s centralized and governed by middlemen like tech companies (Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc), that provide services in exchange for data.

Web 3 is a decentralized but secure system where people can exchange information and make transactions without tech companies and banks. It allows anyone to participate without monetizing their personal data.

Benefits of Web 3

• There’s no permission needed to use the services in the network.
• No one can block you or deny you access to the service.
• Payments are built-in via the native token, for instance, ether (ETH).
• It’s more secure since the network is run by nodes all over the world. The only way to "hack" a web 3 system is to perform a 51% attack: convincing the majority of nodes to agree to whatever you want them to do.

Limitations of Web 3

• Transactions are slower on web3 because they're decentralized.
• Interacting with web3 applications can require extra steps, software, and education. This can be a hurdle to adoption.
• Lack of integration in modern web browsers makes web3 less accessible to most users.
• Most successful decentralized apps put very small portions of their code on the blockchain as it's expensive.

In conclusion

I learnt a lot about Web 3 from Web 3 University. And also from participating in BlockGames in partnership with Zuri team and NestCoin

Cover photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash