Is Web3 just around the corner or decades in the future? What will it change? Let’s take a look at some possibilities and projects.
People in the tech community and beyond have been excitedly talking about Web3, or Web 3.0. It’s the next generation of the internet, and many analysts think it will drastically differ from what everyone uses now.
What are Some of the Main Expectations for Web3?
People are still hard at work figuring out what Web3 development will look like as it continues taking shape. However, there’s some agreement about its main characteristics. Here are some of them.
More Decentralization
The blockchain comes up in many Web 3.0 discussions, and people believe the two will have close links. That’s because decentralization will be a defining feature of the new generation of the internet.
People at Protocols Labs are working on a project that shows what’s possible. It’s called the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) stack and is an essential part of a peer-to-peer network that works alongside the centralized system.
There are layers for networking, data definition and naming, and the information itself. The decentralized nature of Web3 should enable people to have more control over their particulars rather than huge organizations keeping and managing it for them in exchange for letting them use sites and services.
Improved Artificial Intelligence (AI)
As people ponder the future of Web3 development, they often bring up highly intelligent machines that allow humans to have new, richer interactions with them. The way many individuals place orders, get information, and play games while interacting with smart speakers previews the possibilities.
One source estimated there will be approximately $1.25 billion worth for the global chatbot market by 2025. Web 3.0 is likely one of the factors helping get there. For now, most people interact with chatbots by typing in keyboards. However, as the internet improves, users can look forward to multimodal user interfaces where they can listen to or read a bot’s response and even use touch to interact with the content.
The Rise of the Semantic Web
People also believe Web3 will lead to the creation of the Semantic Web, where computers and programs go beyond understanding numerals or keywords. They’ll process the meaning behind a user’s query, allowing the machines to have more intelligent, useful interactions. Some people even refer to Web 3.0 and the Semantic Web interchangeably.
Natural language processing (NLP) has already allowed computers to make significant progress in handling data. A company called Wefarm created text-message shortcodes that help approximately 2.6 million smallholder farmers ask questions of their peers and get those queries to the right parties.
Web 3.0 should take similar interactions to greater heights. Computers will analyze people’s inputs with the necessary context behind them. When that happens, users should get accurate and more relevant results.
When Can People Start Using Web 3.0?
There will not be a single date when Web 3.0 is available for everyone to use. Instead, Web3 development will happen gradually, particularly as more companies work on related products. In some cases, users will need devices capable of working with the Web 3.0 infrastructure.
That said, it’s possible to use some services built to work with Web 3.0 now. One example is Follow, which launched in September 2021. It’s a decentralized social protocol geared toward people interested in getting involved in Web3 development.
Anyone can reportedly make applications with it, especially since Follow provides basic development tools on its decentralized, blockchain-based platform. Some of the possibilities include making a music player or something resembling Instagram. One of the main things that sets Follow apart from other platforms is that people have complete control over their data and identities when using any app created in it.
Moledao is another company that’s aiming to make Web 3.0 a reality. It’s a social network for blockchain enthusiasts that helps them stay abreast of the latest news and development options. In November 2021, Moledao kicked off a Web3 hackathon. It ran until early January 2022 and encouraged all the global participants to work on Web 3.0-related projects.
What Can People Expect From Web3 in the Future?
The media is filled with perspectives from people weighing in about Web3. It’s not always easy to separate what may happen relatively soon and what’s more likely the product of people’s hopeful but overactive imaginations. However, here are some details of projects in the works.
A New Way of Paying for Things
Payment options have already diversified recently, thanks to increased adoption rates of contactless solutions. However, they’re about to get even more high-tech as Web3 unfolds.
Twig is a financial tech startup that recently raised $35 million in a Series A funding round. It will put that money toward Web 3.0 plans that allow people to buy cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by trading in their clothes and electronics for them.
Twig calls itself a “bank of things.” Its leaders envision a platform that caters to younger generations who are increasingly conscious about staying sustainable by not accumulating too much stuff. For now, users get cash in exchange for clothing and electronics. Although the company has its headquarters in the United Kingdom, there are plans to expand internationally.
If these new payment methods take off, such changes could have knock-on effects at e-commerce sites across the internet. One recent change has been the proliferation of services that let people buy things now and pay for them later. Besides getting details about those offerings, shoppers might see an expanding assortment of things they can use to make immediate or loan-based payments.
A Decentralized Organization Brings Inclusivity to Climate Change Discussions
Climate change won’t affect everyone equally, but most experts agree it’s a global issue. One problem is that many people most at risk for experiencing global warming-related ramifications don’t get to participate in discussions about how to combat them.
Another challenge is the push for improved sustainability happens erratically, rather than showing evidence of continual progress. An organization called Earth Fund aims to use Web 3.0 technologies to help.
It’s a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that believes Web 3.0 can spur some much-needed progress in the climate fight. One of Earth Fund’s platform features will help people learn about and vet organizations before contributing to their projects.
Earth Fund will also issue a native cryptocurrency called the 1Earth Coin. People who hold those will have voting rights and influence how the organization operates.
A Different Destination for Social Video Sharing
TikTok took the world by storm by enticing users with short, and often funny or fascinating, video clips. Its owner, ByteDance, is a Chinese-based company that quickly became so popular that it gained traction elsewhere. However, one of the Web3 aims is that gigantic companies will no longer hold so much power. Instead, the internet users themselves can answer the what, when, why, and where-based questions about their sharing practices.
Chingari is an India-based social video-sharing platform that many see as a service that could become a direct TikTok competitor. It also already has many features that align with Web3 principles.
For starters, the platform will eventually operate as a DAO, whereby people with a stake in it have a say in how it runs. It also uses a different advertising model than what most social media users are used to now. Rather than creators merely getting small percentages of advertising revenue, Chingari bridges the gap between advertisers and creators.
In such an arrangement, the advertisers engage with creators directly. That link results in a more beneficial partnership that incentivizes the platform’s creators and makes it worthwhile for them to use and distribute content through Chingari.
Chingari also has a huge library of content made easier for people to navigate with artificial intelligence algorithms. It curates and recommends content based on how users have interacted with the platform before. Sites such as YouTube already do this, but Web3 should take such functionality to the next level.
Will Web3 Have a Major Impact?
This overview of Web3 development and characteristics helps people know what to look forward to relatively soon. Many analysts are also excited about how Web 3.0 may make the internet more accessible and allow people to access content from almost any device in their environment. These things all sound wonderful.
However, it’s too early to say how quickly these hopes could come to pass. Plus, there are almost always unexpected challenges with technological advancements. There will inevitably be some downsides along with all the perks Web 3.0 brings.
In any case, people have a lot to feel excited about in the coming years. Many individuals can probably think back to when the internet was still a rarity in many households and how it quickly changed the world. Even if Web 3.0 doesn’t have such a dramatic impact, it’ll help people use the internet and associated technologies in new ways.
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