Web3 101

May 18

What is web3?
Web3 and Ethereum
What are the benefits of web3?
How do I access web3?
How do I create a web3 presence?
Web3 Glossary
Lingering Questions
References/Resources

What is web3 and how is it different than the internet we know today?

The gist: Web3 is the next era of the internet, focused on intelligent computing and a peer-to-peer network with no central authority.

To add some context, the evolution of the internet can be understood in 3 stages:

Web 1.0 (1990–2000) is the first stage of the web. It could be considered as read-only since there were few creators, and most users were consumers. Interactions were minimal.

Web 2.0 (2000 to present), aka the social web, coincides with the rise of user-generated content and social media platforms. It could be thought of as the read-write web. This version of the web is dominated by companies that provide services in exchange for your personal data, e.g. Facebook, Google, Amazon. So, user data is centralized.

Web 3.0 (2010 and beyond) is also known as the semantic web. In this version of the web, computers will be able to use AI and machine learning to interpret the meaning behind information, similar to the way humans can.

Per Jamie Burke at Outlier Ventures, it could be thought of as the unmediated read-write web, or the read-write-own web, because data is decentralized and shared freely, not owned and hoarded by large companies.

The key characterizations of web3 are:

Decentralized
Edge Computing infrastructure
AI-driven
3D Graphics (aka the Spatial Web)
Transparent/Open Source
Anonymous
Ubiquitous (IoT)

Web3 and Ethereum

Web3 is primarily run on Ethereum. Ethereum, like Bitcoin, is a type of cryptocurrency (usually called Ether, or ETH). But unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is also a technology platform built on the blockchain. DApps on the Ethereum blockchain use its built-in native token, Ether, to reward and incentivize users.

What are the major benefits of web3?

Semantic Web functionality means computers could better understand the meaning behind information, so they can deliver faster and more relevant results
Theoretically, decentralized data puts more power back in the hands of individuals. Now instead of large, centralized entities owning and selling user data, users will own their data and have more control over how they share that data
Payments will be seamless — faster, easier, and more anonymous — because payment is built-in via the native token, ether (ETH). Payment apps require no personal data and can’t prevent payments from going through. Your anonymous user ID is tied to your wallet, and this information travels with you easily from service to service (especially relevant for use in the metaverse)
Web3 will offer a far more personalized browsing experience, as a result of the ubiquity and connectivity of the Ethereum network
Web3 DApps are decentralized, giving users a higher level of data privacy and security
Content is un-censorable (for better and for worse) because there is no central authority
Web3 servers can’t go down the way they can for Web 2.0. This is because web3 is run on Ethereum, which is a distributed network hosted on thousands of computers. Web 2.0 servers are centralized, making them more vulnerable
User and Creator interests are more aligned, as users are incentivized to participate in the governance of DApps with tokens

How do I access the decentralized web/web3?

To access web3, you need to use a decentralized web browser, like MetaMask, Brave, Status, Opera, or Puma.

Some of these are mobile apps (Status and MetaMask), some are desktop browsers (Brave), and some offer browser extensions that you can add to an ordinary browser (MetaMask).

For example, adding the MetaMask browser extension to your browser on desktop, will give it the ability to view the decentralized web.

These browsers are also your digital wallet/anonymous ID that you use to login and interact with web3 DApps.

MetaMask seems to be one of the most commonly supported wallet integrations; most of the DApps I looked at offered a MetaMask login option.

You can find the MetMask Chrome browser extension here.

Another simple trick is adding .limo or .link to the end of a .eth domain. This will make it appear in a standard browser like a regular web 2.0 website. Try vitalik.eth.limo.

To discover decentralized websites, you can use a web3 directory like Esteroids or Almonit. Think Google Search for web3.

How do I create a presence on web3?

ENS Domains appears to be the most ubiquitous domain service for web3, and they offer .eth and .luxe domain extensions.

Unstoppable Domains is another popular provider, and they offer .zil and .crypto extensions.

Think GoDaddy, but for web3, and tied to your wallet.

Signing up for a domain is quick and easy, but the cost depends greatly on gas fees.

Web3 Glossary

Edge Computing is one of the primary layers of innovation that web3 is built on. It is a paradigm of distributed computing that brings data processing closer to the generation source, i.e. to devices and users. The shift to web3 is expected to spread data from centralized sources to the edge of networks — spreading computing power across devices like cellphones, sensors, appliances, computers, and vehicles. This could explode not only the amount of data collected, but our capabilities for data crunching.

DApps are decentralized apps that run on the blockchain, usually Ethereum. Interacting with DApps requires the use of a web3-compatible browser/wallet.

Mining is the process by which new units of digital currency are created. It’s also the way that transactions are verified.

Gas fee is the cost associated with transactions on the blockchain. ETH miners set the price of gas based on supply and demand. Right now, gas fees are prohibitively expensive for the average user, but an updated version of Ethereum called Eth2, or Serenity, is expected to make gas fees affordable. Gas fees also seem to fluctuate wildly depending on the market value of ETH. When ETH value drops, gas fees go up.

Smart Contracts are simply computer programs that run on the Ethereum blockchain. DApps use smart contracts in order to access the blockchain.

Lingering Questions

What’s still needed for web3 mass-adoption occur? In addition to the fact that barriers to entry are still a bit high for non-technical folks, it seems like there’s not much incentive for the average person to care about participating in web3 right now. Yes, there’s been a lot of mainstream attention on cryptocurrency and NFTs as an investment, but combined with its high-risk, that hardly seems like enough to draw in the masses.
Idealized visions of a fully open and decentralized web can come off like a libertarian or neo-liberal fantasy. Is there a political bend to the communities pushing web3 forward? What does it look like?
What are the consequences of an open, “unmediated” web? Obviously proponents tout the inability for censorship, but on the flip side, how will it be moderated? Regulated? What do the nay-sayers say?
Who stands to benefit the most from web3? There’s a lot of debate currently about how most of the development of web3 is fueled by VC funds, and whether big, private interests negate the goals of a truly open web.
What are the most common emerging business models for web3 apps? What’s the incentive driving web3 developers to build here vs. web 2.0? How will business levers be different (or not) compared to the business patterns that made web 2.0 companies successful (e.g. a dogged focus on scale)?
There seems to be a strong sense of ethos driving individuals and startups in the web3 space — openness, transparency, breaking down institutional barriers. But the amount of trust that a novice or non-technical user has to put into web3 applications doesn’t feel much different than the amount of trust we have to put into today’s applications when we fork over our data. How do I know I can trust the MetaMask browser extension, for example, as I use it to connect to my identity/payment details to all the web3 apps I’m using? What’s the opportunity for bad actors in the web3 environment to promise one thing and do another? Is it the same, better, or worse than the opportunity that exists in web 2.0 today?
What do experts predict will be the political & economic implications of web3? Individuals largely do not own their own data today. Decentralized data networks have the ability to bring individuals who were previously “the product” to be sold, back into the data economy as a participant. What does the opportunity really look like for people disenfranchised by web 2.0 to wrest control? It’s clear that web 2.0 had a profound impact on our political climate; I’d love to know what experts are thinking about what direction web3 and cryptocurrency could steer it.