🌐 The Internet is Changing?
Web 3.0 is being touted as the ultimate solution to all our current internet problems. But Dorsey and Musk disagree with this. Here's why.
Hello, if you're here, you should thank the internet (rather we should thank the internet for bringing you to us.)
It is the thing that connects you with the rest of the world.
You use it for shopping, reading, entertaining yourself and literally everything under the sun.
But what if we told you that the internet as you know it was changing.
Yes, our regular internet is now giving way to Web 3.0. And this Web 3.0 has been touted as an ultimate game-changer.
But two game-changers themselves believe it is not worth the hype: Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey.
In the last few days, they've talked a lot about Web 3.0, and we're here to decode their tweets.
Intro to Web 3.0
The chatter of the new internet is the new hip thing on the internet these days. Techies, creators, the news and even venture capitalists can't stop talking about it. This is because they believe this will truly democratise and revolutionise the internet.
Okay, sounds great. But how will this be possible?
For that, let us explain the difference between Web 3.0, and Web 1.0 and 2.0.
Web 1.0, as the name suggests, was the first version of the internet.
It introduced you to this magical world where you could access the knowledge of all kinds. But if you wanted to participate in this world, things got difficult. You needed to know how to build websites, otherwise, you couldn't add anything of your own to this world.
So people weren't happy being mere participants in this new frontier. Thus came Web 2.0.
In this version of the internet, you can easily participate, create videos, share your thoughts, without learning how to develop your own websites or how to create apps.
It is this version of the internet that allowed us to reach you.
And this was possible due to the tech giants Google, Facebook (now Meta), Twitter, Amazon, and the rest.
But this version of the internet came with its own set of problems.
You see, these apps didn't innovate for public service. They innovated and made the internet accessible for the money. And there were two ways they could make money, through ads and by selling our data. And selling our data only made the ads better. Because now they were tailored to our taste.
Also, this concentrated power is in the hands of a few companies.
To reclaim this power, and put our data in our hands, Web 3.0 was conceptualised.
Umm, how is this different from our regular internet?
Well, this internet will be decentralised, which means no one company or person will have complete authority over it. It will truly be the people's internet: by the people, of the people, and for the people.
For this purpose, it will be built of blockchains, public ledgers that record data. And for contributing to this record, you will be paid in cryptocurrencies or tokens.
Difficult to grasp?
Let's make it easy for you. Right now the internet is like an unpaid internship. You go on it, you waste some time, maybe do some work, and you receive nothing for it. Maybe a stipend if you do really good work. But you have no claim over this work. The company can use your work to earn millions maybe. And you just got a measly certificate and a few thousand bucks.
But Web 3.0 will be like a freelance gig. You dictate the terms of the work and you receive adequate compensation and credit.
Amazing, no?
The Solution to All Our Troubles?
Then why do Dorsey and Musk have a problem with it?
Well, Musk's problem is that he thinks Web 3.0 is all talk and no execution. He can't see how Web 3.0 is actually being converted into reality.
But Dorsey's problem is much more serious.
He claims the whole idea of Web 3.0 is utopian. Regular folks like you and I can never own the web. But why?
Because the rich and powerful always have an edge over us.
For instance, venture capitalists (like Andreessen Horowitz which is referred to as A and Z in Dorsey’s tweet), who have lots of cash and who got to know about this whole idea much before us have already invested over $27 million in Web3 and crypto initiatives.
They already own the tokens and the resources needed to have a say in this new venture.
And because of this very imbalance of power, Web 3.0 is not really decentralised.
Ultimately it is the same wolf just disguised as a sheep.
But at least the structure gives us some fighting chance, some scope to reclaim power. That's a start, isn't it?
Do you believe that Web 3.0 can actually revolutionise our lives? Or is it just another marketing buzzword?
Share this with your friends via WhatsApp or Twitter and help them declutter news from noise! See you tomorrow :)
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