We all have been witnesses of the evolution of the internet. From its early WWW stages where information was sent unidirectionally from servers to our devices, to the current state of constant intercommunication between clients and servers, we saw how the internet as a tool has adapted to what an ever-growing and constantly changing population requires from it, whether it’s sharing travel pictures with close friends or conveniently making purchases from the comfort of their homes.
But the now-called Web 2.0 has been around for more than 10 years without any significant backend changes. We can surely tell the difference between the “show-and-tell” websites from the 90’s and the infinitely more interactive ones we use today, but a change in user interaction can only go so far. The vast majority of the data that’s moved by the internet is stored in centralized servers, not only compromising the security of the data (as attacks can focus on single points of access) but also claiming ownership of all the data, which is currently related to every user’s personal life.
Unexpected Solution
This new necessity of privacy, data ownership and more robust security is what is driving the revolution many experts are calling the Web 3.0, a wave of backend changes that uses blockchain technology as the foundation for a true P2P network for data storage and transfer.
It all began with the proposal of Bitcoin back in 2008, only scraping the surface of what blockchain is truly capable of. Of course, at the moment, a decentralized way of handling monetary transactions and user data was a groundbreaking proposition, but it took many years for the true potential of blockchain to be realized.
With the development of Ethereum and smart contracts, more doors were open to implement similar distributed models to a variety of uses, from real estate property management and sales to the creation of platforms that handle their own internal currency. After that, in recent years we have seen a boom in the number of different blockchain-based projects released to cater to different needs.
How Will It Work?
Blockchain is quite easy to understand: Related data (transactions, files, contracts, etc.) is not kept in servers but in data blocks, and identical copies of the content of these blocks are kept in every node of the network. Via different consensus algorithms, all nodes make the decision of which content to include in the next block, which is encrypted and linked to the previous ones in the chain.
Some people might find it hard to think on how this model can change the way they interact with other users or service providers through the internet, but the fact that these blocks can contain virtually any kind of data makes it easily applicable, as we have covered in previous articles.
Electronic payments will no longer need to rely on banks, content creation platforms will be catered to each user without the need of centralized corporations like Youtube, social media data will be encrypted and safe from unauthorized handling, legal contracts will be entirely secure and executable only under the fulfilling of specific conditions written in code. There are many ways in which blockchain use can change the user’s life for the best, with little to no effort on their end. This is the potential, a better version of our internet.
The Aftermath
A “new internet” based on blockchain protocols may not feel as different as the transition from Web 1.0 to 2.0 felt, given that the visual aspect received a major overhaul back then, but it will clearly be more beneficial for the users in terms of data ownership and privacy, which have become very popular as talking points recently due to legal problems regarding Facebook.
If these events are used to convince people of the convenience of blockchain implementation, then the public opinion will drift away from Bitcoin-only to widen their perception on the technology and accept its utility in many aspects of their life like finances, health care, housing and entertainment.
Of course, the process of transitioning from centralized to decentralized platforms will be long and treacherous, facing strong resistance from already-big platforms that would not be willing to spend resources in developing a blockchain that can hold their massive amounts of data, but also from strict centralized institutions.
The good news is that blockchain support is on the rise, and many governments are already planning to implement small regulations to ease the adoption of blockchain in our day-to-day life. Countries like Singapore, Malta and Switzerland are examples on how legislation can work in favor of technologic revolutions, which later turn into benefits for the population itself.
It is practically impossible to know how long it will take for Web 3.0 to be the new standard, but the intention to make it so definitely exists.