In April and May of this year, the trend data of web3 in the WeChat index once surpassed that of the blockchain. Starting from December 2021, the word web3 suddenly went out of the circle, entered the traditional Internet, and then began to spread and become popular.
Judging from the recent financing situation and entrepreneurial dynamics in the Internet circle, it seems that traditional VCs are calling for "ALL in Web3". So what exactly is Web3? How will the future develop? The vernacular blockchain takes you to clear the fog and disenchant Web3.
What is Web3?
During this period of time, we have seen in the Internet entrepreneurial circle that everyone seems to be talking about Web3. However, there are various answers to what Web3 is. In fact, there is still no consensus definition, just like "metaverse".
What exactly is Web3?
To clarify web3, we still have to look at Web1 and Web2 first.
This picture has been widely circulated on the Internet before, and the summary is relatively clear.
Web1 is a readable Internet. In Web1, we can obtain news information from the Internet, but we can almost only obtain information unilaterally and cannot participate in interaction.
When it comes to Web2, there are some functions such as leaving comments, likes, private message chat, posting topics, etc. Therefore, Web2 is not only readable, but also writable and interactive.
As for Web3, we can not only read and write, but also own it.
What does it mean to have possession? In fact, it falls on the "control right": we have control over the account, the data information generated by the interaction on the platform, and the assets, etc., and we have the final say.
What exactly is the "control" of Web3?
So what exactly is control over Web3? Let's enumerate a few simple scenarios.
1) Control over the account
In the Web2 era, we must register an account to use platform services, or use unified accounts such as WeChat and QQ to log in. When your code of conduct does not meet the platform standards, your account may be restricted and banned at any time.
Therefore, in the web2 era, you actually have no control over the account.
However, in the web3 era, you can use one account to log in to all platforms, and behind this account is guaranteed by a series of cryptographic algorithms, game theory and other technical means, so that you have control over your account and will not be arbitrarily Restricted or banned by the platform.
In other words, in Web3, your account is in your own hands and will not be controlled by a centralized platform.
2) Control over data
In Web2, in order to obtain platform services, we have to sign data privacy-related clauses before using the platform, otherwise we cannot use related services.
In the process of using the service, a series of data will be generated . For example, on a certain treasure, we have data on product preferences, purchasing power data, and purchase frequency data. These data may all be produced by a certain treasure big data platform. User tags are sold to relevant stores as accurate user tags. This is why we feel that the platform recommends all the merchants and products we like, because our purchasing habit data tells them everything.
However, when we are sold to stores as precise labels one by one, we cannot get any benefits from it. We have accumulated a large amount of data for these platforms, and these data have become the core assets of the platform, but as the supplier and owner of the data, we cannot get any share of the pie.
However, in the Web3 era, the data we generate belongs to us. We can choose to open these data to the platform or to other merchants who need it, and when we open it up, we can obtain corresponding benefits. Of course, we can also choose not to open up. We can decide whether to sell or not.
Moreover, under the protection of cryptographic algorithms, etc., our data information is anti-censorship , that is to say, without our consent, no party can forcibly view our information. You can trust that in Web3, your chat history with your friends is completely private.
Therefore, this kind of control is the control without revealing data privacy.
3) Control over assets
There is really no need to say much about the control over assets. In Web2, our assets are kept in banks, Alipay, WeChat and other large platform institutions. In addition to physical assets, our money is only the data in these accounts. Will all the assets in your account be frozen one day or What about zeroing? This is entirely possible.
However, in Web3, you have the right to control your assets. Although the assets in your wallet are also a string of numbers, as long as your private key is there, your assets are still there. Basically, no one can forcibly confiscate your assets. assets.
What is the relationship between Web3 and blockchain?
So, after looking at these possible scenarios of Web3, we seem to be able to say the following about Web3:
Web3 aims to break trust in centralized platforms or institutions as much as possible, break their monopoly, and regain individual control over data, information, assets, etc.
In this way, it seems that the core of Web3 is back to decentralization.
When it comes to decentralization, the first thing we think of is blockchain. So, maybe we can say that blockchain technology is a technical means to realize Web3.
The current public chain projects seem to be classified into the category of Web3, but because of the difference in the degree of decentralization of different projects, the degree of these projects reaching Web3 is different.