Who knew the internet gets sequels?

There are two ways to define Web3.

The more complicated but more specific way to think about Web3 is an internet owned by users.

That’s the dream of crypto boosters, who say the integration ofblockchaintechnology will lead to an egalitarian internet.

The fix is Web3, which uses decentralized technology to cut out the middleman.

“You are not empowered to make payments per se.

In reality, you must contact your financial institution to do it on your behalf.

You are not trusted to do something as innocuous as pay your water bill.

You are treated like a child appealing to a parent.”

Some go further, envisioning an internet where platforms are decentralized by ownership spread among users.

A hypothetical Web3 version of the social online grid wouldn’t undergo an initial public offering.

Instead, it would create a cryptocurrency token and airdrop it to early adopters.

People would be rewarded for going viral.

Perhaps tokens would be earned based on engagement.

Yet critics call it a pipe dream that’s technically impossible to achieve.

What are Web1 and Web2?

If there’s a Web3, there must necessarily be a Web1 and a Web2.

Thankfully, these definitions are much easier to wrap your head around.

Web1 is the first iteration of the internet.

It’s the internet of the 1990s and early 2000s, sometimes called the “read” internet.

Crucially, the protocols it ran on were open source.

Web3 explained in 1 imageVia@haltakovpic.twitter.com/cNO6XTqShm

Web2 is the “read/write” internet that kicked off around 2004.

“Read/write” refers to option of people to upload information as well as download it.

Think about uploading posts and photos to Facebook and publishing videos on YouTube.

But that also gave way to the rise of platforms that increasingly dominated the internet.

Meanwhile, metaverses likesDecentraland and Sandboxembody the ethos of Web3.

The idea is that everything in these metaverses is owned by users.

you might run games and provide services to others within the space – for a fee.

Most importantly, it’s possible for you to decide what to do with the space you own.

Where Meta places its metaverse on the centralization scale is a topic of speculation and fierce debate.

Are there downsides?

The answer to this question depends on who you ask.

Others, likeElon Musk, question whether Web3 exists at all.

TheTesla and SpaceX founder calls it"more marketing buzzword than reality."

Beyond philosophical disagreements, there is uncertainty over whether a true Web3 can actually be technically achieved.

Ethereum, the blockchain on which most of this is based, is notoriously inefficient.

Transactions are costly and energy intensive.

There are also concerns about how economically decentralized Web3 can really be.

Big venture capital firms have made huge investments in Web3 technology: just under $18 billion last year.

And the likes of Twitter co-founderJack Dorseyexpect that these powerful companies will own the industry.

“It’s ultimately a centralized entity with a different label,“Dorsey tweetedin December.

“Know what you’re getting into.”