The web was originally invented as a way for scientists and universities to communicate with each other. Over the years, with the development of our hardware and software, we were able to do more powerful things online. As a result of this fast-paced evolution of technology and human innovation, we are now able to communicate with people all around the world and have unprecedented access to information.
In an effort to breathe life back into the way we value what we have, I think that it’s important to look back at what led to this amazing and interconnected world that we currently live in.
In this article, I’m going to share with you the evolution of the web as well as some exciting things we can expect in the near future.
Let’s start at the beginning, Web 1.0 (also known as Static Web).
When the internet first started, people accessed websites just to consume information. Web pages were statically shown and provided no user experience. Websites in this era were almost all read-only -just like reading wiki pages of a topic that interests you. During this time, smartphones weren’t a thing and people considered them a fad which would eventually disappear. Static web was good for earlier devices that used relatively small bandwidth (compared to what we use today).
While this may seem like a bland and boring way of life, this was actually one of the most exciting technological developments during its time.
From the bland and boring, read-only web pages, we moved into Web 2.0!
Web 2.0 is similar to the web we know and love. During this time, we were gifted with social media. Social media was (and still is) the main source of interaction that enabled us to communicate with people from different parts of the globe. This was also the main era in which information was widely spread and easily accessible. Web 2.0 also gave us access to different varieties of content and entertainment that we could enjoy. This era was ruled by big tech companies that monopolized different web verticals (Such as Social Media, Content Distribution Websites, and E-commerce). Advertisers were able to harvest our personal data which made their advertisements run more efficiently by following our internet footprints. Users had no authority over their own data and the web was served to several big cloud hosting providers.
In a nutshell, Web 1.0 gave us all access to information with very little interaction other than reading what was on the page. From there, we moved on to Web 2.0 which provided us with increased connectivity and allowed us to socialize with people all over the world. With this increase in connectivity and interaction, companies were able to take and use our data without our permission. — Yikes!
Now that you know how things came to be, it’s much easier to appreciate the privacy that we know and enjoy on a daily basis.
With your renewed sense of appreciation for the present, let’s talk about Web3.0, also known as the Semantic Web!
This next generation of internet enables users to govern their own data by leveraging the power of decentralized networks. A great example of this is the use of The Onion Router (TOR) networks in which networks rely on users to run their own part of the internet (these are called nodes) and also provide us with secure and private use of the internet. Users are responsible for their own data and big corporations cannot readily handle and sell a user’s information to advertisers.
Web 3 revolves around the idea of decentralization and content ownership. How is this all achieved, you ask? Well, there are some pretty interesting technology practices that enable all this which I will share with you before we conclude this brief history of the web!
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) — This is a concept in which an entity doesn’t rely on private companies to make decisions. The decision-making mechanism relies on code and smart contracts. The advantage of this approach is that every user is entitled to participate by using a voting mechanism. This approach is far more transparent than the conventional way that we are used to.
InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) — is a peer-to-peer storage solution in which Web 3 content (such as images, websites, servers, and databases) can be distributed across the blockchain. This approach of having IPFS as a storage solution enables users to host their own content without worrying if big tech storage companies will have a system failure. In addition, it makes your data secure by leveraging anonymous networks to store parts of your application.
We’re already enjoying more privacy online but can look forward to some really exciting developments in the near future.
Looking back at the history of it all, it’s amazing how quickly we went from a read-only, no interaction space to an era where people can speak freely while still having access to privacy when they take proper precautions online.
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If you want to learn more about the different types of technology that we enjoy today, bookmark our blog because we’ve only scratched the surface of some really great tech topics. We’ve got loads of content coming your way and would love nothing more than to have conversations with you. Hit us up in the comments section if you’d like to talk about a particular topic or share your insights on this article.
This article is written by Rajwinder
