From Web1 to Web2, to Web3 to Web5 now! As if technological advances are trying hard to compete with the speed of a leopard, or light!
I don’t know about you, but this has definitely stopped me dead in my tracks. (being dramatic I know 😛)
To those of you who care about the number sequence as I do, and wondering about web4, don’t worry, I will also bring the spotlight on that unpopular thing in this piece of writing.
So, are you ready to take a deep dive into this hacker noon story?
Buckle up and keep the ball rolling! 👀
Emergence of Web3
The term Web3 became the topic of discussion when the co-founder of Ethereum, Gavin Wood coined the term back in 2014, various years after Bitcoin went live as the first-ever blockchain. Though Web3 is still a loosely defined concept, this generally refers to websites that utilize blockchain technology for data and transaction handling.
Defi trading services, for example, UniSwap, are a prime example of Web3, because they completely rely on native blockchain functions. In addition, some browsers such as Brave and Opera have declared support for Web3, which will make it effortless for users to interact with upcoming Web3 standards, for example, blockchain domain name services (DNS) and on-chain transactions.
To say the least, the agenda of Web3 is not to only use cryptocurrency, but to use it in the most open way. The founder of Ethereum also describes Web3 as requiring decentralized, trustless, and permissionless native payments.
Web4 has Vanished?
“Where is Web4?” was the only question on the tongue’s tip of the people after Jack Dorsey announced the launch of the Web5 Platform.
Basically, web4, aka “Mobile Web”, is one that has the important infrastructure to adapt to the mobile environment. Just imagine a web that connects all mobile devices in the real and virtual world in real-time? Mind-boggling, right? 🤯
Well, Web4 allows voice interaction and mobility between the robots and users. If the focus in the previous websites was on the users using the internet by being in front of the desktop/laptop, the focus of Web4 is on letting the user use and distribute information, irrespective of location via mobile devices. That is why, Web4 has revamped the relationship between robots and humans, which will have a symbiotic interaction. Humans will have constant effortless access to robots in this fourth stage of the web, resulting in everyday life being more dependent on machines.
Jack Dorsey and Web5
Without a doubt, many of you have heard this term for the very first time just like me, but to my surprise, this terminology is not new. During my research, I heard that the investor of the Web, Tim Berners-Lee, talked about Web5 while giving a lecture at TED Talks back in 2009: “Open, connected, intelligent Web”, which he called the Emotional Web.
Jack Dorsey, the former Twitter CEO, has just dropped a bombshell by announcing a new platform on Twitter, called ‘Web5’, a combination of web2 and web3, built on the bitcoin blockchain.
On June 10th, 2022, Jack tweeted that Web5 will likely be our most important contribution to cyberspace. He, in that same tweet, depicted that he was happy and proud of his team. Not only this, TBD tweeted that Web5 is an extra decentralized platform on that same day.
The three core components of Web5 are as follows:
Decentralized identifiers
Verifiable credentials
Decentralized web nodes on which the decentralized web apps would be developed.
One of Dorsey’s Block’s Bitcoin Business groups, The Block Head (TBH), has created Web5. The platform brings data storage and decentralized identity to applications, as well as claims to solve personal data security issues.
The company jot the following words on their website,
“We struggle to secure vast amounts of data with innumerable accounts and passwords, which are hard to remember. On the web today, personal data and identity have become the property of third parties. Illicit activities encounter each day. Web5 lets developers focus on creating mesmerizing user experiences while returning ownership of identity and data to those it actually belongs.”
What To Expect in The Future?
The decades-long progression from Web1 to Web5 depicts a path in which blockchain got the back of the internet to gradually become more open to user input and free from central control.
There are already decentralized identity solutions based on decentralized identifiers on Web3, for example, the one developed in the ION using the Sidetree Protocol on top of the bitcoin blockchain. It is not clear what alternative routes will be utilized for funding and building Dorsey’s new version of Web3. The more steps taken focused on achieving a decentralized web, the better it will be for the users across the globe. But, it is crucial here that such initiatives can bring together all the financial as well as technical resources as well as competent people, who are committed to the hard work and efforts required to bring the decentralized web into being.
Hence, technological innovations and advancements pave the way toward an unpredictable future, and I am extremely excited to see what’s coming ahead.
Good luck to those who are working hard. 💚