We hear a lot of buzzwords tossed around to the point where they mean nothing. It is something we see with the word Metaverse and now we are seeing it with Web 3.0. While it makes sense in the former case since that is down the road, the latter is happening now and will make a major difference over the next couple years.
Of course, do not tell that to Elon Musk who is still searching for it. Musk's tweet aside, there is some validity to the viewpoint. He is right to the extent that Web 3.0 is still a work in progress. It is not fully here.
The point is that, when it does arrive, people are going to be shocked.
Web 3.0 is going to be a lot bigger than people think. It also will be completely revolutionary.
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Attack On The Authoritarian State
This might seem like an overstatement but those who are in power do not realize what is coming.
Web 3.0 is viewed by many as a way to take applications and tokenizing them. Hence, we have the idea of tokenized social media or gaming assets. While this is a part of it, we will see there is a great deal more.
To fully understand what is going to take place, we need to delve to the basic level. At the core is blockchain. This is the revolutionary technology, not cryptocurrency. In fact, we could look at cryptocurrency as the first widescale application. It is similar to email and the Internet.
Blockchain is basically a distributed ledger. Permissionless blockchains are ledgers that anyone is free to engage with. Nobody is in control, therefore activity cannot be stopped except in extreme circumstances. If this is undertaken, risk of losing the confidence of the users accelerates. Thus it is going to be avoided wherever possible.
Right now, everything is transparent. We can see all data, including the user. Naturally, there is semi-autonomy since it is not individuals personal information. Nevertheless, that can be uncovered with a bit of detective work.
That is not the future. Down the road, we are going to see the data be transparent yet the user have full privacy. At some point, Digital ID systems will be constructed. The reason for this is because we are going to see more data operating in this realm. As blockchain is more widely accepted, the need for privacy increases.
Of course, being open-source in nature, this is something that users can demand. It is also a move that developers are free to provide. Remember, nobody is in control, including governments.
Many are already forecasting the different industries that are going to utilize blockchain in the future. Everything from real estate to healthcare to banking. The ability to own one's own data as compared to a corporation is alluring. It is also something developers can make a reality at some point.
We also have to keep in mind that not everything will be public. Blockchain is going to be the integration of both public and private systems. Some data might end up on the chain while other aspects of the health information, as an example, is retained in a private database.
Either way, any entity that is "in control" today of some aspect of our lives is under attack. The second we introduce permissionless into the equation, we see how the power structure can start to breakdown. Layer-by-layer this will happen.
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Empowered Individuals
Obviously is the entities that are in power are threatened, this means individuals are empowered. It is exactly what is taking place.
Let us take the simple example of a digital wallet tied to a permissionless blockchain. The reason why politicians point to the fact that cryptocurrency can be used for illegal activities is because they have little recourse.
A digital wallet is basically an unregulated, permissionless bank. It offers the ability to send, receive, and store money. With the introduction of truly Decentralized Finance (DeFi) applications, we can see how an entirely new network is being constructed. All of this empowers individuals. Unfortunately, freedom means that both the innocent and nefarious can utilize it.
Naturally, most people are not criminals. This is nothing more than an counter-attack by the establishment in an effort to hold onto something that is waning.
The horizontal structure of open-source means that control from the top is impossible. With the renewed focus upon security and privacy by the likes of David Chaum, we can see how the development community has some powerful players. Much of what they create will end up be a part of Web 3.0.
This will end up putting a great deal more control back in people's hands. In the digital world, this starts with metadata. Here is where much of surveillance capitalism comes from. If that is wrestled away from the major tech companies as people shift their allegiances, we see an entirely new world opening up. This means that if the user wants someone to know where he or she was, that entity will have to get permission.
Of course, with cryptocurrency, that most likely comes at a cost. In other words, payment will be required. No longer can these entities simply mine the data of its users. This is going to radically change the advertising industry which is dominated by Facebook and Google.
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Currency And Ownership
We are entering a realm where the gatekeepers are the world are under attack. Think of all the corporations that exist simply to facilitate something. With Web 3.0, there is no need for many of them. Obviously, a lot of them realize this and are trying to remain relevant. Over the next half decade, we will see this power struggle continue.
This is a common transition. For example, Netflix evolved to the point with streaming where Blockbuster stores were no longer required for video rental. Instead, the subscription-based model took over. Of course, this is evolving where broadcast entities are taking their libraries direct to consumers, as opposed to selling it to Netflix. This might be another step in removing the "middleman".
NFTs are the rage right now. There is good reason for this which is based upon potential. A NFT is a new ownership model. It does not depend upon anything outside oneself (and the blockchain it is built upon).
If we fast forward this concept a decade down the road, consider the industries that are going to be affected. Another way of putting it is ponder all that we register in some way. Each those entities are going to take a hit. There is no need for some entity to maintain an ownership trail when we have blockchain. Anything in the physical world could have a digital counterpart that is moved at the time of sale.
When we add in smart contract capability, even the law is upended. Consider how much of the legal profession, along with its tentacles, are built around this idea. Everything from the creation to dispute settlement involves millions of individuals. Of course, since we are dealing with people, there is the opportunity for corruption. It is a point many feel we are at.
Not your keys, not your coins.
This is a standard for the cryptocurrency industry. How about expanding it to "not your keys, not your property". This could equally apply to automobiles, stock, real estate, diplomas, and your entire digital profile. All of it will be in the hands of the individual.
How do we know the person owns it? Because the blockchain says so. If one has the keys to the wallet, it opens the golden kingdom. Nothing to dispute.
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Ultimately, our relationship to just about everything is going to change due to Web 3.0. This is the next iteration of the Internet yet we are at a time in history when our technical capabilities are very powerful. This means we can embark upon massive change for all of humanity within a couple decades. That really was never seen before.
It is also why people are underestimating how big Web 3.0 is going to be. Whereas Web 2.0 caused a massive shift, placing social media and digital communication as a significant part of our lives, the next generation carries even greater impact.
The world changed a great deal over the last 20 years. We are dealing with a much different baseline as compared to when we started the process toward Web 2.0. A lot was already digitized meaning that its advancement can happen with a few keystrokes on a computer.
Web 3.0 is not a marketing term or a moniker that people are throwing out there. It is going to be a powerful advancement of the Internet. Millions are involved with building this mechanism out. The innovation is just getting started.
If we go back to 1995, we truly had no idea how big "social media" was to become. Talking to people at that time likely would have yielded an underestimation of what was possible.
The same is true today. What we are projecting over the next couple decades will end up, in many ways, being an underestimation of what will unfold. This is simply how we deal with technology.
Web 3.0 is going to alter most aspects of society. The shift towards blockchain is only just beginning. By 2040, all databases will be tied to this in some way.
Consider the reach that it will have. This is a lot more than just tokenizing social media.
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