The internet that we are using today is known as Web2. The internet we used (at least me) when we were kids was Web1.
Web1 is simply a “read-only” internet. If I recall how I used the internet when I was a kid, I mainly used it to browse websites that contained information. We access the web to read a webpage or maybe watch a video on the internet. This is a way of communicating, but it was read-only. It even makes sense why people call Web1 read-only web. The period from 1990 to 2004 can be roughly allocated to Web1.
Then comes Web2 with the emergence of social media, predominantly websites such as Facebook. Web2 is where now the internet is used for two way communication rather than just to read what is published. But one important thing you need to understand in Web2 is that these platforms (websites) that facilitate two-way communication are centralised platforms. This means someone is controlling them and you are sharing information through these owners of the platform. We heavily use social media platforms today, which is a core feature of Web2, but we are also giving them a tremendous amount of our information where they use it for advertising and other purposes. Remember the key feature here is that Web2 is a centralised system that facilitates “Read” and “Write” on the internet.
Let’s recap again, Web1 is a “read-only” web and Web2 is a “read and write” web.
So now it is the age of Web3, then what is the feature of Web3? Before I explain Web3, remember, Web2 is centralised and controlled by a few companies whom we place our trust with the information that we read and write.
Web3 is the next phase where we can read, write and own. At its core, Web3 is decentralised. That means it's not owned by a single company, say we have a Web3 based decentralised social media application where our information is not stored in a centralised location, and all the information, the communication we share on the web is owned by us, and not a centralised company. In Web2 applications, we place our trust in the company which manages the platform eg: Meta, but in Web3 it's a decentralised application and the ownership of the content there is yours. That is why Web3 is “read, write and own”. This is the idea.
The technology which we used to build a decentralised Web is blockchain. Blockchain fundamentally brings a system for decentralisation, that is why cryptocurrencies, NFTs are all based on blockchain technology. So Web3 is basically powered by blockchain technology. That is why people who talk about Web3 talks about cryptocurrency, NFTs and the metaverse because those are all decentralised platforms for money and digital assets. So all of these things together builds the Web3.
Honestly, we are yet to fully understand what contains in Web3, it's still at the very early stages of understanding. Even though social media such as Facebook were started in 2004, its full capacity was recently understood in recent years. Similarly, Web3 is just coming out and its full capacity will be understood a bit later, but won't take long as technology evolves on an exponential curve.
