How the Internet Changed the World: From Its Early Steps to the Web3 Revolution

The stages of the Internet: from Web1 to Web3. Learn how the Internet evolved from static pages to decentralized platforms where users control their data.

Stages of Internet Development: From Web1 to Web3

The Internet has come a long way since its inception, and its evolution is divided into three main stages: Web1, Web2, and Web3. Each of these stages has its own unique characteristics that reflect how users interact with the Internet and the role technology plays in that interaction. Let's look at these stages in more detail.

Web1: “The Age of Reading”. Period: late 1980s – mid 1990s

Web1, the first version of the internet, was static and one-way. At the time, users could only view information on websites, but could not interact with it. Early news sites like The New York Times offered access to news without the ability to comment or interact with the content. Key Features:

• Reading: pUsers could only view the content.
• Static: The content did not change without the intervention of the site owners.
• Control:kThe content was completely controlled by the companies or website creators.

In Web1, companies created content and companies made money.

Web2: The Era of Interaction and Content Creation. Period: from mid-2000s to present day

Web2 was a revolution that transformed the internet into a platform for interaction. Instead of being mere readers, users became active participants, creating and sharing content. This is the time when the internet became not only a source of information, but also a place for communication, sharing ideas, and creating digital communities.

Social media allowed users to create profiles, post their thoughts, photos, and videos, and interact with friends through comments and likes. YouTube allowed people to upload and share videos, comment on them, and create their own video blogs (vlogs). Key Features:

• Reading and creating: pUsers can not only read content, but also create it.
• Interaction: interacting with other users through comments, likes and reposts.
• Centralization: Despite active user participation, the platforms are controlled by large companies that own the data and profit from it, for example through advertising.

The Web2 Era — this is the time when individuals create contentbut companies own, control and retain profits, often through data mining and extracting value from users.

Web3: The Era of Ownership and Decentralization. Period: early 2020s and beyond

Web3 — This is a new generation of the internet where users gain full control over their data and digital assets, thanks to decentralized technologies such as blockchain. Unlike previous versions of the internet, where control over content and data belonged to large companies, Web3 offers users the ability to own, manage, and control what they create and use on the Internet.

An important feature of these applications is that they operate entirely on a decentralized infrastructure, without using private servers. EhThis means that there are no private or proprietary databases controlled by companies or governments, which minimizes the risks of censorship and data leakage. In Web3, information is distributed across the network, making it more secure and transparent. Key Features:

• Reading, creating and owning: Users can not only create and interact with content, but also own it.
• Decentralization: information and assets are not controlled by one company, but are distributed across the network, making them more secure.
• Transparency: inAll transactions and actions are recorded on a public blockchain, making them verifiable and more resistant to censorship.

Risks of centralization

Decentralization in Web3 combats the power imbalances exacerbated by centralization. In today's world, a handful of media conglomerates own most of the TV channels and content streams.

Seven beauty and fashion companies oversee most of the products we use and the clothes we wear. 10 food and drink companies decide what ingredients go into the food we eat. And in tech, the five largest companies in the world decide how the Internet and the technologies around it serve information.

The dissemination of information is a vector of power that can be misused in the wrong hands. Information is the basis for decisions and choices that affect the lives of most people on the planet.

Author's opinion: WEB3 is currently being actively built. Companies are gradually starting to switch to using blockchain infrastructure. Not everyone likes it. What is happening to Pavel Durov is a striking example.

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