The internet remains one of the biggest technological innovations and revolutions in human history. It has changed the way we work, communicate, drive, and generally live our lives. The internet is always changing, and it has done so in various ways over the decades. Even with how useful it is, the internet has some concerns and challenges – privacy being one of the main ones – that lots of people have been trying to solve for decades. The blockchain is one of the most recent technologies that are set to change the internet and how we use it.
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Web 3.0 and the Decentralized Internet
About five years ago, experts thought that the internet’s next generation would be what they called the Semantic Web. This would be an internet where machines process information and content the same way we do. Although it did not materialize, we are now ushering in the era of web 3.0. But what is web 3.0? This is the third generation of the internet where websites, apps, and the internet as a whole are all open, decentralized, and provide better user utility.
The decentralized nature of the internet is of note as it means there will be no need for permissions to post online, no controlling nodes or parties, no points of failure, and no way to kill the internet. So, how will blockchain aid web 3.0, and how will it affect the way we use it?
Decentralization
Because the internet will be distributed amongst many devices, there will be a transparent and secure internet. Users will have control over their data, and it will only be available to those who have been given access or permission to use it. This is very different from the internet today where websites and other parties can collect user data and use it for advertising and in other ways without user permission.
A More Stable Internet
We have seen in the past vast parts of the internet go down due to a single point of failure. Because of how integral the internet has become, such a failure is unacceptable. With a decentralized network, that will not be possible. Peer-to-peer networks and layers of communication that make a decentralized network possible will just route the internet through different networks should part of them fail. This means a more stable internet.
A Safer, More Secure Internet
A distributed and decentralized network is only possible if all participants trust it. People trust the blockchain because it is not only a digital database, but its records are immutable and transparent. The cryptographic techniques used by blockchain to ensure the credibility of information can be used to secure the internet. This is possible because only people who have a unique electronic fingerprint will be able to make changes to or access data.
The internet is a great tool and utility, but it has a few issues that concern many people. A decentralized internet, on the other hand, solves many of these issues and helps bring back the original intent of the internet; access to data and information without giving up anonymity, safety, and value.