What is Web3?

What if the internet were owned by its users? Web3 promises exactly that — more control and ownership over your digital life. Let's explore the shift.

Web1 (roughly 1990-2004) was the read-only web: mostly static pages, users consuming information, and little interaction beyond clicking links.

Web2, from around 2004, is the social web we use now: user-generated content on centralized platforms like YouTube and Twitter, with apps front and center.

Web2's centralization brought problems: companies own and profit from your data, platforms can censor content, and a few giants control access.

Web3 is the next step, tackling Web2's flaws with decentralization, user ownership, and transparency — built on blockchain for a more open web.

Decentralization spreads control across a network instead of one company: no single point of failure, community governance, and far less censorship.

Web3 gives you true ownership: you directly hold your crypto and NFTs, decide who touches your data, and control your own digital identity.

Web3 systems aim to be trustless and transparent — trust lives in the code and network rules, and transactions are publicly visible on a blockchain.

Web3 brings new building blocks: DApps running on a blockchain, the metaverse with digital economies, and DAOs governed by code instead of hierarchy.

Which of the following are key characteristics of Web3, distinguishing it from Web2?

You traced the web from Web1's static pages to Web2's centralized platforms to Web3's decentralized, user-owned vision. Next, the tech behind it.