Do you think what you post on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok belongs to you? Let me tell you straight up: you own nothing!!
It used to work this way, but now there are other ways. Continue reading if you don’t trust how the internet works now and think The Social Dilemma is right. There is another way: Web3. First, it’s essential to know what the decentralized web is. The current Web2 is controlled by a few megacorporations, but this will soon change as we transition to Web3. On the other hand, the Metaverse is how we’ll be able to seamlessly integrate the internet and virtual world use into our everyday lives. Let’s learn more in this article about how Web 3.0 and the Metaverse are different and how they will work together in the future.
Web 3.0
Web 3.0 is an idea for how the internet will change in the future. It’s the next step in how people can control and own their online creations, digital assets, and online identities.
Web 2.0 is what we are seeing right now. Companies make products and services and sell them in a centralized way. Instagram is an excellent example of this. Do you think you own the things you post on IG? No, the company owns everything on the platform and controls everything users make. They will ban you or block you if they want to.
Another example is Fortnite, which is a very popular online game. Users have no say over their in-game identities or the things they “own” in the game. Users can’t control or make money from the content they create in Web 2.0.
More than 2.5 billion gamers worldwide have been told to own the things they have in games when they don’t. It’s not theirs.
However, in Web 3.0, users can make content and own, control, and make money from it thanks to blockchain and cryptocurrencies. This makes NFTs possible. Have you heard of it?
Users can interact with online services run by peer-to-peer networks, which are computer networks that are not controlled by a single entity. This system allows users to own their data and do peer-to-peer and permissionless transactions without intermediaries. All you need is an internet connection and a cryptocurrency wallet like Metamask. Through their private keys, users of different online apps now have complete control over their digital identities and how and when they share data.
Web3 is quickly becoming the new standard. The internet’s wealth:
From Amazon Web Services to IPFS
From DAO to LLC
Between Chrome and Brave
From your bank to Metamask
From centralized systems to blockchains with no central authority
Between Facebook and Steemit
Between Eve Online and Star Atlas
Data privacy is another problem with the Web 2.0 internet we have now. Even though the centralized entities have complete control over who can use the service, the users’ data is also entirely in their hands. Users sign up for a service and agree to the terms of service, which means they give up their private information and content in exchange for the service’s convenience. But in Web 3.0, no one is in charge of who can use the service because it’s open to everyone. No registration is needed, and users will have complete control over their private data. However, users will be the only ones who can protect their data and assets, so keeping them safe is up to them.
Web 3.0 projects have led to some significant new consumer behaviors, like the growth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), play-to-earn (P2E) games, and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).
Since Web 3.0 is meant to be the standard for the next generation of the internet, it can be thought of as a set of rules and guidelines that all internet users should follow. So, web 3.0 would be helpful for the whole internet, not just some applications.
The Virtual World
The word “metaverse” was first used in the science fiction book “Snow Crash,” which came out in 1992. Recently, Facebook changed its name to “Meta” to make the Metaverse more well-known. The Metaverse is not yet a real place, but the idea is that it will be a 3D world where we spend much time socializing, working, playing, learning, etc. It is a mix of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), gaming, cryptocurrencies, social media, and a lot more.
Simply put, the Metaverse gives people a new way to use the internet by making it 3D instead of 2D. This web content is turned into three-dimensional objects, so you don’t have to click and flip through different pages and tabs on the 2D screens of computers or mobile phones to look at and interact with them. For example, if you want to play games online, you don’t have to play them on a 2D page. The webpage is a 3D space where users can walk around, talk to other users, and play games as their “avatars” from within the games. Users can virtually interact with the web content and get lost in the virtual world. With virtual reality headsets, users can see and feel how immersed they are in the experience.
For possible uses of the Metaverse, it is thought that it will be a new dimension that combines social media, work, entertainment, gaming, and education by simulating what we do in the real world.
The future is Web 3.0 and the Metaverse.
Now that we’ve discussed the different ways to define Web 3.0 and the Metaverse, let’s get to the critical question: how will Web 3.0 and the Metaverse work together in the future?
I want to say that the best kind of metaverse is one that is “open and decentralized,” meaning that no one entity controls the data and assets of users. But it seems that different service providers own most early-stage metaverses as of right now. People have said that Facebook’s decision to change its name to “Meta” and hire 10,000 people to work on building the “Metaverse” is just a way for the company to distance itself from scandals involving data security and user privacy. If you look at it more positively, Facebook’s entry into the Metaverse has brought in a lot of money ($50 million) and people with skills (10,000 new jobs) to help build its infrastructure. It has also helped bring the idea of the Metaverse to the general public’s attention.
But companies like Facebook are centralized identity providers. This means that users’ digital identities and content on their platforms are stored on centralized servers, where they have no control. It means that these companies are the ones who make decisions and own the data. Over the past few years, we’ve seen that tech companies don’t always do an excellent job of protecting user interests and data. As many new players in the metaverse market sketch out their ideas for the future of the Metaverse, decentralization and user ownership must be put first. Web 3.0’s set of rules and guidelines can help make this happen.
The technologies behind Web 3.0 and the Metaverse work well together. Even though the Metaverse is a digital space and Web 3.0 is more about a decentralized web, it could be used to connect the Metaverse. On the other hand, the creator economy in the Metaverse can be a nice addition to the Web 3.0 vision by creating a whole new financial world through decentralized solutions.
As we move toward Web 3.0, which is decentralized, we need to think about what kind of internet we want to highlight in the Metaverse. As the Metaverse is all about merging the virtual and real worlds, it is essential to have an interoperable and open-source public chain to make sure that different virtual worlds can connect, bring assets from one to another, and smoothly overlap.
Recent growth in NFTs, P2E games, and DAOs has been significant for Web 3.0, but there is still a long way to go before the Metaverse is fully developed. There is also much room for technology to grow, making the Metaverse experience fully immersive.
The new, open, and decentralized world will show up in the virtuality of the Metaverse of Web 3.0. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Web 3.0 and the Metaverse!
