Web 3.0

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IoT: A Web 3.0 View

EVOLUTION OF THE WEB

If it comes to pass, Web 3.0 will be the successor to two previous generations of the web.

The first generation, referred to as Web 1.0, was invented in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist who applied the hypertext concepts for linking digital text proposed in 1963 by Ted Nelson, an American information technology pioneer. Besides programming the first browser, Berners-Lee wrote the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), which tells browsers how to display content, as well as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) specifying how web servers transfer files to browsers. He also started designing software for a "Semantic Web" that would link data across web pages, but hardware constraints prevented its implementation.

The public was not much aware of the web until 1993 with the release of Mosaic, the first popular browser, later renamed Netscape Navigator.

According to Harbor Research, the web-based applications, systems, and networked services of smart systems or IoT are expanding more rapidly than the hardware and infrastructure. This means the software (middleware and web-based integrated applications) market will play a pivotal role in the IoT business.

As is well known, Web 1.0 is about publishing and pushing content to the users. It’s mostly a unidirectional flow of information. The shift from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 can be seen as a result of technological refinements as well as the behavior change of those who use the World Wide Web, from publishing to participation, from web content as the outcome of large up-front investment to an ongoing and interactive process.

Web 2.0 is about two-way flow of information and is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration. Example applications of Web 2.0 include blogs, social networking services (SNSs), wikis, mashups, folksonomies, video-sharing sites, massive multiplayer online role-playing games, virtual reality, and so on.

Enterprise 2.0 is the use of Web 2.0 technologies within an organization to enable or streamline business processes while enhancing collaboration (Figure 1.8). It is the extension of Web 2.0 into enterprise applications. IoT technologies and applications can be integrated into Enterprise 2.0 for enterprises that need to monitor and control equipment and facilities and integrate with their ERP and CRM back office systems.

Web 3.0 describes the next evolution of the World Wide Web, the user interface that provides access to documents, applications and multimedia on the internet.

Definitions of Web 3.0 vary greatly. Many believe that its most important features are Semantic Web and personalization; some argued that Web 3.0 is where the computer is generating new information rather than the human. The term Semantic Web was coined by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web. He defines the Semantic Web as “a web of data that can be processed directly and indirectly by machines.” Humans are capable of using the web to carry out tasks such as reserving a library book or searching for a low price for a DVD. However, machines cannot accomplish all of these tasks without human direction, because web pages are designed to be read by people, not machines. The Semantic Web is a vision of information that can be readily interpreted by machines, so machines can perform more of the tedious work involved in finding, combining, and acting upon information on the Web.

WHY IS WEB 3.0 IMPORTANT?

 If decentralizing the web's architecture delivers even a portion of the benefits promised by Web 3.0 proponents, it could fundamentally alter how people interact on the web and how companies make money from goods and services. Web 2.0 giants like Amazon, Google and Facebook parent Meta grew quickly by collecting and centralizing petabytes of customer data and monetizing it in myriad ways. Web 3.0's global peer-to-peer network could be the great leveler that makes it hard for such companies to grow by hoarding data. Individuals will have more control over web content and who can access and profit from their personal data.

What is clear, though, is that Web 3.0 will place a strong emphasis on decentralized applications and probably make extensive use of blockchain-based technologies. It will also use machine learning and AI to empower a more intelligent and adaptive web.

Web 3.0 is also important as the infrastructure for the metaverse, a proposed 3D virtual world in which digital representations of people, called avatars, interact and conduct business. 

Both Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 were primarily built with the IPv4 addressing space. As a function of the web's massive growth over the decades, Web 3.0 will need far more internet addresses, which is what IPv6 provides.

KEY WEB 3.0 FEATURES AND TECHNOLOGIES

Several key Web 3.0 features define what this third generation of the web will likely be all about:

• Decentralized. Unlike the first two generations of the web, where governance and applications were largely centralized, Web 3.0 will deliver applications and services through a distributed approach that doesn't depend on a central authority.
• Blockchain-based. Blockchain decentralization is the enabler for Web 3.0's distributed applications and services. With blockchain, data is managed and validated on a broadly distributed, peer-to-peer network. Blockchain also employs a theoretically immutable ledger of transactions and activity, which helps to verify authenticity and build trust among blockchain participants.
• Cryptocurrency-enabled. Cryptocurrency is a key feature of Web 3.0 that is expected to largely replace the "fiat currency" issued by government central banks.
• Semantically organized. The idea behind the Semantic Web is to categorize and store information in a way that helps "teach" an AI-based system what data means. Websites will be able to understand the words in search queries the same way a human would, enabling them to generate and share better content.
• Autonomous and artificially intelligent. More overall automation is a critical feature of Web 3.0, and it will largely be powered by AI. Websites equipped with AI will filter through and provide the data individual users need.