The current version of the world wide web or Web 2.0 is characterized by social media platforms, which permit greater proliferation of user-generated content. This can be a far cry from Web 1.0, which was all static and non-interactive — a completely top-down approach towards information dissemination.
Right now, five big tech companies, namely, Twitter, Facebook (now Meta), Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon, control how our data is going to be used and where it’ll be stored and processed. Their algorithms decide the knowledge that we consume.
Now, Web 3.0, with its crypto, blockchain, and metaverse use cases, is being sold as a movement that may seize back control of the internet from the five big tech companies. rather than our data residing with centralized organizations today, Web 3.0 would see it residing on blockchain networks and thus, being owned by users themselves.
It can be as simple as a user based in India and another based within the US, having a business meeting inside a virtual reality metaverse like Decentraland, which is constructed on the Ethereum blockchain. they might then complete their planned dealings using their crypto wallets linked to their metaverse accounts. And that’s that. Facebook realizes that this is surely the future of the web, hence it’s rebranding to Meta.
Such is the craze around metaverse that people and organizations are spending countless dollars to shop for land that only exists inside these virtual worlds. But it makes business sense. Because in the very future when people are going to wear their VR headsets and meet inside these virtual worlds for social gatherings, music concerts, and art auctions, you need to land here for advertising and events. However, as there are proponents, so there are skeptics likewise.
Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey have denounced the much-hyped “decentralized” feature of Web 3.0. While critics remain, the Web 3.0 opportunity in India has already got venture capital firms excited.
According to new research by the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and digital currency exchange CrossTower, Web 3.0 can help India contribute an extra $1.1 trillion of economic progress to its GDP over the next 11 years. Digital assets like Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, Algorand, Stablecoins, and other blockchains are the fuel of the long-run financial ecosystem and Web 3.0.
Whether other countries are able to harness the potential of Web 3.0 too soon will obviously rely on the regulatory approach we tackle cryptocurrencies. The answers to those questions will be found within the next year.
