Web2 vs. Web3: An In-Depth Insight

Published on 31 December 2023 at 19:51

The term Web2 refers to websites that integrate user-generated content, place an emphasis on the user experience, and offer improved interoperability, while Web3 refers to the phase of web development that follows Web 2.0 and is characterized by the semantic web, the ever-present web, and the application of artificial intelligence. The core differences between Web2 and Web3 are the following:

Decentralization

You have no control over your data or its storage on Web 2. In actuality, businesses frequently track and store user data without the users' permission. The businesses in charge of these platforms then own and control all of this data. Users who reside in nations where the negative effects of free speech are a concern are also vulnerable.

If governments think someone is expressing an opinion that contradicts their propaganda, they frequently take down servers or confiscate bank accounts. Governments can easily interfere, exert control over, or terminate applications as they see fit when they use centralized servers. Governments frequently get involved in banking as well, since it is digital and subject to centralized oversight. During unstable, highly inflationary, or other politically turbulent times, they have the authority to restrict or close bank account access.

Typically, web3 developers do not create and distribute apps that are hosted on a single cloud provider's infrastructure or that retain their data in a single database.

Web3 developers typically don't build and release applications that store their data in a single database or are hosted on the infrastructure of a single cloud provider.

Web3 apps run on decentralized networks, blockchains, or a combination of the two that make up a crypto-economic protocol, as opposed to centralized networks with lots of peer-to-peer nodes. In the Web3 space, these apps are commonly referred to as decentralized apps or dapps.

You'll notice that cryptocurrency comes up frequently when the topic of Web3 is discussed. This is because many of these protocols heavily rely on cryptocurrencies. For anyone who wishes to take part in developing, overseeing, enhancing, or creating one of the projects themselves, it offers a monetary reward (tokens). These protocols may frequently provide a wide range of services, including identity, hosting, computation, storage, bandwidth, and other web services that cloud providers have historically offered.

Security

A significant amount of IT security work in both Web 2.0 and traditional IT is responsive. A patch is released to address a vulnerability that is found in a production application. Data on a server can be "rolled back" to a clean state from a backup if it has been corrupted or encrypted by ransomware.

The immutable ledger of the blockchain is where Web3 stores data.  Attacks that are recorded on the blockchain and cannot be undone must be avoided. Because of this, Web3 security must be more proactive and prevention-focused than Web2 security, which focuses on detection and response.

Verifying one's identity in the real world is a primary goal for many systems in Web 2.0. Businesses put a lot of effort into user authentication because they want to sell users' data and stop spam from entering their systems. Due to its ability to aid in threat deterrence, investigation, and response, this also has security benefits.

Web3 and other blockchain-based systems use pseudonymous user identification based on the user's public key and blockchain address.  Weak user authentication makes attacks easier to carry out and complicates the identification and prosecution of attackers. Key management and security are major concerns in Web 3.

User Interface

The emphasis on information creation on the Web, as opposed to the simple distribution of information in Web2, is a key distinction between Web2 and Web3. This shifts the internet away from Web2's "one-way interaction" model, in which information is made available to users by its creator. Because Web3 allows for "two-way interaction," experiences and information can be created and consumed at the same time.

Web 3.0 will establish a global environment free from central control. It will completely change how companies communicate with their clients by giving them direct access to end users. For possible revenue streams, new channels and infrastructure—especially for carefully chosen experiences, goods, and content—will need to be developed.





Add comment

Comments

There are no comments yet.