Centralization has enabled billions of people to engage with the World Wide Web and has created a stable infrastructure on which it has been developing for years. At the same time, a small number of centralized entities have a foothold on large parts of the World Wide Web, unilaterally deciding what should and should not be allowed.
Web3 has emerged as a response to this dilemma. Instead of a web monopolized by tech giants like Google, Facebook, and similar, web3 embraces decentralization, and thus it is built, managed, and owned by its users. It is a web that puts power in the hands of individuals, not corporations, making it a very interesting topic in numerous discussions today.
However, today it is difficult to answer the question of what web3 actually is, and what we have entangled ourselves in, along with brands, in web 1.0 and web 2.0. We decided to discuss this with Nikola Škorić, the CEO of Electrocoin, the largest Croatian cryptocurrency exchange and a company that processes crypto payments.
What should we know about the development of the web and all its specifics?
– The web has existed for over 30 years and has gone through several iterations. The first version of the web was conceived by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1989, becoming publicly available in the fall of 1991. By 1993, there were over 600 websites, some of which still exist today, such as Bloomberg, Wired, and MTV.
By the end of 1994, over ten thousand websites had been created, and the growth of the web was so rapid that within the next three years it became a completely normal occurrence in my high school classroom at the 15th Gymnasium in Zagreb. Some of the most important features for the development of the web during that period were certainly the development of HTML, CSS, and the emergence of the first internet browsers and their aggressive competition for users.
The biggest problem with the first version of the web was that publishing information on the internet was reserved only for experts and pioneers of internet technologies. Ordinary users simply did not have the necessary knowledge. This problem was solved with the emergence of web 2.0, which implies enabling end users to easily publish content on the internet. It is important to note that there is no exact definition of web 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0; these are simply terms that encompass a set of features that defined the development of internet technologies over certain time periods.
What makes web 2.0 so significant?
– Web 2.0 introduced technical capabilities that most people today actually consider normal – anyone can create, edit, and publish any text, image, video, or some other form of content that we often consume on the internet. The explosive growth of the first version of the web is repeated again with web 2.0 – the emergence of ‘cloud’ and the ability to store information virtually, somewhere on a ‘cloud’, or server, as well as the emergence and explosion of first blogs, and then more complex social networks, introduced web 2.0 to almost every computer, and shortly thereafter, with the emergence of smartphones, into every pocket.
With the exponential growth and development of web technologies and content, the issue of ownership of content on the web and the centralization of web 2.0 platforms emerged. The situation escalated to the point where even the U.S. Congress called the directors of leading web 2.0 platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Google for hearings and questioned them about privacy and content ownership issues. This problem is addressed by web 3.0 – now more commonly branded as web3 – a decentralized web, i.e., web platforms that transfer ownership and control over content to content creators.
What should we pay attention to when it comes to transitioning to web3?
– Among commentators, you will find many who believe that web3 is just an attempt to rebrand the cryptocurrency industry into a new, interesting brand. However, it is undeniable that web3, where we imply decentralization of the web almost exclusively based on blockchain technologies, is slowly yielding its first concrete fruits. Decentralized web applications are coming onto the scene and are increasingly being used.
Do you think that a system branded as ‘decentralized’ is actually such?
– Many often misunderstand the mentioned idea of decentralization, especially when it comes to the decentralization of financial applications. Although the premise of decentralized finance (DeFi) is such that, when conducting transactions, the need for a third party is completely eliminated, the reality is a bit different. Often in nominally decentralized applications, there is still some, let’s say, enabler of such a system in the background, which means that even in decentralized systems, ‘new intermediaries’ arise.
