Web3 has been hailed as the savior of the internet, a new paradigm, the future of networking, and, a digital revolution. To its proponents, this open internet standard promises to right all the wrongs that are synonymous with Web2, from lack of ownership to censorship and opaque data sharing.
Should this vision materialize, Web3 will host a vastly different internet to the one we have become accustomed to, but there are some who doubt the tech will take off. Ownership of user-created content, greater privacy, and an end to rampant de-platforming might be easy concepts to sell, but achieving this grand vision is likely to take longer than Web3 architects hope.
Establishing Trust in a Trustless Setting
Web3 is built on many of the same cryptographic tools that are synonymous with cryptocurrency including blockchain, tokenization, and distributed storage. “Don’t trust, verify” is the catchphrase of bitcoiners who would rather rely on mathematics to safeguard their wealth than the whims of central bankers and governments. And yet, paradoxically, convincing web users that they can trust such trustless technology is proving to be a greater undertaking than web3 developers might have imagined.
As Dr. Gavin Wood, the founder of Web3 Foundation and Polkadot blockchain network acknowledges, “We may have to go through one or two hype cycles before the most important elements of the technology break through.”
While the tech is ready, the world may not be ready. It took the better part of a decade for Bitcoin to permeate public consciousness and achieve mainstream recognition. Could the same be true of Web3, and if so, what does this mean for the industries that stand to benefit the most from the technology?
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lawrencewintermeyer/2022/08/25/web3-will-make-or-break-social-media/?sh=3988bed45f38
Should this vision materialize, Web3 will host a vastly different internet to the one we have become accustomed to, but there are some who doubt the tech will take off. Ownership of user-created content, greater privacy, and an end to rampant de-platforming might be easy concepts to sell, but achieving this grand vision is likely to take longer than Web3 architects hope.
Establishing Trust in a Trustless Setting
Web3 is built on many of the same cryptographic tools that are synonymous with cryptocurrency including blockchain, tokenization, and distributed storage. “Don’t trust, verify” is the catchphrase of bitcoiners who would rather rely on mathematics to safeguard their wealth than the whims of central bankers and governments. And yet, paradoxically, convincing web users that they can trust such trustless technology is proving to be a greater undertaking than web3 developers might have imagined.
As Dr. Gavin Wood, the founder of Web3 Foundation and Polkadot blockchain network acknowledges, “We may have to go through one or two hype cycles before the most important elements of the technology break through.”
While the tech is ready, the world may not be ready. It took the better part of a decade for Bitcoin to permeate public consciousness and achieve mainstream recognition. Could the same be true of Web3, and if so, what does this mean for the industries that stand to benefit the most from the technology?
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lawrencewintermeyer/2022/08/25/web3-will-make-or-break-social-media/?sh=3988bed45f38
