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By now, you’ve likely heard about the divide between Web2 vs Web3. But what does this all mean? The short answer is that your interests will not always align with the service, and your say doesn’t count in Web2 spaces like Facebook and Twitter, but it will in Web3 spaces where you are part owner of the service and your interest align with the service and its community. Here are some more insights into this dynamic shift between social media platforms that you may want to keep an eye on if you’re going to keep up with this trend.
Web2 vs Web3: Decentralized Social Networks
The invention of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter created a new paradigm for how we connect with each other. Decentralized Social Networks (DSN) are taking that same concept and decentralizing it, allowing anyone to control their own identity and monetize their online experience in a way never before possible. But what is decentralized social media?
In short, DSN is an open-source alternative to current centralized systems like Facebook or Twitter. Instead of having your data on their servers, it would be hosted by a peer-to-peer network that would allow you to control everything about your profile—from connecting with friends to accessing your personal information; from finding people interested in sharing content with you to receiving payments for your posts—without relying on third parties to manage any aspect of it. What are some examples of decentralized social networks? Steemit, Akasha, Peepeth, and Indorse are all examples of platforms that have begun implementing these concepts. Why should I care about DSNs? Because they align with your interests!
By owning your data and monetizing it however you see fit, you can create a more customized experience than traditional platforms can provide. Plus, as a part owner in these services instead of just another user, your say matters! Where can I learn more about DSNs? Check out my next post, Decentralized Social Networks: Owning Our Online Experience. I’ll dive into specifics regarding why you might want to use one, what problems DSNs solve over traditional social networks, and even give suggestions for where to start if you’re curious about joining one yourself!
Web2 vs Web3: Decentralized Search Engines
One solution to these problems is to employ a decentralized search engine that allows you to choose your results based on what interests you instead of what’s most popular and trending right now. You can also see how other people in your community search and interact with them in meaningful ways through voting or sharing results or links. This is only possible through blockchain technology and DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), which allow for fully decentralized data repositories that give users complete control over their information without being censored or tampered with by third parties. DAOs also facilitate paid memberships so users can get compensated for engaging with the content they enjoy!
There are many examples of dApps (decentralized apps) working toward such a goal—if we’re going to build Web3.0, it needs to be one built on openness and privacy first. Otherwise, it will just be an extension of our current social media landscape, not an evolution from it.
What do you think? Does anyone have any thoughts about integrating Blockchain Technology into Learning Management Systems? How would that work? Would learning management systems benefit from using blockchain technologies like Ethereum? How would blockchain technologies help improve learning management systems? Are there any companies out there that are trying to integrate blockchain technologies into learning management systems? If so, please share some info on those companies here. Please share your knowledge here if you know anything about LMSes and blockchain tech! Thank you!
Web2 vs Web3: Decentralized Marketplaces
The future of eCommerce will be built on decentralized marketplaces (DMs) that offer a stake in their success for every customer who uses it. Companies like OpenBazaar and Shopin are experimenting with governance systems that allow customers to help shape a platform’s direction by voting with their wallets and saying what is important to them. This level of community-driven participation creates incentives for both sellers and buyers to make decisions that benefit everyone in the ecosystem long term. When everybody feels ownership over where a company is headed, powerful things can happen!
A critical difference
A critical difference between DMs and today’s monopolistic online shopping platforms is that DMs put you first. Users have complete control over how they want services from these platforms to be delivered, which means providers must listen closely to ensure that clients feel valued, respected, and heard. To get a sense of how much more responsive DMs can be when community input matters most, look at some of your favorite apps today—would you have used them if they were built using an open-source framework? If an existing service doesn’t meet your needs, why not create one yourself or with other consumers? By participating in a DM, you are empowered to make changes as necessary. When things go wrong (and they will), users will have direct access to decision-makers who are there for them because their livelihood depends on it!
A decentralized marketplace future will give us back ownership of our data and digital identities. This is only possible through blockchain technology; blockchains allow us to exchange value without giving up privacy or control of our information. We need blockchains to own our identity so we can share it safely with others in ways that empower us rather than exploit us. A simple search on Google for buy bitcoin reveals something interesting: Coinbase is listed as #1 across multiple countries globally!
Web2 vs Web3: Decentralized Domain Name Services
At some point, most of us will have a website and web application to administer. To do that, you’ll need to find a place where it can be hosted and name your site something people will remember — or something machines can identify quickly. You already know about DNS services like GoDaddy or Namecheap, but why not run your own?
The benefits are numerous: control over how ads get served on your site (Google doesn’t always make sense for every type of website) and privacy since no company is getting in between you and whom you want to share with. And if you’re into cryptocurrency, having an address ending .eth instead of .com makes more sense. It looks more relaxed too! Here’s an easy way to set up your domain names using Ethereum Name Service (ENS). Even if you don’t care about crypto, ENS is still useful as a decentralized alternative to centralized DNS providers. What does that mean exactly?
Well, there’s no single entity controlling all of your domain data and telling you what kind of information they allow or disallow. Instead, anyone can register a new name without paying any fees. And if someone tries to write a duplicate title to yours? No problem! There’s also built-in subdomain support so that you can run multiple sites off one account. Running your DNS server is pretty straightforward. All you need to do is install a few packages and then configure them according to the instructions. If you’re feeling extra ambitious, try setting up your full-blown Ethereum node so you can use ENS alongside other dapps on top of blockchain tech. You will get access to excellent features like identity management through uPort, and it’s just fun being part of such an innovative community!
Web2 vs Web3: Decentralized Web Hosting
When you don’t own your digital footprint on other people’s servers, your interests no longer align with their services, creating a problem. But what if you possessed your own web space? You could keep it up to date as often as you wanted and host whatever content there, as opposed to being beholden to the centralized policies of Facebook and Twitter (unless those are sites that support decentralization).
Decentralized hosting networks (which rely on blockchain technology) can put individuals back in control of their content. This isn’t just an idea for a future world; these platforms exist today. And they aren’t just for techies or hardcore crypto-anarchists: decentralized hosting is for anyone who wants more freedom online. Several decentralized web hosting options are available now, but here’s one example: IPFS. To use IPFS, you must download software onto your computer and store files locally. It takes a bit of time to get used to using IPFS, but once you do, it feels like using any other cloud storage service. As long as you have access to your computer (or another device), you can access all your data from anywhere else in the world!
Plus, because you’re storing everything yourself instead of relying on someone else’s server, you have complete control over your data and how it’s shared. If there’s something you want to share privately only with friends or family, that’s easy. If there’s something you want to share publicly so everyone can see it, that’s easy too. And while many apps work seamlessly with IPFS already (like Google Docs!), new ones are being built daily. Even better? Because IPFS uses blockchain technology, everything is encrypted end-to-end so that nobody can snoop into your stuff without permission!
Web2 vs Web3: Blockchain-Powered Data Storage Solutions
When thinking about how blockchain technology will affect digital storage for individuals and businesses, it’s essential to understand that two very different use cases are being developed today: short-term storage solutions like Storj and long-term solutions like InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). Both provide decentralized file storage that breaks away from centralized systems like Google Drive or DropBox. This means no more third-party interference with your data; you are solely in control of it at all times—where it’s stored and who can access it.
These platforms protect users against cyberattacks by keeping files encrypted end-to-end so only those with permission can access them. And because they are on a peer-to-peer network, hackers would need to gain access to every computer on a network simultaneously to steal information. A cost-benefit benefit-beneficiated with using these platforms as they offer much lower costs than traditional cloud storage services. For example, Amazon S3 charges $0.023 per GB per month while Storj charges $0.015 per GB per month when storing 1 TB of data for three months and $0.008 per GB per month when storing 1 TB of data for 12 months!
As you can see, there are many benefits to using decentralized storage services over their centralized counterparts. It’s not just an issue of privacy, either. Centralized servers present security risks, too—as we saw recently with Uber and its massive breach last year. Decentralized networks remove these risks entirely since everything is encrypted end-to-end. So which one should you choose? Well, both serve different purposes regarding the user experience they provide.
Conclusion
If you care about an issue – whether it be privacy or social impact – it’s easy to see which space best aligns with your interests in each stage of tech adoption. For example: If you care about privacy and user control, you have a voice in Ethereum-based applications but not in Facebook-based apps and platforms where users don’t control their data, and there is limited transparency into how that data is being used (or misused). There are early signs of adoption by large entities like corporations and governments in both spaces, but since we know that only one will win, who are you betting on? And what bets are they making? How do those compare to yours? You can tell a lot about someone’s values by looking at how they invest their time and money.
The most significant opportunity for change is in technology because technology allows us to reshape our world, from how we work and play to how we interact with people around us. The question isn’t if technology will shape our future but what kind of future you want for yourself and your loved ones. What kind of future do you want for society as a whole? I’m excited about blockchain technologies because they give us all more power over our lives than ever before. We now have the tools to build communities free from corruption and censorship while giving individuals complete control over their digital identities, assets, personal information, and reputations. It’s up to us to choose which path we take next. Do we continue down a road of centralization and exploitation, or do we take back ownership of our identity and community? The choice is ours. It always has been.
Author: Priyasa Banerjee
Secretary, Advocacy Unified Network
