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If the Web was invented today, it would probably be quite different from the one we know – read #web3.

With all due respect to Tim Berners-Lee and the people who helped build the Web as we know it, several aspects are impressive, just to pick a few:
? the bandwidth on fibre or 5G is more than what we need (far from the 14k modems of the early days)
? the collaborative spirit is exciting and revolutionary, from open-source software to the likes of Wikipedia
? the diversity of content and applications is limitless, far beyond what anyone could have listed on a business case ?

At the same time there are still major issues to be tackled, almost 30 years after the creation of the first web pages and web browsers: identity, security, trust, and payment. When that’s fixed, we can call it the new Web, or #Web3.

? In Web3, my identity is digital, in a form of a long code that I store into my digital wallet. I can use my digital identity to log into any website. It’s more private that in Web2, where a commercial company provides me with an ID and monetizes it without my knowledge. It’s also more convenient that in Web1, where my ID is physical, like a passport, and cannot be keyed into a webpage ?

? In Web3, the trust comes from a secured chain that anyone can look up but cannot modify after its creation – like a notary in the digital world. If I own a digital asset, it is written in the chain, and won’t disappear even if the wallet provider goes bankrupt for example. In Web2 I need to trust a commercial company with my properties. In Web1 I cannot manipulate digital assets. The Web was designed for sharing public information between researchers like Sir Tim, not to secure contracts between parties ?

? In Web3, the payment is the transfer of a digital asset, known as cryptocurrency. The cryptos are stored in my digital wallet, connected to a web3 browser and to my digital ID. In Web2 I had to connect my online bank to a merchant’s website using an IBAN and an API ?. In Web1 I had to enter a 16+4+3 digit number written on my plastic credit card then log into my mobile phone then into my credit card app then click “approve” ?

The web is not perfect but I love it since I discovered it in 1994 ? as a student in computer science. #web3 makes me feel young again ?