One of the most significant functions of the internet is to share information. This function still holds ground today, and almost everyone knows what the internet is. The internet started around 1960, and that version of the internet is known as web1.0.
We evolved, and more people got access to the internet. The present version of the internet still maintains its relevance of making sharing of information faster, but we enjoy this privilege at the expense of our data.
What is Web3 in Simple Terms?
Web3 or Web3.0 is the version of the internet built on blockchain technology, and it is based on decentralization and token economics as its concepts. The co-founder of Ethereum, Gavin Wood, coined the word “Web3,” the term gained interest in 2021 from the cryptocurrency community; and it is in contrast with Web2.0. Web2.0 refers to the version of the internet that we all know of today, controlled by a small group of companies that are in total control of our data.
Internet users deserve a better version of the internet that gives them more control of their assets and data. One of the many benefits of web3 to users is that it brings increased data security, and privacy for users, unlike web2 platforms that have total control of user data. Web 3.0 is sometimes known as the semantic web, and the goal of the semantic web is to make internet data machines readable.
What is Web3 Used For?
Mat Dryhurst, a Berlin-based artist and researcher, said;
“There’s a small group of companies that own all this stuff, and then there’s us who use it, and despite the fact that we contribute to the success of these platforms, we don’t have anything to show for it,”
Web3 is about grabbing some of the power back from these big tech companies because Web3 will function alongside web2 as different web2 platforms will apply web3 ideas to their services to stay relevant. In essence, we would see more blockchain-based social networks, transactions and businesses thrive on the internet.
The attractiveness of web3 is that it enables peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions without a third party. Some Web3 applications include decentralized finance (Defi), NFTs, Play-to-Earn (P2E) games, Move-to-Earn (M2E) applications, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), to mention a few.
DeFi Protocols:
Decentralized finance (Defi) is a transparent financial system that allows new forms of value and utility not seen within the traditional financial system. Defi protocols provide different financial solutions such as lending, borrowing, staking, NFTs, and even synthetic assets. In addition, Defi allows users to have total control over their funds by making users store their assets in a non-custodial wallet. There are different platforms such as Aave and MakerDao that provide these services.
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs):
DAO is an online community that facilitates community governance and decision-making based on the consensus of its members. In a DAO, no central authority makes decisions and uses smart contracts to count votes and implement decisions. DAO is an example of a web3 use case that shows decentralization, used as a governance model in web3 organizations.
Play to Earn Games using NFT:
“Play-to-earn games” basically means playing games to earn real income. Play-to-earn games make it possible for players to get rewarded by creating tradeable NFTs items, tokens, or in-game currency. An example of these games is the Smooth Love Potion of Axie Infinity. Players can earn in-game NFTs as a reward for completing daily quests and challenges. Also, NFTs in the game could represent items, characters, or any other in-game collectibles useful in the game only. Another example is the MOBOX games, where players earn NFT as rewards for staking tokens.
Content Creation:
One significant benefit of web3 is that everyone can become a content creator. Web3 creates an opportunity for content creators to enjoy the maximum benefit of their hard work. Content creators such as digital artists and musicians can tokenize their work as NFTs, which use smart contracts to ensure that there are no intermediaries and they are paid on their terms. Web3 will not eliminate web3’s content creation platform, but it will serve as an additional income stream for content creators.
Move-to-Earn Applications:
Move-to-earn is another benefit of web3, and it is one of the innovations that prove that web3 has come to stay. Move-to-earn games (M2E) have become popular within the last few months, with projects like STEPN and Genopets being among the first to adopt this model. M2E applications use a concept known as FitnessFi as it rewards its users for exercising. FitnessFi (Fitness Finance) concept is another segment in web3 that enables users to control and monetize their data, promoting a healthy lifestyle.
What Crypto is Web3?
Web3 is an extension of cryptocurrency built on blockchain technology. Blockchain enables the use of cryptocurrency, terms of a self-executing contract, or the code for a decentralized app (DApp). Web3 and cryptocurrency run on a decentralized blockchain that does not require a central authority to run its affairs. Web3, being a decentralized internet, uses cryptocurrency as the liquidity mechanism for its foundation.
Cryptocurrency is used in web3 to incentivize the behavior of new and existing audiences, which helps develop web3 infrastructure. As a result, different web3 projects have emerged across different industries, and these projects are developed on cryptocurrency projects such as Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Near as their infrastructure. In addition, cryptocurrency unlocks new financial and economic innovations as tokens can be created using existing blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana, and these tokens can be used to create their own economy.
Why is Web3 Important?
Web3 is becoming increasingly popular, and just like the word internet, it will most likely become a term everyone will know in the nearest future. The importance of web3 cannot be overemphasized judging from its use case only. That said, web3 is gradually becoming our new version of the internet, and some of its importance are;
Ownership:
Web3 gives you total ownership and control over all your digital assets stored in a non-custodial wallet. A good instance is a web2 game; the creator has the power to delete a gamer’s account, thereby making the gamer lose all the assets acquired while playing the game. In contrast to web3, the game creator cannot take away a gamer’s assets, and all assets can be traded in an open market even after the gamer has stopped playing the game.
No Censorship:
Web3 balances the power dynamic between platforms and content creators because it gives power to the users of a platform. Many web2 companies monitor users and their activities and censor their content. On web3, data lives on the blockchain, so you have the liberty of carrying your reputation and data to any platform of your choice. Over the years, social media companies have been deactivating a user’s account for putting up a particular type of content.
Identification:
Traditionally as with web2 platforms, there is always a sign-up form that means access to our data which we do not know how protected it is. We give out our data with the blind trust that these platforms will protect our data as they promised. Also, when we want to update our data or profile, we have to do it across all the different platforms. Web3 allows us to have total control of our identity with Domain naming services such as ENS. It makes it possible to have a login across platforms using a wallet address, and it is secure and anonymous.
Payments:
Payment infrastructure in web2 is based on banks and payment processors, which excludes a large number of unbanked people. A significant number of the population are unbanked due to reasons like documentation. Web3 uses tokens to send money directly to anywhere in the world without a third party.
What are the Advantages of Web3?
- Expanded Data Connection: The semantic web will help the online data network by linking additional data.
- Improved showcasing as it has a very professional look.
- Bringing value to virtual items and assets.
- Web Security
- Privacy
- With the aid of Web3’s artificial intelligence, sellers can understand our buying demand and display relevant items.
- It is beneficial to everyone.
- Total control
- Easier information dissemination
What are the Limitations of Web3?
Web3 is still in its development stage, and despite the benefits of Web3 currently, many limitations still need to be solved. Some of these limitations are;
Scalability:
One major setback facing web3 and blockchain technology as a whole is the problem of scalability. For a system to be scalable, it means the system should maintain its effectiveness and security when handling large numbers of transactions per second. Unfortunately, this scalability problem makes transactions on web3 slower, and the problem needs to be solved in order for web3 to achieve global adoption.
Education:
For web3 to be accepted globally, everyone needs to understand it, even people that are not crypto-savvy. People need to understand this new version of the internet without having to use a search engine anytime they encounter a strange word. Web3 is not difficult, and it is just different from what we are used to. It must be hard to believe now that websites used to come with manual instructions but look at how far we have come now and the amount of progress made over the years.
User Experience:
The technical barrier currently in web3 is high, and users must understand security concerns, complex technical documentation, and navigate intuitive user interfaces before they can interact with a web3 platform. This is a major challenge that must be solved to promote adoption.
Accessibility:
Currently, accessing web3 platforms is extremely segregated because depending on where you live and the kind of device you use, you may not be able to use a web3 platform. For example, web3 is less likely to be used in poor countries because of the high transaction fees experienced on some blockchains like Ethereum.
Cost:
Building a successful Dapp is expensive, which is why most successful companies only put a small portion of their code on the blockchain.
Web 2.0 vs Web 3.0
We cannot underestimate that Web2 is still a part of our lives. We have over 2 Billion people that still use Web2.0 every day. Web3 will not displace Web2, but it is the future of the internet. Web3 will change how we use the internet. Let’s take a look at the differences between Web2 and Web3.
Social Media Censorship:
Web2: Social media companies can censor or deactivate accounts.
Web3: Web3 social media platforms are uncensored because there will be no central authority.
Payment Platforms:
Web2: Banks or other payment platforms may decide not to work on certain days.
Web3: Web3 payment cannot disrupt financial transactions as it requires no personal data.
Technology:
Web2: Servers can go down, and this can affect work.
Web3: Servers cannot go down because they are built on a decentralized network.
Decentralization:
Web2: A central authority is always in charge of making crucial decisions.
Web3: A decentralized network has no central authority.
What are the Job Opportunities in Web3?
Web3 is the next big career path, and it is still in its early development stage. It will offer millions of workers the solution to making a better, passionate, and very lucrative living. Web3 needs more talent in a huge number of areas, and it will provide opportunities to rub minds with bright minds.
Software Engineers:
This is one of the most important jobs in web3, and they charge serious money because good solidity developers and frontend developers are in high demand. Smart contract development is a technical skill, and it involves high stakes as you will be writing codes to determine the movement of people’s funds. In addition, the front-end developers build the platform that will consume the smart contract and are in high demand in both web2 and web3.
Designers:
UI/UX Designers are highly sought after in web3 as well as web2. This is because they ensure that users are satisfied with a platform and get the most of the platform by making sure the users do not experience any hassle while using it.
Data Engineers and Scientists:
Web3 companies employ data scientists to analyze and optimize data and trends to apply Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Therefore, data scientists that are well skilled in web3 python will be in high demand.
Content Creators:
Content creators such as digital artists and writers are in demand as different projects employ their skills to market their projects. For example, digital artists create NFT arts while writers create articles explaining the project’s new developments.
Cyber Security Experts:
Security is important in web3, just as it is in web2. Web3 represents a decentralized internet, and with the increasing popularity of web3 and cryptocurrency, cybersecurity professionals will demand to reduce the occurrence of these attacks.
DevOps/AWS Cloud Engineers:
Cloud Engineers are professionals that handle different types of cloud services. As a result, cloud Engineers are highly sought after as different companies hire to deploy cloud services.
Product Managers:
Product Management is a technical skill and is very vital in a company. Product managers help to prioritize a company’s resources. As different platforms will be switching to web3, there will be a high demand for Product Managers to make vital decisions regarding the features to implement or remove in the product.
How to Learn Web3 Development?
Learning a new skill is good, but it makes the journey more difficult without proper guidance and mentorship. Even after learning a skill, there is not sufficient groundwork necessary to find a job without proper guidance. Bootcamps make it easy for students to learn their desired skills from experienced tutors with the right resources to give and also help students tackle their challenges, having experienced some of them themselves.
Bootcamps are a fast-rising method employed in learning a new skill as they offer an approach to learning with lesser time commitment, more affordability, and direct mentorship to ensure the growth of students. Bootcamps also include individualized mentorship, job placement after completion of the program, and other soft skills that make students successful in their careers. In addition, bootcamps make the learning process easy by making sure students learn the exact skills employers are looking for. Over the years, boot camps have proven to have a track record of success.
Clarusway: IT Bootcamp to Start Your Six-Figure Career
Clarusway is a Virginia-based IT training school that offers Up-to-date courses in blockchain development and web3.0, Cloud engineering programs, Data science programs, Salesforce, and Cyber security.
Clarusway Bootcamp offers a 24-week-long training on Blockchain and Web 3.0 Development. The course teaches students blockchain technology from scratch together with the latest advancements, with no need for prior coding knowledge as all you need is a laptop to begin this journey. Unlike other online courses, Clarusway Bootcamp aims to teach everything as regards Web3, such as blockchain technology, scalability, bridges, storage, and so on. In addition, Clarusway Bootcamp will give students a deep understanding of concepts like token economics, decentralization, and Web 3.0 applications.
Flexible Payment Options
Clarusway offers very flexible payment options to students to ensure students achieve their dreams. Clarusway allows students to pay while learning, pay upfront or pay in installments with specific advantages. Clarusway also has the Income Share Agreement that allows students to defer payment until they get a job or apply for a student loan.
Career Management Service
Clarusway provides career management services to students for them to land a job. Professionals employ career management services to achieve their goals by carrying out activities that take them from where they are to where they want to be in their careers. Clarusway offers career management training to students like Life coaching, Resume building, creating a stand-out LinkedIn profile, and interview preparation to make them stand out and make them employable.
