How can Web 3.0 benefit creators?

The world wide web as we know it today is changing rapidly. Most probably, you'll have heard of the Web 3.0 and terms like blockchain technology, decentralisation, NFTs and DAOs. But what is Web 3.0 actually? And most importantly, how does it impact creators of any kind?

Let's break down the evolution of the Web and see what has changed and what will continue to change in the future.

web 1.0

Basically, Web 1.0 is the first version of the Internet. It's the so called “the read-only Web”, as when it appeared there was no interaction among its users. It mostly consisted of read-only, static websites, made by computer experts who were mostly hired by large corporations.

Back then, making a web site was a very difficult process, most pages were created through HTML with 3.2 elements, like frames and tables, and their prime aim was to inform and educate the reader. Something like a massive, digital encyclopedia.

It was then when classic brands like Yahoo and Internet Explorer appeared!

web 2.0

Web 2.0 is the internet as we know it today. It's the evolution of the static form of web 1.0 that focuses on the user's interactivity and participation.

Communities, collaborations, dialogue, blogs, online gaming and social media emerged becoming the primary form of web interaction for most today's users.

Along with web 2.0 many other applications appeared such as e-commerce with aAmazon, alibaba and e-bay changing the way we buy and sell things today, and social networking, with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and lastly TikTok, connecting people and creating huge and powerful communities.

Web 3.0

And somehow like this we've come to Web 3.0. The so called "future of the internet". It's the space that uses blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs to give power to the creators and help them operate on decentralised, almost anonymous platforms.

No more big tech companies like Google, Facebook, Instagram, banks or other middlemen, need to be used for the exchange of data, money, creations or information. Users become owners.

This post on Twitter describes the evolution os the Web, in the best possible way...

Read-Write-Own?

How does ownership change, in what way is it effected by the so called decentralisation and what other benefits does Web 3.0 brings for all creators?

Ownership

Decentralisation means that ownership gets distributed amongst creators, instead of large swathes of the internet, controlled by centralized entities.

With Web 2.0 people can easily have access to the internet and its products, but at the same time it has become harder for creators, startups, and others to act, without fearing that platforms might change their rules. Something that can lead them to loose their audiences and profits.

For example, when a creator uses a platform like Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, his data is collected, and owned by those platforms. If the platforms decide to delete his account, he automatically loses everything he's built there, like followers, fans, audience, clients etc.

The Web3, through NFTs, blockchain, and DAOs, gives creators other ways to own and monetize their content, without relying on server-based databases. It allows them to stand on their own feet and truly own their audiences, acting independently.

Privacy

Web 3.0 brings in a more user-friendly and more private internet. Creators are empowered to choose which data, personal or not, they'd like to share and which not. They don't need to give their data away to big corporations every time they want to do something on the internet. And most importantly, everything shared is owned by them and nobody else.

Security

Blockchain technology offers creators the safest, most secure and most reliable way to store data and verify their transactions. Once a transaction enters the blockchain, it’s kept there forever, anybody can see it, but no one can hack it in any way.

Something that's been missing from Web today.

Decentralised Finances

Along with the decentralisation of ownership, also comes the decentralisation of finances, with blockchain technology letting users buy and sell assets as a form of investment without the need for middlemen. Cryptocurrency creates a more democratic system that gives creators the means to better manage their finances anonymously.