Web2 and Web3 have nothing to do with Spiderman.

Heck, It's a shitstorm out there. And even grandma is caught in this colossal bubonic plague of tech-religious people lifting up holy hands to the harbingers of the decentralized web.

She concluded it had everything to do with Tom holland and his mechanized web(read: white thread) spewing suit.

"Tom Holland has nothing to do with this, ma!". I gently slipped in my refutation.

So, while I risk any access and future prospect to grandma's super awesomely and love inducing fried garri by challenging her opinions. Grab a bag of popcorn. A can of juice. and read on as we walk through the gates of enlightenment and explore the good tidings of the web.

In this article, I'd slice up the concept and differences that revolve around the web2 and web3 conundrum.

The Glorious Case of Web2

I love listening to LoFi while reading or rather writing boring chunks of texts. Let me share it with you. I hope you like it. or not.

Okayyyy, Avante Comrades 🐱‍🏍

The internet wasn't always about bald heads posting images on Instagram. Even until 2005, all you could do on the internet was read loads of text after another and that was it.

The double-tap to like we take for granted today was only dreamt about. Wanna comment on that cute dog picture you love? In 1992, you'd have to take a trip to the authors' condo to share your thoughts. I'd imagine that'd be tedious. or scary.

Interaction. Intrusion. Invitation. Man craved these things. We wanted to participate. We craved attention We demanded interaction.

These are the gifts Web2 offered. The blessings of sharing. Telling people what you ate for breakfast (we are not amused). Showing the world what you love to do. Web2 birthed this.

Some very intelligent people referred to the Web2 era as the Social Web. With Instagram, Facebook, and of course, Google, leading the movement. These super-intelligent people couldn't be wrong.

Leading the movement also means that these corporations have the largest pool of data(yes, your information) which they exchange for profit. Oh, you thought you could just show the world your oily cheeks on Instagram for free? NO, KANYE, NO. I won't dwell on this for now.

Ultimately, everything that exists now has Web2 in its DNA. Everything. Ughhh, maybe with a little web3 being mixed in... and this would be a nice segue to the web3-verse.

May your life be filled with Web3

So what is Web3 and why are pictures becoming insanely expensive?

Remember when I mentioned corporations harvesting and selling your data? With web3 that wouldn't be possible. I know your next question might be how? - or for some absurd reason, why?

Web3 has at its core a key component referred to as Decentralization. It might be easier for Kanye to produce a wack album than to break apart the concept of decentralization. Here's a longer, and perhaps more boring article by Vitalik Buterin (Supreme leader of the Ethereum tribe) on the case of Decentralization.

But if you shred off all the fanciness, Decentralization basically means "All the eggs aren't in one basket". Eggs refer to decision-makers, actors, and participants of the web.

Web3, in the context of Ethereum, refers to decentralized apps that run on the blockchain. These are apps that allow anyone to participate without monetizing their personal data. ethereum.org

Everybody on the decentralized web can actually own things without a central body dictating how they should be used. Honestly, this is beautiful. Everybody can participate, truly participate in decision-making by voting. :mind-blown:

All this is possible because of the technology powering the web3 movement.

Blockchain.

Yes, blockchain is the culprit here. These days you can barely move around without hearing blockchain being mentioned.

And what is blockchain, really?

Well, It's a super long list of transactions. I mean it. it's ridiculously long and it would keep getting longer. and before you ask why are long lists of transactions powering the new web. The answer lies in the Immutability powers of the blockchain.

Immutability means unchangeable. Set in stone. Irreversible. Stuck for life. and whatever synonym you used at your wedding.

And because it's unchangeable (kinda,hehe, more about this later) we can trust that whatever is on the blockchain stays the way it is.

Also, the blockchain protocol is open. Everybody can see what happened since day one. Where the coin you said you used to pay for your school books really went. scary right?

But not so fast. The transactions recorded on the blockchain are anonymous. All you really see is a lengthy string of alphabet soup. Thats all. And millions have changed hands. *pheww. You can rest easy.

There's a lot to unpack. I would love to write these things as a series so i can take my time. btw, here's my first article here. So nervous right now.

Okay, until next. Be cyborgs.