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NFTs, DAOs, blockchain, DEfi, these are some of the buzz words that came with the advent of "Web3".
Before we look at the difference between Web2(what came before Web3), let's first understand what they both mean
Web2 - To be honest web2 wasn't even a term until the introduction of web3 and it basically is the version of the web we currently use in our day to day internet activities, from communicating on WhatsApp to even this blog post you're reading right now, it is the internet with a client-server architecture, which meant that some form of data was saved on a centralized platform (the traditional database), this of course came with advantages and disadvantages, disadvantages that web3 hoped to solve or rather is currently solving.
Web3 - this can be thought of as the opposite of web2 in some manner, it is a version of the web in which rather than the typical web2 client-server architecture and a centralized storage of data, this replaces the "server" part of web2 with the blockchain Let's look at the definition of the blockchain from Google
a system in which a record of transactions made in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency are maintained across several computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network
This looks a bit complicated so here's a definition that I've found easier and understandable
The blockchain is a public database in which anyone can read and write to for a fee
And yeah that definition doesn't entirely cover what the blockchain is but it is a good definition when looking at it from a "web3" angle
Web3 is based on the idea of a decentralized internet (opposite to web2), where transparency, data safety, privacy amongst other advantages are taken into consideration.
Enough talk let's look at the main topic of this post
Major difference between Web2 and web3 - well based on the definitions and explanations, I'm sure the idea is already clear but let's reiterate Web2 - the centralized internet, client-server architecture while Web3 - the decentralized internet in which data is stored not a a server but the blockchain, this is simply it 😅 but let's take a further look at that difference broken down and how it one complements the other
Some disadvantages of web2 - with web2 data is stored on a server which of course is prone to many things like
- Data loss - example - let's say Facebook's server goes down, backup and all, everything completely wiped off, there's obviously no way for you to access your data again
- Issue of data privacy - Facebook itself has access to your data and can probably do what they want with it 🙂, I mean it's on their server and what if there's an external attack, yeah two ways for that data you have web2 Facebook to get compromised
How web3 solves this - looking at the two disadvantages mentioned above let's see how web3 tackles them
Data loss - with web3, data is stored on the blockchain and the blockchain basically lives forever so no situation of "server down, I repeat server is down" will ever arise, going to external attacks, data on the blockchain is immutable (can't be changed) and the only means of accessing specific user data is through that users wallets so apart from user prone and developer prone errors the blockchain itself is basically immune to external attacks
Data privacy - your data can only be accessed by your wallet (private key) and of course this shouldn't be shared with anyone, so therefore there's no way for even the developers to access that data of your without your permission or wallet
Hopefully this post has provided an insight as to what the major difference between Web2 and Web3 is 😁.
This post, although a means to share some of what I've learnt in the web3 space is also a task for a particular program I'm currently enrolled in called Blockgames (blockgames.gg) in partnership with zuri.team and nestcoin.com