From Web 1.0 to Web 3.0: Basic Notes for Digital Businesses

The internet is a "living entity" that transforms continuously. As happens in factories during industrial revolutions, technological advances in the field of communications produce important paradigm changes. These changes in communication and social networks enable internet users to enjoy a level of agency they did not have before.

During the 1990s and up to 2005, our relationship with the internet was merely one of consultation, when the dominant paradigm was that of Web 1.0, also known as the “static web.”

As an academic tool above anything else, it sought to democratize knowledge and break down barriers to access to information. The only input that basic users had was e-mail. In other words, the web was a powerful and revolutionary tool for asynchronous communication even though it was very limited compared to the web we know today.

In the first decade of the 21st century, a handful of — now famous — businessmen spearheaded a great “boom.” This phase of the web, which came to be known as Web 2.0, enabled users to contribute to the network. This ability fueled projects like Wikipedia, which sought to create a digital catalog of human knowledge based on user collaboration. Web 2.0 also provided a fertile ground for the first social networks to flourish. Platforms like Facebook and YouTube made it possible for everyday internet users to become information publishers and opened the path to continuous and synchronous communication. 

After 15 years of reaping the benefits of Web 2.0, which not only facilitated and changed our online social interactions but also ushered in e-commerce and many other now-established digital industries, we now see the early days of the Web 3.0 paradigm. Web 3.0 entails empowering internet users more than ever and its full potential is yet to be discovered.

The centralized social media behemoths born in Web 2.0, such as Facebook, provided seemingly free services but used our data to fund their platforms. The data we provided fed complex algorithmic models, with which these companies and platforms delivered targeted advertisements to companies and amassed fortunes. Unless we are content creators working under traditional social media sponsorship schemes, almost no one makes a tangible profit for the hours they spend on these platforms.

With Web 3.0, the situation will be different. Unlike Web 2.0, on Web 3.0, the data is owned by the users, and instead of being gathered under a centralized platform, it's registered transparently on "blockchain." Because blockchain operates transparently and on a decentralized cryptographic code, it guarantees the security of the information.

In the case of Snapmuse.io, the new platform for social network content creators and fans that we just launched in Latin America, we took advantage of Web 3.0 capabilities as an attractive way to empower internet users. We use blockchain technology to empower users to get the most out of Web 2.0 capabilities by enabling them to get something in return for the time and attention they spend on social networks.

With this novel approach, we can create a mutually reinforcing world where both creators and fans get rewarded for their time and effort. This new balance also allows influencers to strengthen ties with their followers, and this is where the traditional model of content creator and consumer begins to become obsolete. 

Empowering creators and fans is the key to success, for which a win-win structure is essential. In the specific case of Mexico, where 30% of the population is young (between 12 and 29 years of age), according to the most recent Population and Housing Census, and all inhabitants add up to almost 129 million people, according to an official report of the last quarter of 2022, many influencers could benefit from this type of mutual empowerment with their followers. For example, Statista reported that in the country there are at least 349 mega-creators, 4,289 macro-creators, 37,777 micro-creators, and 439,731 nano-creators on Instagram.

Our case is just one example of the evolution and use of Web 2.0 to Web 3.0. Web 3.0 has been growing since 2020 and still has a long way to go, not only in the field of entertainment and content consumption.

Rather than "throwing away" previous schemes, these new waves of web technology build on and improve previous systems. The same will be true for Web 3.0. It will not "destroy" but build on its antecedents. 

With the advantage of carrying out economic transactions, blockchain gives users greater autonomy without depending on third parties. I think that when Web 3.0’s benefits become available for everyone, this ecosystem will provide even greater value to everyone using the internet. 

With more decentralization, greater security, and very robust data management, it is to be expected that soon there will be even more entrepreneurs willing to innovate and bet on new ways of doing things in the digital world.