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While it may seem to some that it has arrived quickly, to others it has been a long time coming and couldn't have arrived soon enough. Either way, change has come. Maybe it hasn't reached your business, employees or Website yet (especially if you work for a bank, government branch or other old-world institution that is resistant to embracing the decentralisation that is brought about by incorporating cryptocurrency into the fabric). However, be assured that it most certainly will, in the fullness of time. I'm referring, of course, to Web 3.0: Websites built on/leveraging blockchain technology/technologies are the way forward and are becoming widespread.
There is, to the best of my knowledge, no technical reason why Web 3.0 will not only eclipse Web 2.0/2.1 as we know it, but both render it obsolete and replace it. Everything the current Web does, Web 3.0 can do and most likely will do better. Sure, HTTP/2 is a great idea worth using, but it's likely not going to have as big an impact on your common working man. Web 3.0 has decentralisation, democracy, freedom and owning one's own data baked in, instead of as afterthoughts.
It's not just cryptocurrency exchanges leveraging blockchains (although that's probably what comes to mind for most people who're not already in the cryptosphere). , a fork of (and compatible with it) alone has approximately one hundred and fifty (150) [known and listed Web technology projects leveraging it to provide platforms and tools offering everything from blogging-for-pay ([Hive Blog) to homebrewing to online gaming (Splinterlands, Rising Star) to social media to video hosting (). It's worth noting that the hive blockchain is less than two years old and the Hive cryptocurrency's worth has increased by leaps and bounds (over 200% just this week!) in that time. Hive (HIVE) and Steem (STEEM) aren't the only entrants in the cryptosphere, either. Both read.cashnoise.cash (a Twitter replacement with improvements) run on Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and allow users to tip each other small amounts of it for writing blog posts. Subsocial runs on Polkadot (DOT).
"Bitcoin could destabilize nations, especially those with small or emerging economies." — Hillary Clinton
Yes, indeed! I'm sure that El Salvador will soon be feeling the effects of adopting Bitcoin on a national scale, if it isn't already.
The days of big, centralised tech corporations holding sway over the Web are numbered. I'm going to pretend that it will certainly be a while until the world at large moves away from Amazon, AWS and AzureChrome and EdgeDrive and DropboxDuck Duck Go and GoogleFacebookFlickr, Picasa and PinterestMicrosoft (including Windows)Gmail/Verison/Yahoo and other centralised heavy-hitters that dominate the Web space as we know it. However, they too will disappear into the mists of time and history, just as America Online, Compuserve and Geocities did before them. As of time of writing (2011-11-29), it might not currently be possible to completely replace or transition away from the (dis)services and/or online experiences that these giants "freely" offer (namely Facebook Google Suite) in exchange for protecting one's identity and data online. (Often, you remain unaware of exactly these corporations' AIs are harvesting and constructing from your online activity in order to manipulate your behaviour. Who actually reads the privacy policy and terms of service use documents, let alone understands them, right?) However, I have certainly tried to make as much use of alternatives as I can, where and when I've found them. Some of these provide services at a cost (which is actually a thing since if you're not paying for use of something, "you're the product, not the customer"). By using cryptocurrencies and blockchains instead of fiat, Web 3.0 takes out of the equation the last form of control (censorship and restrictions by and governments). With some of them (such as those projects and sites leveraging Hive), the people using them still pay for the use of services and resources. However, the buck doesn't stop there.
Presearch vs Google
It's also possible to crypto (in a number of ways) by engaging with Web 3.0. (Although it's unlikely to make you sufficient amounts to justify quitting your day job, unless you're demanding to be paid in stablecoin, but you can have a sweet little side hustle and not have to declare it to your boss or the tax man.) AdShares and CryptoAds host advertising content on a blockchain. [ (which are forks of Chrome/Chromium) pay you for watching/viewing ads and general browsing/online activity, respectively. is a search engine that pays you 0.1 PRE for every search query you run against its database of Web pages (up to thirty queries per day, which is more than I have managed, on average). Publish0xread.cashHive BlogNoise.cash and others pay you crypto (BCH, ETH or HIVE) for reading and/or writing (micro-)blog posts. and CryptoJobs (among others) connect freelancers wanting to earn crypto with job/project posters willing to pay them in it. Griftlands, MIR 4, Rising Star, Splinterlands, The Sandbox and Uplands are online games that pay out crypto for playing them and leveling up (what is known as the play-to-earn model, not to be confused with pay-to-play or pay-to-win).
If a Web 3.0-enabled solution/alternative/rival to a Web 2.0 site yet exist, it's not a case of being impossible to achieve, but because someone has yet to create it (or there's no point updating something that's now obsolete, such as online banking, MoneyGram or Western Union).
Some may think it's too early for me to make this proclamation, but I'm declaring that it's time to either proactively get on the crypto/Web 3.0 bus while you still can, or wait to get run over by it (because it won't stop just for you). It's time to ditch Amazon, Facebook, Google, Indeed, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumblr, Tinder and a plethora of old, outmoded sites for Web 3.0 alternatives/equivalents (some still in beta and others yet to be built, admittedly). It's time to return to the source and build the future the way the Web should be — decentralised, distributed, democratic and blockchain-enabled. It's time to #TakeBackTheWeb and #OwnYourOwnData, for the people and by the people. I'm certainly going to play my role any way that I can (whether that involves learning what I need to in order to incorporate blockchain tech into code or otherwise).
"Be the change you want to see in the world." — Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor. My opinions do not constitute financial advice. Please do your own research and be sensible. Scammers and rug-pullers also exist in the cryptosphere, just as they do in other corners and alcoves of the Web.
Post thumbnail photo by Diana Smykova from/on (modified)
