(In this  final part of Joey Alarilla's "Why should you care about Web3?", he talks about the evolution of the internet and its impact on our lives.  While Web2 initially revolutionized user interaction and content creation, it also brought challenges such as power concentration and data exploitation.  He explores the rise of Web3, its potential to address these issues, and the role of blockchain technology in shaping its future.  While skepticism surrounds Web3, history has shown us that new technologies often face initial doubts but can eventually become indispensable. -- Art Samaniego, Editor)

The current incarnation of the Web (also known as the social Web), Web2 has seen the rise of social networks and user-generated content.

Web1 was all about brands broadcasting. Now Web2 is about users sharing their sentiments and content directly on social media, such as Meta’s Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

Web2 has also given us more powerful online publishing platforms, including WordPress, Substack and Medium.

Interested more in creating and sharing photos or videos? You have YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

So why is there a need to shake things up again? Aren’t we fine with Web2 as it is now?

Berners-Lee points out in his open letter the same warning he issued five years ago.

“There are two clear, connected issues to address. The first is the extent of power concentration, which contradicts the decentralized spirit I originally envisioned. This has segmented the web, with a fight to keep users hooked on one platform to optimize profit through the passive observation of content. This exploitative business model is particularly grave in this year of elections that could unravel political turmoil. Compounding this issue is the second, the personal data market that has exploited people’s time and data with the creation of deep profiles that allow for targeted advertising and ultimately control over the information people are fed.”

While Berners-Lee says the current Web is broken, he believes it can still be fixed.

Proponents of Web3 believe that Web3 is what will fix the Web.

English computer scientist Gavin Wood, co-founder of the decentralized blockchain Ethereum, coined the term Web3 in 2014. Web3 advocates believe that the problem with today’s Web is that it is dominated by a handful of powerful companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

Berners-Lee’s warning against power concentration and the personal data market shows us just how much social networks have taken over the Web. Meta and X have been allowed to dictate what goes on in their platforms, to the detriment of users.

Instead, Web3 proposes an alternative Web that’s more decentralized and democratic. In a way, it’s a return to the original vision for the Web, but with new, more powerful technology. The key one being blockchain technology.

We’ll delve deeper into blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, and other Web3 technology and concepts in a separate article, because that’s quite a lot to take in at once. The important thing has always been not what the underlying technology is behind the Web, but how it’s changing our lives.

When the Web was still new, even smart people like Bill Gates thought it was just a fad. They thought consumers would not put up with slow internet speeds and these simple websites. You would hear questions back then like: why would I order online when it’s faster to just call?

What people keep forgetting, however, is that you will always have early adopters willing to put up with the birth pains just so they can try these new online services. Also, that technology improves over time, sometimes quite dramatically. For example, with faster internet speeds, companies could now create more interactive sites that attracted more customers.

Nowadays, everyone takes a company’s internet presence for granted. It wasn’t so long ago that it was such a big deal that you would actually see a short announcement on print that a company has launched its own website.

The same skepticism greeted Facebook and X when these social networks were just starting to become popular. Brands were wondering why they should have to create Facebook and other social media pages. Companies then started panicking because customers were using social media to complain about their products and services. These posts were going viral and they were getting caught flatfooted. Also, while some people were complaining by posting negative comments on the brand’s site, others were doing so via their own posts. So brands also had to do social media monitoring and community management.

Which is why I’m not worried at all if some skeptics think Web3 is just a fad. Skeptics have been proven wrong time and again.

Think about how many services weren’t supposed to succeed.

Online shopping? Skeptics said Filipinos love going to the mall too much (which, by the well, is true because mall culture is definitely alive and kicking). They would want to see and feel the items they are going to buy. Nowadays, however, Lazada and Shopee help a lot of Filipinos enjoy retail therapy.

Ewallet? It would be impossible to teach my tito or lolo. Yet so many have learned to embrace GCash and Maya as a way of life during the pandemic. Now that they’re used to ewallets, cashless payments are no longer an alien thing.

Blockchain gaming? Senior couple and sari-sari store (neighborhood store) owners Lolo Silverio (75) and Lola Vergie (65), were able to earn a small income so they could at least buy their medicine. The pandemic had drastically cut down what they had been earning from the sari-sari store: PHP2,500 to PHP3,000, to now as low as PHP150. If they were really lucky, they might get PHP250 to PHP300.  

Lolo Silverio and Lola Vergie belong to a small community in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija that had discovered the blockchain game Axie Infinity.

Lolo Silverio and Lola Vergie belong to a small community in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija that had discovered the blockchain game Axie Infinity. This mobile game features Pokémon-like creatures called Axies. Because this is a blockchain game, you don’t just earn virtual coins. Instead, you are rewarded with Smooth Love Potion (SLP) tokens. SLP allows you to keep breeding Axies and then if you want to cash out, you can use your cryptocurrency wallet to convert your SLP to real-world Philippine pesos.

Another funny thing about technology is that once it becomes embedded in society, we take it for granted. We forget that, once upon a time, this technology left us amazed. It becomes hard to remember what life was like before it. I can imagine the horror of young people contemplating what the world was like before the Web or smartphones.

It’s hard even for a digital immigrant from Generation X like me to really understand how we were able to survive using just landlines and pagers in an analog world. How trusting we were in setting up meetings with our friends. In my case, my favorite meetup spot was a National Book Store branch.

Our lives would be so much different in a world without the Web and smartphones. Innovation builds upon innovation. Disruption creates more innovation. Digital is the world we have created. We left the analog world with the birth of the Web, and I don’t think many of us would like to go back. I know I wouldn’t.

So, why should you care about Web3? Because it’s going to be part of our future and change how we work and play. Just as the original Web did.

Now, I’m not saying we need to understand the technology behind everything. For instance, do we really want to know how an automated teller machine works? Or do we just want to quickly withdraw cash from the ATM?

At the same time, however, imagine if we had not used internet tools because we were skeptical or afraid of them. Imagine, say, not learning how to use email.

It’s also important to understand Web3 because not only is there a lot of hype around it, but also because unscrupulous individuals are taking advantage of the interest in things like cryptocurrencies to scam people.

With this column, I hope to share what I know about Web3, cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology and other emerging technologies. My goal to provide accurate and engaging information.

I have been a champion of technology for good since the last millennium. I have seen first-hand how science and technology can improve the lives of people. So I want to help more people enjoy this kind of access.

I also realize that I am privileged to be among the digital haves. I strongly believe that those of us who enjoy this privilege should feel a sense of responsibility and do our share in helping the digital have-nots.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. Together, let’s learn more about Web3 and technology.