The 3 stages of information technology

Starting in the mid 1970s, there have been three major strides in computing technology each leap forward paving the way for new applications and technology, web 1, web 2 and web 3

web 1.0- 1970s to 1990 Server to client communications

OVERVIEW

During stage one client computers could connect to remote servers and request access to information on servers, files could be downloaded from these servers onto the client computer. This was the first time digital data could be stored remotely and could be accessed by sending a request from your machine to the server

BENEFICIARIES AND BENEFITS

researchers and tech enthusiasts could access information for research easily at the comfort of their desk

DOWNSIDES

The cost for upload at this stage was extremely high and not available to client computers while bandwith for downloading was very low allowing only text, this supported one way communication only, computers were expensive and did not serve a utility for much of the population

Web 2.0- 1990s to 2008 Computers can interact in a two way fashion

OVERVIEW

Stage two was the next leap in computing technology, allowing two way communication between client machines which was the first time computers became useful for the average person.

Many people at this stage did not get online as they were used to living in a world without internet communication, but within 10 years almost everyone in first world countries were using computers for email, as time went on and technology improved over the next 10 years the applications for computing extended to video, cloud storage, online shopping, overseas calling, remote work and many other applications. While computing technology got better and better allowing more applications it wouldn’t be until 2008 until we saw the birth of the next great leap in communications technology

BENEFICIARIES AND BENEFITS

Anyone who could afford a computer, the applications at this point allowed most people to benefit from utilising computers for communication, research, entertainment and work

DOWNSIDES

Centralised servers, no internet money, difficulty to transact financially without trusting the other party or paying a fee, long financial settlement and processing times with bad exchange rates, government control over finances

Web 3.0 2008 BTC LAUNCH

OVERVIEW

With the birth of bitcoin in 2008, this was the first time there was a way for the internet to keep track of the financial balances of holders of the currency without the need for a centralised server using a brand new invented system using a consensus mechanism across the computer network called blockchain using many client computers to simultaneously store the blockchain ledger as well as verify other new clients wanting to hold the ledger coming online, with a created incentive structure to do so. This was not the first attempt at an internet currency as prior to this there was an internet currency which existed on a singular server which was shut down due to government pressure, so blockchain was a way of ensuring the freedom of transaction while maintaining an accurate balance sheet

BENEFICIARIES AND BENEFITS

The benefits were enormous for journalists, persecuted individuals in oppressive governments and whistleblowers like Julian Assange, this allowed these individuals to have a form of money to transact that could not be taken away from them as they could store it as words inside their head only, this allowed citizens escaping dictatorships to take their wealth, journalists whom the government has shut down their bank accounts to raise funding, and individuals to be able to financially support whoever they want to anonymously outside the banking system. At this state it was extremely useful to a small proportion of the population

DOWNSIDES

Primitive exchanges with bad security, not easy to use for the average user

Web 3.1 Smart contract platform avaliable

With the launch of Ethereum allowing any and all sorts of financial contracts to be upheld by blockchain rather than relying on the court system allows for an extremely efficient low fee system that doesn’t require the trust of the parties on either side, the applications for this were enormous such as tokenised assets, being able to freely swap tokens without permission, global financial banking for all,

BENEFICIARIES AND BENEFITS

During the early stages, the Ethereum blockchain was expensive to transact on making it useful for institutions and some individuals in first world countries, as time went on and blockchain smart contracts became cheaper and more secure to transact on like the Solana blockchain, this made the this technology useful to citizens of countries with poor banking and security, citizens of dictatorships, and those in first world countries looking for better interest rates. Contracts and complex applications can be created and utilised by anyone globally for zero, international investment no longer contains loopholes, no one is denied from global banking anymore

DOWNSIDES

Primitive technology with many new applications which will be developed over time, fees are too much for a large majority of the world. Blockchain is to smart contracts and atomic swaps just as two way internet was to PayPal, Skype and outube. These big industries did not become massive when web 2 was just coming out, but needed strides in technology like data storage, better bandwidth, RAM and other technological advancements to reach the potential of web 2 to grow into the giant multi trillion dollar industry.

FUTURE OF WEB 3

The new applications that will be developed on the foundation of blockchain are popping up daily with new useful technological advancements in blockchain application which we don’t even know the extent of the applications yet, we are still very early in the web 3 great leap and can expect huge strides in blockchain applications over the coming years, hope you enjoyed the read and my excitement for the future of web 3 fellow Bite-sizers!