Inside Web3: Why crypto fans are going wild over a blockchain-based internet idea

Charlotte's Web3… is tangly. By now, the term "Web3" has been thrown out by techies more times than “Gucci” at Fashion Week. The Silicon Valley buzzword refers to a conceptual internet of the future that runs on public blockchains. Refresher: Web1 was the disjointed era of AOL and static GeoCities pages. Web2 is the now, dominated by Big Tech. Web3 is still a vision, but can be loosely defined as:

• Decentralized: Instead of accessing the web through services controlled by titans like Google and Facebook, Web3 would feature new services owned by their users.
• Unified: By recording your activity in “crypto Sharpie” on a blockchain, Web3 could let us carry our data around and bounce between sites with one "account" (scrap the 50 logins).
• Direct: Blockchain tech could allow for more direct online transactions and interactions, without Big Tech intermediaries.

Googling "how to Web3"... sooo not Web3. In theory, decentralized payments and publicly owned social sites could eliminate some revenue for companies like Google, PayPal, and Meta (fka Facebook). In October, VC heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz launched a Web3 lobbying campaign in DC, promoting it as a solution to tech monopolies. Cryptos, NFTs, and DeFi apps will be crucial parts of any Web3 future:

• DeFi: Decentralized finance apps replace financial mediators like banks, powering direct transactions via blockchain.
• NFTs: Web3 could form the basis for a marketplace to exchange everything from digital art to Nikes through non-fungible tokens.
• Voting: Web3 features could empower communal platform decisions. Reddit is exploring letting users share ownership of communities with tokens accrued by posting.