What is Web 5.0 (UPSC Current Affairs)

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Why in the news?

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has presented his vision for Web 5.0, a new decentralised web platform that aims to return "control of data and identity to users."

What is Web 5.0?

• The goal of Web 5.0 is to "create a more decentralised web that puts you in control of your data and identity."
• Simply said, Web 5.0 is a combination of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 that allows people to "own their identity" and "manage their data" on the Internet.
• Both Web 3.0 and Web 5.0 envision an Internet free of government or corporate restrictions, as well as the prospect of catastrophic outages.
• Difference between Web 5.0 and Web 3.0: Web 3.0 is controlled by multiple "venture capitalists and limited partners," rather than being genuinely decentralised or owned by its users.

What are the use cases for Web 5.0?

There are two possible scenarios for how Web 5.0 will impact the future.

• Identity management: A digital wallet that securely manages a user's identity, data, and authorizations for third-party apps and connections.
• Control over personal data: For example, we can provide any music app access to our settings and preferences, allowing the app to carry our unique music experience across apps.

What are the previous versions of Web?

Web 1.0

• Web 1.0 is the first version of the internet, which was created in 1989 and became widespread in 1993.
• The internet in the early days of Web 1.0 was primarily static web pages, with people visiting a site and then reading and interacting with static information.
• Even if there were e­commerce websites in the beginning, it was still a closed environment, with consumers unable to generate content or leave reviews on the internet.
• Web 1.0 was the first version of the internet, and it lasted until 1999.

Web 2.0

• Web 2.0 began in some form in the late 1990s, but it wasn't until 2004 that the majority of its features were completely functional.
• The Web 2.0 era is still in full swing.
• Users can generate content, participate and contribute in the form of comments, registering likes, sharing and uploading their images or videos, and other similar activities, which distinguishes Web 2.0 from Web 1.0.
• The distinguishing feature of Web 2.0 is, first and foremost, a social media type of engagement.

Web 3.0

• The paradigm, a decentralised internet based on blockchain technology, would be distinct from the current Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 versions.
• Users will have ownership shares in platforms and applications in Web3, unlike presently, when platforms are controlled by IT behemoths.
• Web 3.0 was coined by Gavin Wood, the founder of Ethereum, a block chain technology startup, in 2014, and many others have since added to the concept.
• Due to the prominence of cryptocurrency in 2021, there were more conversations on Web3.