The General Applications We Should See With Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is going to change the lives of billions. This is something that we are seeing being developed before our eyes. It is still the very early stages, something that is crucial to keep in mind.

Source

The entire process could take decades to complete. We have no idea how long it will take to develop the applications that will create the entire paradigm shift. Looking back through technological history, we see this is quite common.

We saw application phases with the present Internet. The first major application (use case) was email. We saw the development of the Internet come about with the idea of creating a secure communication system. For the first couple decades, this is what it was used for.

Much in the same way, I believe we are seeing the first major application of Web 3.0. This is the first of three that I can envision emerging over the next decade or so. Obviously, we can see them being developed simultaneously. They will overlap and converge together.

That said, this is just a best guess estimate of what will take place. It is based upon my reading of what is being developed now and what some of the leading minds foresee as unfolding in the future. Of course, with technology, there is the likelihood we see developments in 5-10 years that we cannot even comprehend today.

Cryptocurrency

This is the first major application. Many try to separate cryptocurrency from blockchain. That is like trying to separate email from the Internet. Did anyone say "we like the Internet but hate email" 30 years ago? The answer is obviously no since they were, essentially, one at that time.

Even with this application, we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of what will eventually emerge. There are going to be millions of different tokens tied to as many projects. Tokens are going to be the preferred mechanism for most assets. Eventually, this could overtake stocks and other forms of financial representation (ownership) as the primary model.

The number of people involved in cryptocurrency today is probably similar to what entered the Internet 30 plus years ago. The entire industry might be akin to CompuServe and Prodigy in the early 1990s.

Thus, we will see explosive growth over the next half decade.

Digital Identification System

A Digital I.D. system only makes sense. This is something a number of people discussed including Dan Larimer. Microsoft is working on the Bitcoin blockchain as a testnet for a system they are working on.

How this evolves is unknown. What I can say is a true, decentralized digital I.D. system will give people ownership over their data. This will completely alter the Internet experience and radically change the landscape. Companies that relying on the proceeds from selling said data to advertisers are going to see their business models destroyed.

Just like Facebook with Libra, we can expect mega-tech companies to bring out a system which they control. It is in their nature and something that will be too hard to resist. Governments might even get involved trying to mandate a system they can at least have full access to if they aren't the ones controlling it.

New Governance Model

The third application I can see being developed is an entirely new governance model that we start to apply to all aspects of our lives. As the digital world merges with the physical, this is only logical. Presently, people are toying with ways to govern these systems. As those ideas expand, we will see systems put in place that mirror exactly what is taking place online.

Blockchain voting received the most attention although it appears to be years away. This idea is only going to grow meaning it will carry more importance in our lives. As the technology is refined, we can see real time voting mechanisms installed which will allow moment-by-moment governance. No need to host an election every 4 or 6 years when you can have one every second of the day.

The digital realm also will help to eliminate physical, governmental boundaries. People could be free to choose the particular place they want to live regardless of physical location. Hence, you could have neighbors actually "residing" in totally different domains. Each will select the one that best fits his or her interests.

We could see the end of the nation-state. This is a recent development in human history only appearing in the last 40 years or so. Technology is going to erase the boundaries we erected fairly quickly. The Internet, thus far, has already done it with communication and, in many ways, with commerce.

---

Within each of these, we will obviously see different stages. As I alluded to in my last article, the cryptocurrency world is already seeing a shift. The first stage was the buying crypto based upon speculation and hope it "moons". Now, we are seeing the idea of passive income and seeking out a ROI. This will attract a more conservative group of people.

Wedged in between the two is the idea of receiving cryptocurrency as a reward compared to buying it. This is helping to expand the potential population that can participate since investing, under the present system, is out of the reach of most.

As more people amass cryptocurrency, their involvement goes deeper. This is going to occur naturally especially if the present system starts to topple as many are predicting. People are going to seek out an alternative which is exactly what we are seeing constructed. For now, we are in the financial phase although the core is technological. Thus, we are going to see cryptocurrency pulled in many different directions as developers come up with ideas for applications that were not thought of before.

With the development of commerce on the different platforms, we could see a move away from the dependence upon fiat currency. This will accelerate the process even more since the incentive for developers is there. As people find "value" in cryptocurrency with the expanding use cases, the exponential forces of the network effect will take over.

It all builds upon itself. Having the first major phase be financial is going to cause disruption we have not previously witnessed before. This will help to fund the later iterations as they get closer.

Social media, which is commonly associated with Web 2.0, was not slowed down or stopped. The same is going to be true for Web 3.0. With technology, putting up a barrier only means it goes around it.

Factor in the financial aspect and this is a powder keg that will be ready to explode at some point.

---

If you found this article informative, please give an upvote and resteem.