Before I got onboarded into this space, whenever I heard "Web3," I thought it was just a more advanced version of the internet and I don’t think I was completely wrong. Where I was wrong was thinking Web3 simply meant crypto🥲 I did a little research and then I got my answer: 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝟑 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭, 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐭. We've been using Web2 for years, so it feels normal but Web3 simply challenges that normal by asking: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬? ──── ୨୧ ──── 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝟐 𝐯𝐬 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝟑 ➺ 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝟐 includes the websites and social media apps we use every day where you can read and write. They are centralized webs stored and owned by big companies. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝟐 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Facebook, X, Instagram, Tiktok. ➺ 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝟑 is the decentralized web. Being decentralized simply means there isn’t any central authority and you are in control of what you own. The term was introduced in 2014 by Gavin Wood, a co-founder of Ethereum. In web3, you can read, write, own and control your identity, data and digital assets which are stored on blockchains. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝟑 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Aave, Uniswap, Opensea. ──── ୨୧ ──── 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭? ★ 𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 ➺ In Web2, your account, audience, or digital assets live on someone else's platform. ➺ In Web3, you can own digital assets through your wallet and move them across compatible platforms. ★ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 ➺ In Web2, platforms are run by big companies.For example, the most known social apps Facebook and WhatsApp are owned by Meta. ➺ Web3 projects involve their communities in governance, although the level of decentralization varies. ★ 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 ➺ In Web2, platforms capture most of the value users create through content and engagement without even giving them credit. ➺ Web3 experiments with ways for users, creators, and contributors to share in that value through tokens, NFTs, incentives, or governance. Understanding these differences makes it easier to see why so many people misunderstand or have one or two misconceptions about what Web3 actually is. ──── ୨୧ ──── One misconception people have (including me when I first started) is that Web3 is only about crypto. 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝟑 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨, 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦. If I was asked to describe Web3 in one word now, I’ll say 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 because it’s about giving people more ownership, transparency, and control. Web2 made the internet more social but Web3 is trying to make it more participatory by giving users greater ownership and control. It won't replace everything we use today, but it's introducing new ways to own, build, and contribute online. Understanding the difference is the first step to understanding why so many people are building here. There's a lot more to Web3 than this, and not all of it is sunshine and rainbows🥲 I'll be sharing more beginner-friendly breakdowns, common terms, and even some of the downsides so stick around.