Evolution of WEB

Web technology and the way it is used have certainly evolved over the last few years, and each evolution has brought about new tools and techniques relevant to recruiters. These evolutions have popularly been called Web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 in the media.

First, there was Web 1.0

Although never really used to describe the web at the time, this is the term now used for basic websites that provide a limited or static user experience. This term would be used to describe the simple “shop front” websites of the past. Of course, e-commerce was the main area of the explosion that saw the web first used in a commercial manner. This then evolved to include sites such as eBay for online auctioning. It also included the first wave of Job Boards such as Monster and Hot Jobs.

Then there was Web 2.0

As the technology evolved, websites were able to provide a richer and more interactive user experience. Web 2.0 has been used to describe this web phenomenon. Examples include social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, which allowed users to create their own profiles, share files and interact with each other on a larger scale. YouTube allowed people to publish their own media content, blogging enabled the average net user to become a home journalist, and Wikipedia enabled the net community to develop the most comprehensive encyclopedia ever created.

Now is the era of web 3.0

Web 3.0 is by no means a comprehensive or indeed final definition, and is currently used to include future evolution as well. In many ways, it is really a marketing term like Web 2.0 was, rather than any specific technology, and can mean different things to different organizations. Many of the ideas and technologies have been around since Web 1.0 but are now becoming more prevalent. Technology has now moved on enough to provide a much richer user experience with entire software applications capable of running online. The term Web 3.0 really describes the current evolutionary stage of the web and takes on many forms, from artificially intelligent applications predicting future trends to innovative web services with profitable business models, and entire 3-dimensional virtual worlds that allow people to interact with each such as the game Second Life.

Web 3.0 is the next generation of web, also termed the executable web or read- write-execute web. It began with the onset of dynamic applications, interactive services, and “machine-to-machine” interaction. It is used to describe many evolutions of web usage and interaction between various paths. Data is not owned in this case, but rather shared, with services displaying different views for the same web/data. It has also been referred to as Semantic Web to describe a web in which machines would process content in a humanlike way where all data would be connected and understood both contextually and conceptually, leading to the herald of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. With this, information is more connected thanks to semantic metadata. As a result, the user experience evolves to another level of connectivity that leverages all the available information.

Web 3.0 — What next?

Universal applications

The future of Web 3.0 points to universal applications which can be read and used by a large number of devices and software types, making the ways in which we indulge business and leisure increasingly convenient.

The decentralized web

The rise of technologies such as distributed ledgers and blockchain storage will enable data decentralization and the creation of a transparent and secure environment, subverting Web 2.0’s centralization, surveillance, and exploitative advertising. Decentralized infrastructure and application platforms will displace centralized tech giants, allowing individuals to rightfully own their data.

Indeed, one of the most significant implications of decentralization and blockchain technology is in the area of data ownership and compensation. As we move toward Web 3.0 and the technologies that support it would mature and become scalable, thus, the decentralized blockchain protocol will allow individuals to connect to an internet where they can own and be properly compensated for their time and data, eclipsing an exploitative and unjust web in which giant, centralized repositories own and profit from it.