The world is still finding the answer to the question “Internet: A Boon Or Bane” and the technology is about to enter the third phase of its evolution. Yes, the Internet has evolved itself over the years, according to the needs of the people. In this post, we will be covering the evolution of the Internet over the years.
If we want to study the evolution of the Internet then let us start with the very beginning of the story. The Internet was developed by the military to share information within the organization. This internet was called the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network). This ARPANET was later on developed into the internet.
Since then the Internet has evolved rapidly. It started with Web 1.0 then came the social touch to it and developed it into Web 2.0 and now, it is moving to the Web 3.0 phase or what we call the Metaverse.
There is a very fine line that separates these three phases from one another. In this article, we will study the evolution of the internet over time along with the factors that lead to the change. At the end of the article, you will also find the comparison table that will clear all your doubts.
Difference Between Web 1.0, Web 2.0, And Web 3.0
The post below will explain to you the difference between Web 1.0 vs Web 2.0 vs Web 3.0. You will also find the features of all the WWW (World Wide Web) phases along with the area where each phase is focused on. So, let’s not waste much of our time talking and start with Web 1.0.
Web 1.0 – The “Readable” Phase
It is the most initial stage of the WWW (World Wide Web). It refers to the time when the internet has just been introduced to the world and there are only a few content creators. There were only some people with the knowledge to create the web pages but, a majority of the people at the consumer end were huge. The most common web pages were the personal static pages that were majorly hosted on free web hosting services or ISP-run web services.
The irritating advertisement on the websites was banned during Web 1.0 because the customers used to pay for the number of pages visited. It was the read-only era where the users just interacted with the producer of the information. One of the most used technologies on the internet, emails were also sent through Html forms. So, you need to be very specific with the format.
In a nutshell, web 1.0 was just the information portal with the least interaction between the user and the site. The users access the internet to receive the information and they were not even given the chance to post comments or reviews about the content they have read.
Also Read, What Is The NVIDIA Omniverse And Its Role In Metaverse Development
Features Of Web 1.0
- The web pages were static pages
- The content served on the website was provided through the server’s file system
- The pages were built using the CGI (Common Gateway Interface).
- For the alignment of the webpage, frames and tables were used.
Web 2.0 – The “Writeable” Phase
The next stage in the evolution of the internet is Web 2.0. In this stage, more focus is given to the website interaction and user experience. As we said the previous era was known as the read-only era, the web 2.0 era is called the read and write era.
It is the time where more focus is given to usability, interoperability, and user-generated content. During Web 2.0 major focus is given to the way web pages are used and designed rather than the technical specifications. Web 2.0 also allows the users to interact with one another on its platform and the best example of it is the social media sites. This version of the internet allowed the users to make virtual content and share it on social media.
In a nutshell, Web 2.0 focuses majorly on User-generated content. The most used web browser technologies for the development of Web 2.0 are JavaScript and AJAX.
Usage Of Web 2.0
As we said that this phase is not only for the end-user. Since it majorly focuses on the interaction between the users so every participant is the user. Here is the list of applications that are accessible only because of the Web 2.0
- Blogging
- Curating With RSS
- Social Networking
- Web content Voting
- Social Media
- Social Bookmarking
- Tagging
- Podcasting
Features Of Web 2.0
- The information available is sorted. The users have the access to classify and retrieve the information.
- The content available is dynamic and is responsive to the user input.
- The websites developed are interactive and the users can interact with the site owners through the comments.
- Developed APIs
Also Read, When Will The Metaverse Be Here | The Companies Involved
Web 3.0 – The “Executable” Phase
Web 3.0 is the upcoming Metaverse version of the Internet. Web 2.0 focused more on the social approach which led to the monopoly of social media sites over the internet. It is said that Web 3.0 will take an approach back to the user end.
It will be the evolution of the web interaction and utilisation including the altering of the web into the database. As we told you above, Web 2.0 was related to the development of the front end. Web 3.0 will deal with more advancement in the back end to combine the digital and the physical life of humans.
This phase of the internet evolution will focus more on the machine to machine interaction. Web 3.0 will also focus on developing computers that will intercept and interpret the signals like humans.
Features Of Web 3.0
- Semantic Web: It is the extension of the World Wide Web, through the standards set by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). The major work of the semantic web is to access the data on the internet machine-readable.
- The introduction of Artificial intelligence
- 3D graphics will be used in the applications to give them a realistic look.
- The connectivity will be stronger.
- Ubiquity: This means that the content on the internet will be accessible via multiple applications and the services can be accessed everywhere on the earth.
Web 1.0 | Web 2.0 | Web 3.0 | |
| Definition | Read-only | Read-write | Read-write-execute |
| Technologies associated with the era | File and Web ServersContent and Enterprise PortalsSearch Engines (AltaVista, Yahoo!)E-mail (Yahoo!, Hotmail)P2P File Sharing (Napster, BitTorrent)Publish and Subscribe Technologies | Ajax and JavaScript framework adobe FlexEnterprise Java, Microsoft.NET Framework (Server-side)BlogsWikisInstant Messaging | Semantic SearchingKnowledge BasesOntologiesPersonal Intelligent Digital Assistants |
| Type of Web | Simply Web | Social Web | Semantic Web |
| No. of users | Millions | Billions | Trillions |
| Basic concept | Connect information | Connect people | Connect knowledge |
| Associated websites | CNN | Flickr, YouTube, Blogger | GoogleMaps, My Yahoo! |
| Features | Hyperlinking and bookmarking on pages.No communication between server and user. Websites were Static. It allowed only browsing of content. | Better interaction. Includes functions like Video streaming, Online documents, etc. Introduction of web applications. Everything becomes online and stored on servers. | Smart, web-based applications and functionalities.An amalgamation of Web technology and knowledge representation (KR). |
Summing Up
We hope that now you are clear with the difference between Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and web 3.0. We have mentioned the special features along with the comparison table to make the topic simpler. If you still have any doubt left in your head then do ask us in the comments section. We will be happy to hear from you.
