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A16z head Chris Dixon: Why is Web 3 important

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We are now at the beginning of the Web 3 era, which combines the decentralized, community-governance spirit of Web 1 with the advanced, modern capabilities of Web 2.

Why Web 3 Matters

Chris Dixon, a16Z partner

Moni, The Daily Planet

Web 1 (roughly 1990-2005) was a decentralized and community-managed open protocol with most of the value assigned to the edge of the network: users and Builders.

The main core of Web 2 (roughly 2005-2020) is an isolated, centralized service run by companies, with most of the value assigned to the Internet oligopolies of Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook.

We are now at the beginning of the Web 3 era, which combines the decentralized, community-governance spirit of Web 1 with the advanced, modern capabilities of Web 2. Web 3 is the Internet "owned" by builders and users, motivated by tokens (this definition was developed by Packy McCormick).

So why is the Web important?

First, let's look at the issue of centralized platforms. Centralized platforms follow predictable life cycles. At first, they went to great lengths to recruit users and third-party additions, such as creators, developers and businesses, in order to reinforce their network effects. As the platform adopts the S curve, which for the user and steady growth in the influence of the third party, when they arrived at the top of the S curve, the centralized platform and the relationship between network participants from "with" is a "zero-sum", if they want to continue to grow, you need to extract data from the user and compete with the (former) partners, Some examples of this include:

Microsoft and Netscape

2. Google and Yelp

Facebook and Zynga

4. Third client for Twitter and other social media

Epic and Apple

For third parties, the transition from cooperation to competition can feel like a "trap kill" process. Over time, the best entrepreneurs, developers, and investors have learned not to build on centralized platforms because it stifles innovation.

Now, let's talk about Web 3 again. In Web 3, ownership and control are decentralized. Users and builders can "own" Internet services by owning NFT and FT. NFT gives users property rights, that is, the ability to "own" part of the Internet.

NFT enables users to own objects, which can be art, photos, code, music, text, game objects, credentials, governance rights, access passes, and anything else one can imagine going on. NFT exists on top of blockchains like Ethereum, a decentralized global computer owned and operated by users on a network, and blockchains are special computers that anyone can access but no one can own.

Ethereum is powered by ETH, which is used to motivate the physical computers on which the system is based. ETH is also the system's native token for transactions and can support NFT purchase transactions. NFT and FT are available to users in a variety of ways; they can be purchased directly, but there are also ways to earn them. For example, community "grants" like Uniswap's airdrop of 15% of governance tokens to early adopters of the protocol as a way to build goodwill and incentivize adoption are becoming more common in Web 3.

Users can also earn tokens through creative and entrepreneurial activities, such as people can earn about $100 million worth of ETH by selling NFT. Token enables network participants to unite and work together towards a common goal -- the development of the network and the enhancement of value. The core problem of centralized network is that value is accumulated by one company, and the company ultimately struggles with its users and partners, and Web 3 solves this problem perfectly.

Prior to Web 3, users and builders had to choose between the limited capabilities of Web 1 or the enterprise centralized model of Web 2. Web 3 offers a new approach that combines the strengths of previous eras, and this is the early stage of the movement and a good time to get involved.

Editor's note: Chris Dixon's post has sparked a heated debate in the crypto community. Some people agree with him,Such as:

LukeYoungblood said. "Very helpless, I found that many developers and companies did not choose Web 3, this because they think encryption is a bubble, or think that encryption is not the real case. The idea is not wise, like Web 2 times many people don't seize the APP Store's early development opportunities, time the sooner the easier to master wealth entrance. "

Of course, there are some members of the community who disagree with Chris Dixon, like:

"Web 3 sounds good until you find out that it costs $8,000 to deploy a smart contract on the Ethereum network," says Behan_Chris.

Ashley_woodard said: "You can call it a meta-universe, a cryptographic network, whatever... but it doesn't seem like you can call it the Web."