Web3 And Metaverse: How Are They Different?
The two concepts promise to revolutionize the way we use the Internet and, although they are closely related to each other, they do not mean the same thing. While one will decentralize the network, the other will create a 3D virtual ‘new world’.
Web3 and the metaverse are two topics that are being talked about more and more when conversations about what the future of the Internet could be. However, although it is easy to find a large amount of information on web pages, specialized and general media, or on social networks, it may sometimes seem a bit difficult to understand what each concept is about, how the one of the other or, also, what they have in common.
Before trying to get into these two innovations and explain how they could change the way we interact through the network, it is necessary to know that both web3 and the metaverse are projects that are still in the development phase and their potential actual will depend largely on the use, acceptance and future involvement by the users themselves. Both concepts are expected to be based, mainly, on the blockchain or blockchain technology, which, as you have surely heard, allows you to create, store and transfer data or digital values in a completely secure and decentralized way, that is, without control of a central server.
In the specific case of the metaverse, aspects such as asset portability or self-managed decentralized identity will depend on it being built with blockchain.
What is web3?
As you can imagine, if today we are talking about web3 it is because there are previous versions: web1 and web2 (or also called web 2.0). The first was based, mainly, on the publication of content that was passively consumed by users (without interaction) through blogs and portals created in the infrastructure of open protocols, which means that they did not belong to a single company. The second, which is currently in force, however, is characterized by the appearance of social networks and the participation of users, who became content creators. However, the activity is centralized in these social networks, which control the distribution of information and user data.
For its part, web3 promises to combine the best of its predecessors: return to the open protocols of web1, while maintaining user participation in the creation of web2 content. And to achieve this, it will be based on blockchain technology and the options it offers: a decentralized infrastructure where each user will be the owner of their data and the possibility of exchanging digital assets represented in tokens.
At this point, you may already understand what web3 is and what the main differences are from previous versions, but to make it even clearer, let’s see an example. Currently, when it comes to being part of a social network, it is necessary to provide our data to create a user and be able to interact or publish content on said platform. These data and content are used by the owner of the social network to monetize them through personalized advertisements, for example. Now, with web3, users would own their data and could get tokens for its content directly from other users. In short, it is a new form of Internet, where developers and users are the owners and their work is rewarded under a ‘tokenization’ model.
What is the difference between web3 and the metaverse?
The doubts about whether web3 and the metaverse are the same may be because, as we have already said, they are projects in the development phase and related to the blockchain. The metaverse is, broadly speaking, a new three-dimensional (3D) virtual ecosystem that seeks to offer an immersive experience similar to that of the physical world, and in which participants can work, study, play, and make economic transactions, among many others. other activities of daily living.
As we can see, the metaverse concept refers to the creation of a ‘new world’ through the Internet, while web3 focuses on the creation of decentralized infrastructure for users to create and manage their digital assets, even in the metaverse itself.
What do web3 and the metaverse have in common?
Now that you know how they are different, we are going to explain what they have in common. Practically, we can say that the metaverse, to become what it promises, needs users to transfer activities such as playing, working, and studying, among many others, to their three-dimensional environment. In this way, the interaction between the participants would give way to a new digital economy, with commercial and social relationships based on the digital assets of each one. And this is where web3 -which decentralizes data ownership- comes into action, making transactions such as NFTs or any other exchange of values between Internet users possible and secure.
