Will Web3 meaningfully change the future of the internet?

If you’ve read Technical.ly long enough to see tech hype cycles run their course — as shiny new things quickly become industry standards and/or pilloried by skeptics — then you might already see a familiar phenomenon surrounding Web3.

But maybe, despite (or because of) the hype, you still need a refresher, or at least an easier way to explain it to the non-technologists among you. In short, it is the third iteration of the web that we all depend upon. The first version was Web 1.0, the functionally limited World Wide Web of yore. The second, Web 2.0, allowed for more of the interactivity and user responsiveness that underscored the explosion of social media.

Now, we step further every day into the era of Web 3.0, aka Web3. This more decentralized version incorporates blockchain, AI, AR/VR immersion, open-source architecture and other newer technologies. These components build the technical and philosophical underpinnings of a system whose champions say Web3 will make our world both more integrated and less dependent on the powerful entities who controlled prior iterations.

Or, as the person who coined the term “Web3” told WIRED last fall: “Less trust, more truth.”

The hopes behind Web3 most clearly manifest in the innovation and development of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, the metaverse and other products that offer the promise of empowerment and self-actualization without relying on intermediary conglomerates.

But what does this actually mean for startups, developers and the rest of us either acclimating to or growing out of this new ecosystem? What do companies buying space in the metaverse actually own? Does cryptocurrency compelling state-level advocacy compromise the niche excitement that drove people to it in the first place? Will lawmakers and regulators remain impossibly behind, catching up only once democratic freedoms are already violated?

While we certainly don’t have the answers to all these questions, we’re keenly interested in better understanding how they, and others surrounding Web3, apply to you. That’s why March is Web3 Month of Technical.ly’s 2022 editorial calendar.

That means our reporters are focusing extra coverage on how local economies will use and be changed by the technologies that make up Web3. We’ll be asking: How are we building a connective, social, decentralized web? What aspects of Web3 — including NFTs, DeFi, DAOs and cryptocurrency — are here to stay? We’ll also touch on the metaverse and other immersive web topics, though they’re not synonymous with Web3. Look for explainers and commentary from experts throughout.

But this doesn’t mark be the start of our Web3 coverage. We’ve already published the following relevant stories, among others:

• NFTs are going mainstream. A Baltimore artist and technologist explain how they work
• Why this Philly t-shirt company is investing $1M in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
• Meet Delaware’s blockchain wunderkind
• UMD is launching a blockchain accelerator
• A coalition just formed to advocate for wider adoption of blockchain tech in Pennsylvania
• The metaverse is money and crypto is king. Here’s why you’ll be on a blockchain when you’re virtual-world hopping

Are you an expert we should talk to, or do you know of one? Is there a report we need to read to better explain this topic? Are you working on a product or solution of the future? Want to write a first-person guest post about your relevant experience, or to share some relevant resources? Let us know:

This editorial article is a part of Web3 Month of Technical.ly's 2022 editorial calendar.