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WTF is Web 3.0?

In my previous post, we discussed the history and characteristics of Web3 and how it compares to Web 2.0. You may have been left wondering, though, why is it "Web3" and not "Web 3.0"?

The simple answer is Web 3.0 was already taken. While Web3 refers to the decentralized web, Web 3.0 is used to refer to the Semantic Web. Now you're probably asking, "WTF is the Semantic Web?"

Imagine the internet as a giant library with billions of pages of information. And just like in a library, it can be hard to find the right book or article you need. That's where the Semantic Web comes in.

The idea of the Semantic Web started in the 1990s with a man named Tim Berners-Lee, who also happens to be the inventor of the World Wide Web. He wanted to make it easier for people to find information online by adding more meaning to the content.

The Semantic Web is based on the idea of adding extra information to web pages, so that computers can understand the meaning of the content. This extra information is called metadata, which is like a set of labels that describe what the page is about.

For example, imagine you're looking for information about Mars. Without metadata, you might find pages that mention the word "Mars," but they could be about anything from Bruno Mars to The Mars Volta to Mars candy bars. With metadata, you could find pages that are specifically about finding Mars in the night sky, how Mars compares to Earth, or even past and planned missions to Mars.

To make this happen, the Semantic Web uses a special language called RDF (Resource Description Framework) to describe the metadata. This language is like a set of instructions that tell computers how to interpret the labels and understand what the content is all about.

The goal of the Semantic Web is to make it easier for people to find the information they need, and also to make it easier for computers to work together and share information. With the Semantic Web, computers can understand the meaning of content, and use that knowledge to make connections and provide more accurate and relevant search results.

Overall, the Semantic Web is all about making the internet more useful and efficient for everyone, by adding extra meaning and making it easier to find the information we need.

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