Journey of the Web

Invented by British computer scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee and known as the World Wide Web (WWW), the internet continues to change and develop since its inception in 1989. The history of the Internet can be divided into 3 basic phases: Web1, Web2 and Web3. So what sets Web3 apart from others?

Web1, which consisted of mostly informational, non-interactive, ‘read-only’ static web pages, lasted from approximately 1989 to 2004. This was followed by the much more interactive and user-friendly Web2, dominated by centralized platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The term Web2 was popularized by Tim O’Reilly and Dale Dougherty at the first O’Reilley Media Web 2.0 Conference in late 2004. More user-friendly and dynamic than the original web, Web 2 ushered in the era of user-generated content and forever changed the way we interact with the web.

While Web1 is all about accessing information, Web2 is more about creating and contributing. This second generation of web services, called the participatory web or social web, focuses heavily on interaction, interoperability and connectivity. Web2 is essentially the version of the Internet we know today and is largely driven by mobile, social and cloud technologies.

With Web2, anyone with internet access can now ,

Participate in platforms such as Wikipedia, Tumblr and WordPress and exchange information, ideas and experiences.
Managing all businesses on Etsy and Depop,
Producing content on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,
Reviews on Amazon and TripAdvisor,
Able to post images on Flickr or Pinterest,
Able to upload videos to YouTube,
He/She turned into a user who could promote homes on Airbnb. The list of interaction types goes on and on.

Problems of Web2

Web2 platforms, which have become a part of our lives both personally and professionally, are centralized on servers belonging to a small number of large companies. This means that an enormous amount of power and control is concentrated in the hands of just a select few.

Users actually make a ‘payment’ by transferring the rights to their personal data to these ‘free’ platforms. A lot of data, from a person’s name, date of birth and IP address to device, browsing history and shopping habits, can be collected and stored and becomes an asset in the hands of those platforms that can be sold to advertisers. In short, when users moved from Web1, where they were consumers, to Web2, which is interaction-oriented, they ceased to be consumers and found themselves in the position of a “product”.

Common concerns about Web 2, such as data mining, online surveillance, algorithm manipulation, exploitative advertising, and subjective prohibition, led many people to seek alternative platforms and Web3 was born.

Web3 represents the new generation of the Internet.

The concept of Web 3 was first introduced by Berners-Lee in a 2001 article published in Scientific American. The article talked about a glaring communication gap between humans and computer applications.

Combining the open infrastructure of Web1 with the participation of Web2 and referred to as the ‘semantic web’, Web3 is all about reading, writing and owning.

The Web 3 concept began to gain momentum in 2021, thanks to the spread of emerging technologies such as blockchain. Web3, also called the ‘decentralized web‘, aims to solve many of the shortcomings such as privacy and security brought by the centralized structure of Web2. Although still in its infancy, Web3 will move forward with predominantly decentralized protocols.

Through the use of Blockchain and related technologies, Web3 aims to shift power away from giant technology companies and give users roles such as ‘ownership’ on the web rather than just being users or consumers.

Web3 in short:

Decentralized
Uncensored
Self-governing
Provides higher levels of privacy and security
A web version with improved search engine readability.

How Does Decentralization Work in Practice?

The decentralized web is a version of the web that will be smarter, more autonomous and more open than anything that came before it. Aiming to eliminate the need for central authorities, Web3 means users can interact with any individual or machine in the world without having to trust third-party intermediaries. Unlike Web 2, where data belongs to the network, data in Web3 is shared. Users can theoretically participate in the management of internet protocols and (ultimately) own their own data.

Decentralized social networks aim to enable content creators to interact with audiences in a peer-to-peer manner and have the final say on their content without fear of being censored or deplatformed.

Examples of Web 3 include:

Decentralized protocol Bitcoin, Blockchain-based social platform Steemit,
NFT marketplace OpenSea and similar cryptocurrency exchanges.

So what might be the challenges of Web3?

There is some debate about the feasibility of Web3: some question whether it can be truly decentralized. Since blockchain technology is currently extremely costly and energy intensive, many people are concerned about both scalability and sustainability. But this concern also creates an impetus to find solutions, and it is thought that this situation will change in the near future. Additionally, transaction speeds in decentralized protocols are significantly slower than in centralized protocols.So what is the role of restorative finance in overcoming these challenges?

Restorative finance, or ReFi, is an initiative to create financial incentives to reduce carbon emissions, “restore” the environment, and ultimately reverse climate change. ‘How can blockchain promote the reduction of the global carbon footprint and regenerate natural resources?’ It seeks an answer to the question by using Blockchain. We will deepen the topic of restorative finance in our next newsletter, stay tuned!

Resources : 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5

ReFi Türkiye Meeting: Web3 for Good 🌱

On September 8, we held Web3 for Good, our first community meeting within the scope of the ReFi Türkiye program!

In this period when they became widespread, web3 and blockchain technologies,

What potential does it have to produce impact?
How our business models will transform at the center of these new technologies and
We brought together people and institutions who think about how to evaluate our work in a way that will facilitate it and who want to produce together, and actors who are already building application examples in this field.

Our goal is an ecosystem in cooperation and solidarity!

ReFi Türkiye Podcast 🎧️

🌱 Within the scope of the ReFi Turkey program, in each episode of the podcast series, which focuses on the intersection of Web 3.0 technologies and the impact ecosystem, with a focus on restorative finance, we have conversations with the pioneers who built the field and shed light on the field.

In the 0th episode of the ReFi Türkiye podcast, we explain our focus based on the questions “Why ReFi, Why Türkiye”; We explain why we chose the theme of restorative finance, what kind of work can arise from the combination of Web 3.0 technologies and the impact ecosystem, and what we will do throughout the program. Episode 0 of the podcast from here you can reach.

In the first episode of the podcast series, we witnessed Dudu’s experiences and the knowledge he has accumulated in his journey of “both the establishment of ecologically, economically and socially restorative agriculture beyond sustainability and its widespread widespread use in concrete terms”. To the 1st episode of the podcast from here you can reach us and buy the NFT we prepared specially for the podcast episode via POAP with the code you will hear in the episode!

ReFi Türkiye Hackathon

If you want to be a part of the motivation to design a new economy that will contribute to the repair process of the world, Akbank ReFi Hackathon is the event you are looking for!

You can work on the following focus areas at the event: Restoration of Ecosystems, Restorative Local Economy, Investment, Funding and Donation, Youth Employment, Quality and Transparency in Education. Sample works in every field can be found on the Medium imece platform page. In the article it is located.

You can register here until September 12 for the Akbank ReFi Hackathon, which will be the first hackathon to be organized by a bank on the blockchain network in Turkey, in cooperation with the Avalanche network !