You may have noticed side-by-side collages: “Web2 vs. Web3 ME” pictures popping up left and right around social media, especially since 2021! On the left side, you find a random person’s “selfie.” On the right side of the collage, some of them are monkeys, a variety of other animals, cartoon drawings, stick figures, pixelated whales, and just about anything else you can imagine! Cryptocurrency related commercials are flooding television screens, especially during major sporting events. Companies are talking about "NFTs” while news and opinions have flown around about million dollar JPEGs, mostly drawings of apes, and celebrities are in the mix.
Is this another weird internet thing? Or something more?
Is this a Gen Z inspired trend, or the fault of those pesky millennials?
The answer to these questions is, in some ways, both "yes" and "no!"
The “challenge” here is what lies underneath. It’s all about people building a different, largely undeniable version of the internet. This Web3 world goes even further: beyond what we have grown accustomed to, and onwards towards a platform that could change the future of finance as we’ve known it. The innovation is intense.
As for, “who is responsible for this?” The answer may be, in part, digital natives: millennials and those generations after, who have grown up with the internet and other modern information technologies as a part of their daily lives. Digital natives think, learn, and understand the world differently than people who haven't been exposed to technology as much as they have. But let’s be real: millennials are no longer spring chickens. In fact, they’re celebrating up to their 42nd birthdays in the year 2022. How time flies!
Still, those who have come to learn and build the technology associated with Web3 span all ages and walks of life. They are building peer-to-peer networks with individual devices that, when combined, serve a greater purpose by working together. Something greater: participation is open to anyone, with no borders imposed by countries, regions, time zones, age, or any other demographics, including language. Everyone can get involved!
Whether you’re a digital native who was born and raised in the digital age with technology, or a digital immigrant (those who came before the millennials), you may be finding your way to Web3 from many different avenues. Its technologies are not only here to stay, but also come with purpose. They have the potential to change the digital landscape as we know it forever!
In “Learn Crypto,” we’re delving into the world of Web3 and the technology that powers it: blockchain technology, which spans cryptocurrency, NFTs, and how they’re interrelated.
You’ll find a range of information on topics that will help you understand what’s happening around the cryptocurrency space now, as well as explore possibilities for the future. At the end of each lesson (including this one), you can check your understanding with a quick quiz, to make sure you’ve “got it!"
The world of Web3 is a fast-paced and volatile space. Many who are learning and growing in the field are also building it. Whatever areas you decide to participate in, remember they are ever-changing, and to keep learning!
Key terms or Web3 Vocabulary
The terms and acronyms you find in this section will be broken down to their most basic meanings. Technical lingo can get intense! We’ll keep it simple, since it’s likely you’re just learning.
Blockchain: (intro) a shared digital record (ledger) of information, recorded in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or alter the system, because it is duplicated and distributed across a peer-to-peer network of many devices.
Digital Natives: people who have grown up with the Internet and other modern information technologies as a part of their lives, typically regarded as starting with the millennials (1981-1996), and the generations following.
Web3: A layer on top of the internet, where information and data on the web is created and owned by its users, and run on blockchains.
QUIZ - How did you do retaining this information?
- True or False: Web3 is all about social media.
- a. True
- b. False
- Who are digital natives?
- a. People who live in the metaverse
- b. People who were born in Gen Z (1996-2010)
- c. People who spend most of their time on social media
- d. People who’ve grown up using internet and information technologies
- What’s the concept behind Web3?
- a. It’s a “challenge” or trend amongst celebrities and the in-crowd.
- b. Peer-to-peer networks and technology are building new uses for the Web.
- c. It’s for selling digital art on the internet, and making money.
- d. It’s the new version of the internet for people who are digital natives.
- Web3 builders and users are…
- a. In a specialized, private technology club
- b. New students in colleges today
- c. From all demographics around the world
- d. Not going to make it
- What kinds of definitions will be given throughout these lessons?
- a. None
- b. Complicated ones
- c. The most technical, high-level definitions, for extreme accuracy
- d. Simplified definitions that preserve meaning, while helping people learn
Answers to Quiz:
1. B
2. D.
3. D
4. C
5. D
