The Databases Build Web 3.0. Effective Frontends Will Drive Adoption

I do a lot of reading in the course of a day. Most days I’m either reading or I’m creating something. I am subscribed to a variety of newsletters. Many of them send curated links, some send me articles.

It’s not often that I happen to read within short order of each other two articles that seem to build on each other. Today was one of them. The first one was a post from Tuesday that I’d left open to read when I got up this morning. It was written by @taskmaster4450 on Hive.

He pretty much took the concept of Web 3.0 down to the bare bones of where it’s power resides, databases.

Web 2.0 Databases

We all know those who currently own and control databases of information, especially user information turn their users into products.

The more data they control and can analyze, the more products they can build and profit even more. You’ll spot that real fast on Amazon when you look at a product and a day or so later a product recommendation shows up in your inbox. Facebook has been doing this for years as they spot a trend and they either create a product or buy one up, like Instagram or WhatsApp.

The big tech companies have made huge profits off their closed shop control of treasure troves of user data housed in databases.

Web 3.0 Databases

The real power shift with web 3.0 will rest in databases of user information being transparent and accessible. Any of us currently using Hive know, everything we do on the blockchain stays on the blockchain and can be seen by anyone.

That includes when you think you’ve deleted content from a post. It’s still there on the blockchain along with the fact you changed the data.

For some, that fact is a bit unnerving.

For growth and development, it means no longer does the owner of the database control what gets built. We see this on Hive. No one has to ask to be allowed to build an app, or game. They see the need and have the means to fill it, they do.

They can access they same data that the core development team does.

In fact, the core development team has been working to create apps and tools to make it even easier for others to come along and build on the chain.

Building is growth and diversity.

As @taskmaster4450 pointed out, it’s not sexy nor is it marketing, but it is revolutionary.

Getting From Databases to Wide Adoption

What he didn’t explore is where web 3.0 needs to get in order to be widely adopted. He has talked about it in other articles. This brings me to the other part of my reading which builds on what he wrote about.

Rex Woodbury from the Digital Native newsletter put out a lengthy article today entitled, “Most People Wont Know Web3 Exists — Web3 is a Backend Revolution”.

He starts off with an interesting analogy of a smart contract using the concept of a vending machine. In simplest terms, a vending machine is programmed to deliver the product when the user deposits the coin and presses the right buttons.

It’s a mechanical version of the smart contract underpinning things like NFTs.

He went on to explore the various ways people can be introduced to using web 3.0 without actually realizing what is going on in the background.

The same principle as you don’t need to know how your car runs to turn the key and put it in gear. You just have to know how to use it to navigate.

He goes on to explore the various aspects of current systems that people will be need to embrace, even if they don’t know they are embracing them with some interesting suggestions on how things can be presented to the wider population.

They are both long articles but I recommend you take the time to read both of them. @taskmaster’s here and Rex Woodbury’s here. You may want to subscribe to Digital Native, usually an interesting read.

The Technology Hurdle is Real

I showed up on the blockchain a little over 5 years ago. I remember how confusing it was. I had to explore one step at a time. I had the patience and the curiousity to do so.

There has been some improvement since to make things a bit easier but the system is a long way off from one the average person can just sign up and feel confident using it.

Web 3.0 has great promise for creators and their ability to monetize their content without gatekeepers and middlemen. The promise will not be fulfilled if their potential community of users continues to be a fraction of the population.

Both Taskmaster and Rex have it right. Don’t get caught up in hype over web 3.0 and lose sight of the fact it’s the backends, the databases that will drive the building and it will be how easy the frontend is for the consumer to use that will drive it’s adoption.

Shadowspub is a writer from Ontario, Canada. She writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.

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