I’ve been doing some reading about web3 recently to understand what it is and what it might mean.

There is plenty of skepticism about web3. The thing that bothers me the most is the premature annointing of these specific technologies as being the 3rd iteration of the web. The first (html) and second (web service, JavaScript, etc.) weren’t named until well after they had demonstrated their usefulness in practice.

Maybe this specific assortment of tech will create a new decentralized web that empowers regular users. Maybe it won’t. Only time will tell.

Update: I read this interesting opinion by Matt Stoller that discusses the argument that crypto/web3/whatever are counters to our existing corrupt financial system. Essentially, he calls bullshit.