As an IT professional tasked with keeping up with the latest trends and advances, you cannot afford to wallow in the hyperbole surrounding Web 3.0 and must instead focus on the potential of this budding technology as it reaches its mature and practical form. A business environment based on Web 3.0 technology will require a fresh approach to every interaction and every administrative decision.

With that, knowing the terminology associated with Web 3.0 is going to be vital to every IT administrator, developer, network engineer, manager, and decision-maker in business.

Understanding the Web 3.0 technology

From Web 1.0, marked by read-only static web pages, to our current version of Web 2.0, innovation is a constant theme in the tech sector. Despite whatever hyperbolic predictions you may have heard, Web 3.0 and blockchain are real technologies, and businesses of all types and sizes need to know about and prepare for them.

Web 3.0 refers to the possible future of the World Wide Web. Web 3.0 is an umbrella term for the series of technologies that will underlie a decentralized internet. The overall practicality of the concept is still ill-defined outside of a handful of very specific projects.

Just as nascent technological advances like cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and big data systems suffered through sensationalized predictions as they were maturing, so will Web 3.0. Navigating the emerging developments in Web 3.0 technology will call for a solid understanding of its concepts and key terms.

Venture into the space of Web 3.0

Gain a clearer understanding of Web 3.0 concepts and terminologies with TechRepublic Premium’s quick glossary.

For instance, this exclusive resource details what consensus mechanism means. It is defined as the algorithm used in distributed systems to establish an agreement on the state of the network, such as account balances and order of transactions. This mechanism ensures all network nodes are synchronized and that all the data entries and transactions are validated, legitimate, and secure. The two most prevalent consensus mechanisms in blockchain are proof-of-work and proof-of-stake.

It also outlines the meaning of a decentralized autonomous organization, shortened to DAO, which is a member-owned organization that does not have centralized leadership and has its internal rules embedded as computer code in an open, transparent manner in the form of a smart contract. Members of DAOs are generally issued governance tokens, with which they can vote on what the project does and how it does it. The intention is to form a global association of stakeholders bypassing government regulations.

Transaction hash is explained as well in the glossary. A hash function is an algorithm in cryptography that takes an input (a string of numbers and letters) and transforms it into an output of fixed length (hash) as part of a complex mathematical problem. A blockchain system utilizes these hash functions to protect the integrity, security, and immutability of the transactional data on the network.

The guide further explores terminologies such as creator economy, extended reality, proof of work, and trustless transaction.

Those interested in expanding their knowledge of Web 3.0 can download the nine-page quick glossary for $9 at TechRepublic Premium.

Subscribe to the Innovation Insider Newsletter

Catch up on the latest tech innovations that are changing the world, including IoT, 5G, the latest about phones, security, smart cities, AI, robotics, and more. Delivered Tuesdays and Fridays

Subscribe to the Innovation Insider Newsletter

Catch up on the latest tech innovations that are changing the world, including IoT, 5G, the latest about phones, security, smart cities, AI, robotics, and more. Delivered Tuesdays and Fridays