The second generation of the internet from 1995-2010s is characterized by popularization of web browsers and search engines, e-commerce, and the social internet. Large parts of the digital economy are controlled by giant platforms and corporations in Web 2.0. Digital distribution of content suffers from rampant copying and piracy, destroying value in creative industries 

Issues with Web 2.0

Web2 is characterized by the ability for apps to read and write at the same time. This enabled social and economic change such as the rise of social media and online shopping. There is always a middleman that faciliates these online interactions.

New York University

Predecessors of Web3

Voshmgir, S. (2020). Token Economy: How the Web3 reinvents the Internet (Token Economy: How the Web3 reinvents the internet (English original & foreign language translations)) (Second ed.). Shermin Voshmgir, BlockchainHub Berlin.

Token Economy: How the Web3 is Reinventing the Internet

Web2

Web1 was mainly a "read" interface. One would use web browsers and search engines to find links that would lead you to your interests on the "information highway"

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