Feature

The Era of Web 3. 0 is Here! Life in the Digital Fast Lane

You can describe to your friend how your day went just by showing the records of your phone Apps: Yes, that is how these mobile devices – or the Web, for that matter, – has integrated into daily life. There is nothing it can’t participate in, from waiting for a bus, or picking a restaurant. This is the era of Web 3. 0, and many don’t realize how it has truly changed the way we live. Take a look at the following video for starters!

Does this video ring any bells for you? Déjà vu much? Seeing how mobile devices have already changed our lives, these scenarios might not be a far cry from reality in a couple of years. Web 3. 0 is not only a slogan for what’s to come: It’s actually happening. Now. So what are the signs? How do you know the web is changing? Let’s find out.

The Web is Everywhere

Talk about true digitalization. We don’t need to be hooked to a desk to have internet access; wi-fi is practically everywhere. You don’t even need a phone to log onto the web. Mirror, walls, refrigerators, desks and shelves… Anything with a flat surface would probably do.

▲ Plug all your smart household appliances online and control with a single remote!

Human – Computer Interface

The Human – Computer Interface refers to any medium that allows interaction between the user and the machine, such as keyboards and touch-screens. We witnessed how mobile phones went from having keypads to voice command ones (iPhone’s Siri, for example). The motion sensing phone is already on its way, along with eye movement sensing and 3D visual designs. It is all to make the device as “smart” as possible.

▲ Future cyborgs might come in more forms that what movies suggest now.

Cloud Storage

We all talk about cloud computing. It’s actually just another fancy term for the internet with an advanced relation with its client. So what’s special about it? Take Google Translate for instance. The original text is uploading to its database, the server processes it, then downloads the target text to your PC. The process is known as cloud computing. Google’s supercomputer cover text, sound, video and maps without having you install a single additional software. In addition, the information is shared by possibly millions of users at the same time. It’s not a big surprise that though the hardware are not evolving much, internet speed is forever an indicator of advanced technology.

▲ The Web 3. 0 age uploads information into a supercomputer through cloud network.

A Single ID: One for All, All for One

Oh no! I forgot my password — again! Everyone’s been there before. With all those codes and passwords, who can keep track of all of them? Web 3. 0 aims to solve this problem by unifying the resources of different platform all into one. Imagine if you can shop online, blog, chat on the web phone with just a one-stop registration process!

The Help: Semantic Web Technology

Picture this. Your plan to hold a party with some friends, and key in “Party for 10” in the search bar. Google results come up with “Christmas/Halloween bashes” or some celebrity’s after-parties that hold information useless to you. Web 3. 0 provides you the perfect solution. A thing known as “Meta data” already exists: Its the record of the posts you “Like” on Facebook, or your online shopping preferences. Once this data is categorized, it is systematically processed. The “semantic web” can filter out search results that do not match your personal habits and present you with the best conclusions possible. That is, the more details you provide, the more accurate results you will end up with. Even a request such as, “Finding a date plan at a nice French restaurant following a romantic movie under 2,000 NTD” would work.

Anyway, the point is Web 3. 0 will be the ideal solution in terms of making the digital life much more easier for an average user. However no one can be sure which direction it will take. It might lead to somewhere we’ve never even dreamed of, and for better or worse, it’s coming soon. It is up to us to make sure that technology always serves to benefit life, and not the other way around. Would we be able to keep up with the pace of our digital revolutions? Well, we will see.