# Web3: The Next Internet Revolution

**Authors:** Shicheng Wan, Hong Lin, Wensheng Gan, Jiahui Chen, Philip S. Yu  
**arXiv:** [2304.06111](https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06111)  
**Date:** 2023-03-22  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2304.06111v1/

## Key points

- The World Wide Web has become an integral part of people's lives, especially for their cyber social activities.
- Web 2.0 increased its popularity by attracting people worldwide to participate in building and enjoying the virtual world.
- Web3 is set to open new opportunities for traditional social models by breaking the monopoly of internet companies through its decentralization property.
- This paradigm shift from a publishing medium to a medium of interaction and participation will transform the relations among users and platforms, forces and relations of production, and the global economy.
- The paper presents a detailed survey with a focus on current technologies, challenges, opportunities, and outlook for Web3.
- Major technologies essential for Web3 applications such as blockchain and smart contracts are introduced to ensure decentralized organizations are more truthful than centralized ones.
- Decentralized finance will also be global and inclusive for unbanked people.
- The article discusses the relationship between the Metaverse and Web3 while highlighting differences between Web 3.0 and Web3.
- A novel hierarchy of needs theory within Web3 is conducted to show how it can meet users' needs better than previous versions inspired by Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory.
- Several worthwhile future research directions are discussed to help readers understand how they can contribute to this emerging field fully.
- Overall, this paper provides valuable insights into the potential impact that Web3 could have on society in terms of transforming traditional social models into more interactive ones with greater inclusivity for all users regardless of their background or location.

## Summary

The World Wide Web has become an integral part of people's lives, especially for their cyber social activities. The emergence of Web 2.0 further increased its popularity as it attracted people worldwide to participate in building and enjoying the virtual world. However, the next internet revolution, Web3, is set to open new opportunities for traditional social models by breaking the monopoly of internet companies through its decentralization property. This paradigm shift from a publishing medium to a medium of interaction and participation will transform the relations among users and platforms, forces and relations of production, and the global economy. To provide a comprehensive overview of Web3, this paper presents a detailed survey with a focus on current technologies, challenges, opportunities, and outlook. It introduces several major technologies that are essential for Web3 applications such as blockchain and smart contracts that ensure decentralized organizations will be more truthful than centralized ones. Decentralized finance will also be global and inclusive for unbanked people. The article also discusses the relationship between the Metaverse and Web3 while highlighting differences between Web 3.0 and Web3. Inspired by Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, a novel hierarchy of needs theory within Web3 is conducted to show how it can meet users' needs better than previous versions. Finally, several worthwhile future research directions are discussed to help readers understand how they can contribute to this emerging field fully. Overall, this paper provides valuable insights into the potential impact that Web3 could have on society in terms of transforming traditional social models into more interactive ones with greater inclusivity for all users regardless of their background or location. These changes could enable individuals from different backgrounds to interact with each other more easily while providing them with access to services that were previously unavailable due to geographical or financial limitations. As such, this paper offers an invaluable resource for those interested in understanding how Web3 could shape our future societies in terms of digital interactions between individuals from around the world.