Is WEB3 the next big thing on the internet? What is it?

Loading player...
The term Web3 has suddenly become popular and is often referred to in the literature. But what is Web3 and what does it entail?
To properly understand Web3, it is important to know what the preceding Web1 and Web2 entailed. Web1 refers roughly to the initial period from 1991 to 2004, and consisted of a collection of links and home pages. Websites were very static, read-only and had very little or no interactivity. Users were mere consumers of content.
Web2 was a major improvement and has often been referred to as the “read/write” version of the Internet, based around the idea of “the web as platform”, where users not only consume content, but can interact with the content or produce their own content and publish it on blogs, wikis, internet forums and marketplaces, making activities such as online banking and shopping possible. Some years later, the widely popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram took user-created content and sharing to a totally new level. Web2 or the “social web” is generally considered to have started around 2005 and continues to the present day.
1 Mar 2022 12AM English South Africa Business News · Investing

Other recent episodes

One Year Into The Two-Pot System: How Much Have South African’s Withdrawn?

Guest - Nzwa Shoniwa, Managing Executive: Sanlam Umbrella Solutions From 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025, Sanlam Corporate paid out approximately R4 billion across 223 000 emergency-pot claims with R1 billion in tax flowing to SARS. On average, we are paying out about R150 million a month, but when…
11 Sep 2025 10AM 14 min

Discovery Group Delivers 30% Rise In Profits

Guest - Hylton Kallner, CEO of Discovery South Africa and Discovery Bank Discovery has delivered record results, posting a 30% surge in profit and entering a new phase of scaled growth with its two main composites, Discovery South Africa and Vitality. We’re joined by Hylton Kallner, CEO of Discovery South…
11 Sep 2025 9AM 18 min

FirstRand Post 10% Rise In Earnings And An Impressive 20% Return On Equity

Guest – Mary Vilakazi – CEO of FirstRand South Africa’s largest banking group, FirstRand, has posted a 10% rise in earnings and an impressive 20% return on equity – well above peers – despite economic headwinds. In this episode, we speak to Mary Vilakazi, the Group CEO, about what drove…
11 Sep 2025 9AM 16 min

What Tractor Sales Tell Us About The State Of Agriculture In South Africa?

Guest – Thabile Nkunjana, Agricultural Economist Agricultural Machinery Sales indicate that August tractor sales of 700 units were 22% more than the 572 units sold in August last year. There have been welcome reactions from agricultural associations about the increase in machinery sales.
10 Sep 2025 10AM 20 min