Bill Laboon is the Head of Education and Grants at the Web3 Foundation. An expert in decentralised and immersive systems, Bill is the guest in the latest interview of the Dinis Guarda podcast, to discuss the fundamentals of Web 3.0 and the various ways in which these concepts can be brought to a wider audience. The full interview is now available on openbusinesscouncil.org and citiesabc.com.
The internet has undergone remarkable transformations since its inception. From a static Web 1.0 to a more dynamic and interactive Web 2.0, the world is now at the cusp of a digital revolution where Web 3.0 brings a fresh promise of redefining how we perceive and interact with the online world.
Bill highlighted some of the common problems with the centralised system of the internet, where the power and authority over user’s data rests in the hands of some big players. This is where, Bill Laboon says, is the magic of Web 3.0 begins:
“We have seen in the past that we can’t just trust the entities, not just because they could be malicious, but because there could be data breaches.
The idea of Web 3.0 is the decentralised space, i.e. give ownership to the individuals, and this does require some responsibility.”
Watch the full interview below:
Decentralisation and Immersion: The fundamental features of Web 3.0
At its heart, Web 3.0 is defined by two fundamental features: decentralization and immersion. These pillars are reshaping the digital realm and propelling us towards an era where users have full control over their own data and experience a deeply immersive online environment.
Decentralization redefines the power dynamics of the internet, returning autonomy to users and challenging the dominance of tech giants.
“While centralised entities can get things done much more quickly, that's not a recipe for eternity. It brings stagnation in the long run, because then you can’t determine what the goal is or what people want to do or how you determine what the rule makers would do.
But, with decentralized systems, we democratize the entire process, allowing users to innovate”, says Bill.
He further emphasised that organisations like Web3 Foundation ensure that there is a robust system in place to realise these goals.
“Our protocol does not allow forks. So, our system is very democratic but still very powerful”, he says.
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Web3 Foundation: Fostering innovation in decentralised web protocols
Web3 Foundation nurtures cutting-edge applications for decentralized web software protocols in order to deliver a decentralised and fair internet where users control their own data, identity and destiny.
Bill told Dinis that Web3 Foundation is based on the Polkadot blockchain that stands as a scalable sharded chain, distinguished as the first protocol that offers a secure environment for cross-chain composability. This innovation, he says, “paves the way for greater interoperability and collaboration within the blockchain space.”
The foundation provides extensive support to Web 3.0 teams and open-source projects through various means, including funding, advocacy, research, and collaborative efforts.
“Blockchain is a way of people coming together to determine what the truth is. This is what we are trying to do. We give grants to the projects that help us realise this vision of a decentralised web”, Bill told Dinis.
The Head of Education and Grants at the Web3 Foundation, Bill told Dinis that Web3 Foundation provides grants for three major areas: First, creating many ways of interacting with blockchains more cheaply, secondly better user interfaces and ways to improve them, and lastly team building alternative solutions.
“We tried to make Polkadot unstoppable, much open, and removed as much power from current engineers so the users can determine the future of Polkadot”, he said.
He also highlighted the role of Web3 Foundation in educating and creating courses to spread the knowledge and awareness about the fundamentals of Web 3.0.
Immersion from Web 3.0: Paving the way for the metaverse
The metaverse, often referred to as the next frontier of the internet, is a collective virtual shared space, merging physical and digital realities. It is a place where users can interact, socialize, work, and play in a seamless, immersive environment.
Web 3.0's decentralization ensures that the metaverse isn't controlled by a single entity, preventing the monopolization of this emerging space. Blockchain, as a fundamental technology of Web 3.0, allows for the creation of decentralized applications (DApps) and digital assets that can seamlessly integrate into the metaverse.
“The concept of metaverse has been here for many years now. With movies and games providing immersion, one can say that metaverse is not a new concept.
However, what really is interesting is that the data that you generated in one metaverse, is generally not accessible to the other. So, that aspect of interoperability has lacked somewhere. This is where the concept of NFTs has been unique, bringing the true value of metaverse to light”, Bill said.
