Decentralized Web

webinar series by

Resource guide
session 01

Decentralized
Web

AN INTRODUCTION

Thursday, January 27, 2022

What does it mean 2

to be ‘decentralized’?

Decentralized Web webinar series

Resource guide · part 01
A decentralized network is one where control
is shared among multiple actors, and not
concentrated in only a few large players,
platforms, or servers. Control comes in
many forms, such as having ownership of web
infrastructure (e.g. servers or portals),
ownership of data, influence to make decisions
about the network, the power to delete contents,
or decide who may access the network’s shared
capabilities, information, and knowledge.

In decentralized networks, control of

infrastructure and other technologies can be
distributed among contributors rather than
dictated by large (“central”) players.

↑ Wallace, Brandon D. “Beyond Mere Decentralization — The Orthogonal Web.”

Stories from the Decentralized Web (blog), April 8, 2021
 3
Most decentralized protocols are “open source,
”
meaning that the code is publicly available for

Decentralized Web webinar series

Resource guide · part 01
others to add to or iterate upon.

Some of the components of the World Wide Web

that can be decentralized include storage,
hosting, domain names, data, identity, data
transport layers, or payments. Since at least
2015, the DWeb community has been dedicated to
developing these technologies to build the web
of the future – also known as the DWeb. The goal
is to empower users to communicate and share
using secure, private, and open technologies.

E X A M PLES ↓

Centralized networks

Facebook is a centralized
network, where data is
controlled by a central,
all-powerful company.

Distributed networks

Amazon’s Cloud is a
distributed network,
where the data is
stored across a grid, Decentralized networks
but still controlled
by a central entity. Interplanetary File System
(or IPFS) is a peer-to-peer
hypermedia protocol, where
the creator, Protocol Labs,
does not control where or
how the data is stored.
Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 4

Decentralized Web webinar series

Resource guide · part 01
the Read-Only Web
vs. the Read-Write Web

One way to think of the web’s development over

time is in terms of users’ evolving relationship
with the web’s content and their possibilities to
engage with said content. Right after the World
Wide Web came into public use in the early-to-
mid 1990s, a typical user’s (self-hosted) website
would be made up of hyperlinked text, files,
applications, and other (static) digital objects
that could be read and/or downloaded by website
visitors. Users could read the content but not
comment on it or alter it. This is why Web 1.0
has been called the read-only web.

Web 2.0, our present stage, started to develop

in the early-to-mid 2000s. This is when platforms
emerged to allow users to interact with
content, and with one another. In Web 2.0, users
make posts (such as comments or replies to other
content) on websites that are usually hosted (and
owned) by third parties, like Facebook profiles
or Ebay product pages. Because these services
strongly encourage (and benefit from) user-
generated content, as well as user participation
and engagement, Web 2.0 has also been called the
read-write or social web.

The current Web has empowered everyone to

become a publisher, sharing ideas and knowledge.
But over time, Web 2.0 developed into a system
that puts control in the hands of a few actors
(corporate or governmental), to the detriment of
individual user’s privacy, security, and freedom
of access.
The Decentralized Web 5

vs. Web 3.0

Decentralized Web webinar series

Resource guide · part 01
The definition of Web 3.0 is still being debated.
Some argue that the Decentralized Web and Web
3.0 are actually very different in form, function
and mission. Here’s how we define these two
different technological realms:

The Decentralized Web seeks to decentralize

all the layers of the current “Web stack”. ​​
It requires a decentralized way to store and
retrieve files, decentralized log-ins so users
can interact, and a peer-to-peer payment system.
A distributed identity system (proving you are
who you say you are) that obviates the need for
centralized usernames and passwords. Public key
encryption that can protect privacy, so users
could have more confidence they weren’t being
spied on. Decentralized databases could allow
information to ‘live’ in many different places,
so information can’t easily be blocked or erased.
The Decentralized Web could create a new “hash”
code each time a web page changes, making past
versions of the Web verifiable.

Meanwhile, Web 3.0 has come to mean the

“blockchain-ification” of the Web, using
blockchain technologies & cryptocurrencies
to verify transactions, pay for services, and
certify content such as NFTs. The central
innovation of Web 3.0 is the verification that
blockchains afford. Some call this a “trustless”
system, because you no longer have to trust
the company or platform; the trust lies in the
blockchain data itself. Others also lump in
 6
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and virtual reality
(the Metaverse) into Web 3.0.

Decentralized Web webinar series

Resource guide · part 01
In her essay, “Web3 is Self-Certifying,
” Jay
Graber proposes this definition: “Web3 is
user-generated authority, enabled by self-
certifying web protocols. These are a superset
of technologies that include blockchains, but are
not limited to them.” In this framework, users
have cryptographically verified identities, post
verifiable data, and the host can’t change them.
We know this sounds a lot like a blockchain,
but it’s broader than that. Some well known
decentralized protocols that don’t rely on
a blockchain include IPFS, Hypercore, Secure
Scuttlebutt, and Peergos. In this webinar series,
we’ll be demonstrating how these decentralized
protocols actually work.
Recommended
Resources
Decentralized Web FAQ by Wendy Hanamura

Why Have a Decentralized Web? By John Ryan in

Medium

What Exactly is Web3? Video by Juan Benet,

founder, Protocol Labs, at Web3Summit 2018.
(Note: at about 6:00 he explains Web 1.0, Web 2.0
and Web 3.0 in a pithy way)

Dive Deeper
Web3 is Self-Certifying by Jay Graber. Medium,
December 2021.

From the Bottom to the Top: Mai Ishikawa Sutton

on the Decentralized Web by Mai Ishikawa Sutton
[Logic Magazine article], May 2021

Beyond Mere Decentralization: The Orthogonal Web

by Brandon Wallace. Medium, April 2020.

Exploring the Decentralized Web. Video series

produced by the Filecoin Foundation for the
Decentralized Web

Blockchain Explained. A Reuters visual guide to

Blockchain technology. June 2018.
Community
Resources
GetDWeb.net - web site of the DWeb Community, a
global network of meetup groups working to build
a better web, following these core principles

Redigest - Monthly newsletter by

Redecentralize.org

Stories from the Decentralized Web - Medium

Channel with event recaps, articles & reposts of
fundamentals of the Decentralized Web

DWeb Community Calendar

Try it out!
INOCULATE, Issue 02 of COMPOST Magazine.
Published by Distributed Press and hosted on
decentralized infrastructure. Read more about
COMPOST on the project’s Wiki.

How to Use IPFS with the Brave browser by

the Basic Attention Token Community. A short
explainer video for beginners.

Try installing Beaker Browser, the browser that

lets you build peer-to-peer websites
Join the upcoming
sessions

Jan 27 The Decentralized Web: An Introduction

4 pm EST Register →

Feb 24 In an Ever-Expanding Library, Using

4 pm EST Decentralized Storage to Keep Your
Materials Safe
Register →

Mar 31 Keeping Your Personal Data Personal: How

4 pm EST Decentralized Identity Drives Data Privacy
Register →

Apr 28 Goodbye Facebook, Hello Decentralized

4 pm EST Social Media? Can Peer-to-Peer Lead to
Less Toxic Online Platforms?
Register →

May 26 Decentralized Apps, the Metaverse and

4 pm EST the “Next Big Thing”
Register →

June 30 Ethics of the Decentralized Web & Uses

4 pm EST for the Law, Journalism and Humanitarian
Work
Register →