March 2022 - Simply Flows

Web2 vs Web3: The Major Differences

The World Wide Web (WWW) is something that we are all familiar with in this day and age. People use the Internet every day to look up information, play games, go shopping, and more. However, did you know that this technology is not old? The first development of the WWW began in 1989 by Time Berners-Lee. A little over 30 years later, the WWW has surpassed expectations. Within these 30 years, the WWW has become a vast space for tons of information, gaming, and other entertainment, all thanks to the evolution of Web2 (also Web 2.0) technology. As we continue to advance in the coming years, the WWW will offer even more. Web3 (also Web 3.0) technology is slowly developing and moving to the forefront. Soon enough, it will become the leading technology we use when online. To prepare for this change, let’s see what the significant differences in Web2 vs Web3 technology are and what you can expect in the coming years.

Reading time: 7 mins | Published on: 3/28/2022

Web2 Evolution

In 2004, Web2 became a large and growing name. The world was moving away from Web1, which only promoted content viewing. Web2 completely changed this by now promoting a more user-generated WWW. Users were encouraged to post their own content. We’ve been posting all sorts of things such as pictures, videos, comments, ratings, and so on. Web2 enabled people to create billions of blog posts (much like I am doing right now). Plus, having different accounts for different websites grew in that period. Web2 brought a social aspect of the technology by empowering us to post whatever we desire. Today, we use Web2 technology nearly every day. Also, we have completely changed the way we receive information.

Here comes Web3

As we know, evolution is inevitable. As we moved away from Web 1.0 to 2.0, we are now moving towards Web3. This new internet technology is the future, and we are slowly beginning to develop and adopt it. So, what exactly is Web3? Web3 is built upon blockchains. It utilizes artificial intelligence, virtual, augmented, and mixed reality, and more. It was conceived around the notion of decentralization and crypto tokens. Now, you may be asking, what does all this mean? Basically, Web3 is the evolution of the WWW with a much more clear purpose. On the surface, it creates a space for real-world human communication online. On a deeper level, it advocates a decentralized, thus transparent, data store, eliminating the need of many a middlemen. There are many proponents of paying people for their user data, unlike in Web2. You may have heard of ‘play-to-earn’ or ‘use-to-earn’ concepts. What is that? Glad you asked! If you give information for something that matches what a person is looking for, you get compensated. This new, open way of using the Internet opens everyone to endless possibilities. Now people can interact with others online in metaverses and also earn money as they do.

Curious about what metaverse projects are currently available?
Check out the metaverse catalog created by Simply Flows.

Web2 vs Web3

If you couldn’t already tell, the World Wide Web will never stop evolving. As we become more technologically advanced, we begin the transition to Web3. Let’s explore the key differences between the two.

1. Interaction vs Decentralizaion

In Web2, the application focuses on users and their interactions on the Internet. It wants them to create and share their own unique content. With Web3, the Internet is decentralized. Rather than empowering everyone, it focuses more on single users and getting them what they want in a timely and efficient manner. Their target is to make each individual user happy through their efficient AI network. In this matchup for Web2 vs Web3, Web3 gives more effort towards one person, whereas Web2 wants the greater good for the community.

2. Technologies

Web2 is all about dynamic content, responsive layout, with a huge focus on UI/UX. Web technologies like AJAX, HTML5, CSS3, and surprisingly JavaScript rule. Features like tagging, ratings, community forums are basically the norm. Web applications are designed as API-first, in order to connect with other applications. That was a huge improvement from the mostly static website pages in Web1. Web3, based on the advancements in AI and NLP, promises much better search, analysis, and interpretation of information. Additionally, to deliver the immersive experience, the metaverse, for example, will rely on virtual and augmented reality, 3D modeling, and gesture computing. All in all, Web3 is a massive improvement over Web2, bringing in new depth, dimensions, and opportunities to users, developers, and the business.

3. Data Ownership

You do not own what you post in Web2. In fact, everything that you post is owned by the platform. People do not get any compensation for the work that they publish. In comes Web3 to save the day. Users have ownership over what they post due to data decentralization. That is called ‘shared data ownership.’ This means that your data belong to you, no matter what platform you’ve shared it on. The decentralized data is more secure due to the underlying blockchain technology. Additionally, you can make money for providing information or otherwise contributing to the community. With Web3, data is utilized more fairly and can benefit its owners.

4. Graphics

From 2D to 3D, in the Web2 vs Web3 discussion, it is interesting to see how graphics can change. We are used to the 2D space with video or pictures, but they don’t pop out at you. Even as a kid, I was used to playing games and seeing pictures that relied solely on 2D technology. Web3 changes everything we know about the experience. Now, not only can graphics be 3D, but also interactive. If you’ve ever heard of the metaverse or used some gaming platforms before, you can see how these changes come to life. With different avatars, buildings, and other remarkable landscapes, you can see just how well these 3D graphics come to life in Web3.

5. Social vs. Semantics

With Web2 technology came lots of social media platforms, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, and so on. These allowed for communication and social interaction between people via content-creating techniques. People usually find content through keywords that the network asks you to apply. Now with Web3, this semantic web completely changes the game. Instead of using keywords to find these social media and Internet postings, searches are based more on your writing content. This will help filter results more efficiently and precisely towards what you are trying to target. Web3 is much more efficient than Web2’s search algorithms.

As you can see, Web2 vs Web3 uncovers some of the differences between these two WWW evolutions. Web3 brings tons of new technologies to the table – VR, AR, blockchain, crypto tokens, and more. These new developments are paving the way for Web3 and helping it get fully functional. Of course, we won’t adopt Web3 overnight. But we will be much faster than with Web2. Because we’ve been there and we’ve learned a ton. Therefore, we are more ready than before for a big technology leap. Allowing people to interact as though they are actually together has made tons of people excited about this technology. We already see new metaverse projects started daily. Certainly, there are still quite a few things to be improved. But there are many people from small and big companies working on solving the issues. Once we realize the full potential and the endless opportunities of Web3, well, Web2 will be a thing of the past. It will take a few more years until we get there. But the direction is clear.

Women Closing the Gender Gap in STEM

It is no secret that the STEM fields are male-dominated. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Over the years, many of the gender barriers that were previously up for women have been broken down. However, the STEM field still faces huge gender disparities. Below is a list of 7 amazing women who have started businesses or organizations to make the tech space more inclusive and are helping fill the gender gap in STEM.

Reading time: 5 mins | Published on: 3/7/2022

1. Reshma Saujani

Reshma Saujani is the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code (GWC). GWC is a nonprofit focused on increasing the number of girls and women in the computer science field. Girls Who Code uplifts and empowers girls to enter spaces currently dominated by men. GWC offers clubs, 3rd-13th grade, so that girls can explore coding in a friendly, fun, and open environment. They also offer summer programs for girls to learn coding and further prepare them for a STEM career. Finally, they connect high school girls with female college students in STEM majors. GWC believes in bravery, sisterhood, and activism. They value diversity, equity, and inclusions and look to aid the next leaders in STEM.

2. Ellen K. Pao

Previously serving as the CEO of Reddit, Ellen Pao is the CEO and co-founder of Project Include. Project Include is a nonprofit whose mission is to give everyone a fair chance to succeed in tech. They use data and advocacy to help make the tech industry more diverse and inclusive. Project Interlude has three values. The first is inclusion, where they improve opportunities in tech for all employees but especially those who are underrepresented. Secondly, they believe in comprehensiveness. This means they don’t have a once-and-done plan. The program has multiple levels that require sustained efforts and a long-term commitment. Finally, they strive for accountability. Project Interlude believes that companies should be holding themselves accountable, so they know where they can improve and how. The Project Interludes website talks about how discussing diversity and change can be complex and how our responsibility is to create change and foster inclusive spaces.

3. Kimberley Bryant

After struggling to find a diverse computer programming school for her daughter, Kimberley Bryant decided to fund Black Girls Code (BGC). Kimberley Bryant is the CEO of Black Girls Code, and its mission is to teach one million girls of color to code by the end of 2040. BGC wants to build futures in STEM for young women of color by introducing them to computer programming and technology. BGC stands by the fact that extreme action needs to take place to close the opportunity gap between tech and females of color. Black Girls Code has many chapters across the globe where women of color can come together, empower, and learn from one another in the STEM space.

4. Julia and Christina Tartaglia

The two sisters Julia and Christina Tartaglia founded the organization Scientista. There is a lack of resources for women in STEM, which pushed them to start their foundation. They formed Scientista with the sole purpose of providing pre-graduate girls with guidance about their future careers in a highly male-dominated profession. Scientista addresses the needs of women and even won a Harvard TECH prize for this great innovation. The sisters want to empower women through engagement in different communities, providing resources, and making STEM field more inclusive for women.

5. Sadie St. Lawrence

After working in neuroscience for a decent amount of time, Sadie St. Lawrence decided it was time for a change. As she transitioned to data science, she realized how much disparity there was in the STEM workforce. To retaliate against the gender gap in STEM, Lawrence launched Women in Data – a diverse community of women at all stages of their careers in data science. Lawrence wants people to feel confident in their jobs and inspire change in others trying to enter this workforce. Today, she continues to provide awareness, education and advancement to women in the data science space.

6. Cynthia Chapple

Founder of Black Girls Do STEM, Cynthia Chapple, wants to change the STEM industry. With a focus based around middle-school-aged black females, Chapple intends to get these girls excited about the possibilities that STEM has to offer. She wants to peak their curiosities while still at a young age and make them feel empowered. With the goal of closing the gap in the STEM industry, Chapple is focused on building confidence in these young girls. Her goal is to provide the young black females the resources they need to be successful in the STEM fields.

7. Sarah Foster

Sarah Foster realized that the gender gap in STEM starts at an early age. Boys were more inclined to answer questions and get engaged with science-related processes than girls at school. This surprised Foster. She wanted to get women more involved with STEM. This led to her to founding STEM Like a Girl. She wants to inspire younger females to get excited about scientific-related careers through this group. She wants to educate young girls about this career path and how they can become research and development engineers just like her, or whatever their hearts desire.

These women all come from different backgrounds. However, they share a common goal of filling the gender gap in STEM. These are all successful, innovative, and intelligent women looking to empower as many girls and women they can. As a result, STEM would become more diverse, therefore more successful and innovative.

You may look at the statistics on gender differences and learn about some practical ways to solve the problem and have equal representation of women in technology. Also, you may read more about the gender gap in STEM and ways to close it.

Programmatic Advertising is the Future of Digital Advertising

Buying and negotiating advertisement sales is a tedious process. It is a significant expense out of your pocket having to hire someone to help you with ad placement. You try to select people that know the most about the market, go back and forth on a reasonable price, and strategize about the best way to place ads. However, ad placement can be tricky even with this process, and not everyone knows the best posting times to reach your target audience. Although this process is frustrating, it no longer has to be. Programmatic advertising is an up-and-coming way to simplify this process and does so with the application of new technology.

What is Programmatic Advertising?

Programmatic advertising is the future. This software tool uses AI technology to buy and sell optimal ad space for your company based on your selected target audience. This application can utilize the ad space for banner ads on websites, native ads within social media, ad placement at the beginning of videos, or various other locations. This process is straightforward and does not take up much time. The program uses different algorithms to determine what ad space will result in the best performance for your company. It then returns analytical data regarding how well your company performed from the ad placement. This data tells you about the number of impressions, clicks, and interactions your ad got. Programmatic advertising is a great new way to simplify the process of buying and selling the best place for ads for your company.

Programmatic advertising is the future. It simplifies the buying and selling of ad space through its AI technology, has a high ROI, and does not entirely remove the human element of digital marketing.

The Human Element

Although many people fear the transition to AI, there is still a human element to programmatic advertising. The application only focuses on obtaining the ad space for your product, handling the transaction process, and determining optimal posting times. You are still in control of the content you want to be published and who you target to view these advertisements. If something you created is not working how you desired, the person in charge of the ad campaign can interfere and stop it whenever they want. Once stopped, the ad can be changed multiple times, and the changes take immediate effect. Programmatic advertising is not all artificial intelligence. You are still in control of what you post and can even make changes to your campaign in the middle of it, which is not plausible otherwise.

Benefits

Programmatic advertising has many benefits for organizations. The automation process promotes better return on investment for ad placement and ensures efficiency, productivity, and cost savings. Here are the top four benefits of programmatic advertising.

1. Anyone can use it

Both large and small companies can use programmatic advertising for ad placement. The program does not break the bank and is a cheaper alternative to hiring someone to buy ad space for you. Small businesses could select a more niche target audience to focus on for their programmatic advertising. Once the company gets a large amount of outreach from this, they could broaden the target audience they are trying to acquire. For larger companies, they can use programmatic advertising for whoever they wish to target at the time. If they were releasing a new product line for women’s shampoo, they could use different targeting for that advertisement than for men’s razors. The possibilities for programmatic advertising are endless, and any company can use this program.

2. Eliminates Difficulties of Manual Ad Buying

Programmatic advertising is very efficient. As previously discussed, the entire process of buying ad space, which is supposed to be a long and tedious process, is done within a matter of seconds. Organizations no longer have to worry about going through this process since AI technology can do it for them. Not only does this benefit their profits, but it promotes time savings within the company. Organizations can now use their previously wasted time negotiating deals for ad space towards other business aspects. Additionally, companies can work on new ad campaigns while promoting the current one through programmatic advertising. Companies will have an easier time dealing with the purchase of ads and, in turn, can use this extra time to do more for their organization.

3. Return on Investment

Programmatic advertising has an amazing return on investment. The algorithms in the application determine the best location and posting times based on the target audience provided. This technology ensures that optimal posting is done to promote your brand. As a result, people get excited about your brand, and it is more likely that people will view your website. Then that can turnover to purchases, which will create a profit for your brand. Plus, programmatic advertising is much cheaper than hiring someone to buy ad space for you. It only costs $0.50-$2.00 per 1000 ad impressions on websites and $6-$7 per 100 ad impressions for social media. This alternative to manual ad purchasing saves you a lot of money and results in a much higher ROI.

4. Automation is the Future

Programmatic advertising is just one of the many applications that deal with automation. Automating more aspects of your work will save your company time, money and promote efficiency. Plus, as more people adapt to this technology, it will be essential for your company to keep up with competitors and the ever-changing market. If other people benefit from the technology, why wouldn’t you want to? Automation truly is the future, and it is vital to keep up with everyone in the market so you do not fall behind.

Automation is not going away, just the opposite. It’s been gaining more traction and getting wider adoption. Instead of being afraid of it, people should embrace it and fully enjoy its benefits. Programmatic advertising is one of the first steps to integrating this technology into organizations. This application will simplify your life and help your company become more successful. Programmatic advertising is a great way to bring automation into your company while also helping save you money and time.

Simply Flows strives to automate and simplify your life.

Monthly Archives: March 2022