Chapter 2

From Web1 to Web3

The web did not jump straight from static pages to blockchains. Each era changed what users could do and who captured the value created online.

Web3 makes more sense when you place it in that sequence instead of treating it like a separate internet.

Read the progression row by row: capability expanded first, and ownership followed later.

Three broad eras of the web

Era	Primary behavior	Who captured the value?
Web1	Read pages and directories	Publishers and hosts
Web2	Read and write on platforms	Platforms and ad networks
Web3	Read, write, and own	Users plus open networks

Web3 did not replace the earlier web. Most products still mix all three eras: content from Web1, social loops from Web2, and ownership rails from Web3.

The key addition is not that Web3 is more interactive than Web2. It is that ownership can be carried outside one company's product boundary.

That portability is what enables tokens, wallets, and open protocols to matter. The next step is to see how those pieces stack together.