People are talking about Web3. Is it the Internet of the future or just a buzzword?

Web3 has remained a theoretical grand vision for years.

Ideally, Web3 will mean that sharing photos, communicating with friends and buying things online will no longer be synonymous with Big Tech companies but be done through a multitude of small competing services on the blockchain — where, for instance, every time you post a message, you earn a token for your contribution, giving you both ownership stake in the platform and one day, a way to cash in.

It means that all the value that's created can be shared amongst more people, rather than just the owners, investors and employees.

Blockchain-based social networks, transactions and businesses can and will grow and thrive in the coming years. Yet knocking out Facebook, Twitter or Google completely is not likely on the horizon, according to technology scholars.

Many people would want to be able to take their data and history of interactions online wherever they go on the Internet, rather than remain on singular web platforms--what some call the "walled gardens" of big tech companies.

If we stay in the current paradigm, we will move further and further into a realm where a small handful of companies run by a small number of people run our experiences in cyberspace, and in that world, the problems of Big Tech are exacerbated.

Another issue, of course, is government oversight. Blockchain-based tokens are now in a regulatory netherworld, but that could soon change as the Biden administration begins the process of setting new rules for the industry.

Facebook recently rebranded itself Meta, and said its priority would be to build the "metaverse," a digital future where everyone is living and interacting and working together in virtual reality.

Among the company's stated principles is "robust interoperability," meaning that users could take their accounts or avatars from site to site or service to service seamlessly, rather than have to log in to accounts controlled by separate companies every time they visit new sites.