Jack Dorsey announces ‘Web 5’, a new platform built on the Bitcoin blockchain
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has announced a new platform on Twitter called ‘Web5’, a combination of Web3 and Web 2.0, built on the Bitcoin blockchain. The platform promises to fix the problem of securing personal information. “We struggle to secure personal data with hundreds of accounts and passwords we do not remember. Online today, identity and personal information have become the property of third parties “, the company said on its website.
Web5 was developed by The Block Head (TBH), one of the Bitcoin business units on Dorsey’s Block (formerly Square). The platform brings decentralized identity and data storage to applications. “It allows developers to focus on creating wonderful user experiences while giving back ownership of data and identity to individuals,” according to the company.
A Twitter user asked Dorsey: “what is it that makes Web3, from your perspective, not decentralized enough that you thought it might be this next step via what you call Web5?”
Dorsey responded by saying: “it is the basis of systems with simple failures (eth, solano, *) and lies that are told to people about who owns and controls it.” For the Twitter co-founder, Web 3 is not really “decentralized” or owned by users, but instead by various venture capitalists and limited partners
As mentioned, this web platform is built to provide two core use cases: individuals will have the ability to “own their data”, and they will be able to “control their identity”. These use cases will be supported by wallets, decentralized network nodes (DWNS) and decentralized network nodes (DWAS).
TBH explains how Web5 wants individuals to have the opportunity to “own their data”. For example, say Alice has a digital wallet that securely manages her identity, data, and permissions for external apps and connections. Alice uses her wallet to sign in to a new decentralized social media app. But because Alice has connected to the app with her decentralized identity, she does not need to create a profile, and all the connections, relationships and posts she creates through the app are stored with her, in her decentralized web node. By using Web5, Alice can switch apps whenever she wants, and bring her social personality with her.
In another case, Bob, a music lover and hates having his data locked to a single provider. It forces him to set up his playlists and songs over and over again across different music covers. Fortunately, there is a way out of this maze of vendor-locked silos: Bob can keep this data in his decentralized web node. In this way, Bob can give any music app access to his settings and preferences, so he can take the personal music experience with him wherever he wants. Therefore, Web5 will give users ownership of their data. Meanwhile, Mike Brock, product manager at TBD, clarified that “there are no tokens to invest in with web5.”
