Is the Internet dying?
We have discussed the Dead Internet Theory quite a bit of late. This is something that is happening but, in my view, is not the negative that many think. The agentic age is going to radically change everything for individuals. At the same time, we are watching the foundation being constructed which will bring the Internet into the real world.
That said, there is something to be concerned about. It is a topic we also covered a great deal although it seems to fall on deaf ears for the most part.
Perhaps, by reframing the issue based upon what is taking place, people will start to see what is happening and the potential threat.
In this article we will discuss Google's admission of the death of the open web.
Web 3.0 Needed To Combat The Death Of Open Web
By now most are aware of the siloed system the Internet (Web 2.0) offers. We see a handful of companies that control most of the traffic. This is most evident in the area of advertising.
Basically two companies dominate: Meta and Google. The former does so by having mass traffic to its platform, a closed ecosystem. Google, on the other hand, took the open web and now is the director.
Via Google Search, the company was responsible for billions of directs each day. People would search a topic, Google presented options, and users would click through. Specialties such as SEO became big business.
This is no longer the case. With the introduction of AI, search is now providing the answers without sending anyone to the pages. This means the company is compiling the information and using it for its own purposes. Of course, this affects the revenue of the sites, benefitting Google to an even greater degree.
Google admitted the decline in court filings regarding its anti-trust case that claims it is operating a monopoly.
But the changes have been many: AI is reshaping ad tech at every level; non-open web display ad formats like Connected TV and retail media are exploding in popularity; and Google’s competitors are directing their investments to these new growth areas. The fact is that today, the open web is already in rapid decline and Plaintiffs’ divestiture proposal would only accelerate that decline. harming publishers who currently rely on open-web display advertising revenue. As the law makes clear, the last thing a court should do is intervene to reshape an industry that is already in the midst of being reshaped by market forces.
"The open web is already in rapid decline..."
This should be an eye-opener to everyone. It is obviously something that started long ago. Hence, we are confronted with the situation where people have to decide what they want the future to be like. We are seeing a growing powerbase among Big Tech, one enhanced by AI.
As we see, this is already starting to help Google become even more of a centerpiece of the Internet.
Web 3.0 To The Rescue?
Web 3.0 is long on promises. So far, however, it was a marked failure. There is no way to claim we are on the path to revolutionizing the Internet in a way that reflects the original values put forth when it was in its early designs.
If anything, technological capabilities are offering the reserve.
Unfortunately, this is not the fault of proponents of the concept or even what was built. While a case can be make that development is lacking, the true roadblock is the general public. Each day, billions flock exclusively to Web 2.0 platforms, not even giving Web 3.0 a thought.
This is something we captured in the articles regarding the democratization of data and how important it is to get activity tied to open databases. Not surprisingly, crickets.
Perhaps Google's admission will alert people to what is going on. Sadly, this is unlikely. Big Tech has long excelled at navigating the network effects that it created. This means that it is rather difficult for people to switch.
In other words, it takes conscious thought to do this.
The failure is on the part of Web 3.0 proponents. From my perspective, these people excel at talking about Web 3.0 on Web 2.0 platforms. They are not using the products, offering up their data to the same Silicon Valley behemoths. Each day, thousands of posts about Web 3.0....on Web 2.0.
If these articles and posts were at least duplicated on Web 3.0, it would be something. That would, at a minimum, also feed the database, providing open data for other entities to use. Blockchain based applications such as those tied to Hive are ideal for this solution.
Much of what we are seeing developed starts with data. Naturally, algorithms, models, and other aspects are equally as crucial. But, distributing each layer is important, with data as the foundation.
Web 3.0 is ideal for this. We are now looking at the option is shifting things, albeit slowly. The key to remember is the flywheel effect that is inherent with the Internet. Big Tech has such as advantage due to the fact that it has decades of operations and mountains of data. Web 3.0 is starting at a much lower level (almost underground). That said, once things start building, they grow exponentially. Compared to what the major platforms are doing, it is nothing. Nevertheless, if we look at it from a growth/percentage standpoint, this could accelerate.
It is part of what will fend off the death of the open web. The question is how many people will be involved.