Along with the internet’s benefits, a mess of consumer privacy concerns were introduced with it, as entrepreneurs powered their marketing and advertising with previously private consumer data and very little security surrounding that data. While the internet helped entrepreneurs better understand their prospects, data mining and exploitation weren’t always good for brand perception. In a McKinsey report, all industries, including financial and healthcare, received a lower than 50 percent trust rate. The absence of trust comes from the scale of some very recent data breaches. 

Corporations and smaller companies are often getting hacked, with billions of records exposed. However, the new generation of the Web, or so-called Web 3.0 (also referred to as the Spatial Web or the Metaverse), could solve some of those privacy concerns and determine who owns the data and profits from it.

Returning data ownership to consumers

Web 3.0 promises a fundamental change to the internet, strongly emphasizing consumer privacy — an issue that has been thrown around for a while but not adequately addressed. 

Whereas Web 2.0 featured the internet as a platform for building applications, Web 3.0 features the internet on blockchain technology. Storing consumer data on blockchain decentralizes that data, and makes data use by companies transparent, reportedly protecting it from breaches. Returning data ownership back to consumers can potentially disrupt the tech industry since many tech giants would presumably lose access to the data that gave them a leg up on the competition. 

Related: What is Blockchain? We explain the technology of blockchains

Blockchain is only one of the highly advanced technologies that will contribute to this evolution. Others include: virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). According to Deloitte, Web 3.0’s digital information will exist in space, and the line between digital content and physical objects will blur. 

Reasons your business should embrace Web 3.0

Blockchain technology simplifies the login experience for your website visitors. Think of all the times you’ve signed in on websites with your Facebook profile. Blockchain technology utilizes the same concept, but the difference is that, while Facebook owns your user information now, with blockchain nobody owns your data but you. From a business standpoint, your consumers will still have a simple way to sign in on your website, and you won’t have the pressure of securing their data for them, as it’s already more secure. 

Web 3.0 could also prevent hacking, as blockchain technology is known for its high-security standards. According to IBM, blockchain is unlikely to be hacked because of end-to-end encryption of records. Anonymizing data and requiring permission to access it is another layer of security preventing hackers from attacking your website. Right now, giants like Apple, Google, and Facebook are already using blockchain for security.

Web 3.0’s list of contributing technologies will also help you to create highly efficient customer journeys. For example, machine learning and artificial intelligence can combine to automate the more mundane of entrepreneurial tasks, freeing the entrepreneur to focus on the tasks that require a human touch. 

The combined efforts of advanced technologies offer further opportunities for innovation, such as Google’s development of AR technology that teams with geolocation to produce 3D maps that will undoubtedly help customers to find your business. Additionally, Web 3.0 will also help you to find them. 

NFTs (AKA non-fungible tokens) located on a blockchain network and immovable from one network to another will power the metaverse, which has already begun with gaming and its enormous audience and purchase power. Currently, a business might use an NFT tied to a virtual product to reach its customers in the gaming audiences. For example, luxury brands allow customers to purchase virtual versions of products that appear in cyber worlds before the real-world version is available. This is a fantastic way to spread awareness of the product and build excitement around it before releasing it.  

Related: 5 Reasons Why NFTs Are The Metaverse’s Ideal Revenue Model

Web 3.0 promises to enhance consumer privacy, which will make prospects more comfortable visiting your website, and advanced technologies like AI, ML, and VR will combine to create a 3D experience that blurs the lines between digital content and physical items, with businesses and consumers both winning from a more enhanced, secure engagement.