Web 3.0

The Web, acting as an enabler for technological advancement, matured in its own unique way. Initially, there were the static informative characteristics of Web 1.0 which progressed from a passive to an interactive experience that Web 2.0 provides. The next phase of Web evolution, Web 3.0, is already in progress. The evolution of the Web will bring forth new opportunities. Web 3.0 will change the way people interact with devices and networks, and how companies use the information to market and sell their products, and operate their businesses (Booz & Company, 2011). Web 3.0 calls for a complete reconstruction of the Internet and IT infrastructure.

Stages in the Evolution of the Web

To understand in what direction the Web is heading and what impact it will have on organizations, it is necessary to define the various stages of the Web evolution

• Web 1.0: was a platform through which information could be published in a static form designed with text and images (DCruz, 2009). It portrayed an environment where information and data were static and displayed with no interaction between the information and the consumer. Content could be viewed, but not created by users. The protocols associated with this generation were Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). The HTTP protocol transfers information between a Web server and a Web browser. HTML protocol communicates with the browser and informs it how to display whatever text, graphics, and images are transferred by the HTTP protocol.

• Web 2.0: In an effort to clarify the paradigm shift, Cormode and Krishnamurthy (2008) stated that the main difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 is not only the underlying infrastructure of the Web but rather the ability of consumers to create, share and interact with content on the Web. New technological aids made it possible for consumers to create and share content. Getting (2007) describes it as the greater collaboration between consumers, programmers, service providers, and organizations, which enables them to re-use content. Web 2.0’s applications have the ability to harness the collective intelligence, and in doing so combine and integrate Web content and services to improve the end user`s experience (Giannakos & Lapatas, 2010). This sharing was facilitated by online software with the ability to deliver rich interfaces operable on any device or platform without the need for additional software installation.

• Web 3.0: is not represented by the emergence of a new Web but rather an extension of the technologies already present in Web 2.0. Internet content is becoming more diverse, and the volume of data becoming more openly available (Bergman, 2001). The Web is becoming a platform for linking data, and by making connections between similar data characteristics, the data itself becomes more valuable (Tarrant, Hitchcock & Carr, 2011). Computers still cannot automate the function of harvesting this data, or performing complex tasks with it (Intervise, n.d.). The need for data structuring and integration is important to enable the Web to evolve into its next phase. Wolfram (2010) stated that Web 3.0 is where the computer, rather than humans, generates new information. This is supported by Morris (2011) that integration of data is the basic foundation of Web 3.0, and by using metadata (a term used to describe data within data, which provides information about an item's content) imbedded in Websites, data can be converted into useful information, and be located, evaluated, stored or delivered by software programs designed to collect information based on the users’ interaction with the Web (known as Intelligent Agents (IA’s)). They can also act on behalf of the user to perform certain tasks. In order for IA to understand the information gathered, expressive languages that describe information in forms understandable by machines, need to be developed (Lu et al., 2002). With the development of expressive languages, Web 3.0 has the capability to use unstructured information on the Web more intelligently by formulating meaning from the context in which the information is published (Verizone, n.d.). There is a need for Web 3.0 to express information in a precise, machine interpretive form so that IA can process this data and not just share it, but understand what the terms describing the data mean (Noy, Sintek, Decker, Crubézy, Fergerson & Musen, 2001)

E-Government 3.0

EG, by definition, is the use of ICT to provide a means for governments, citizens, and businesses to interact, communicate, share information, and deliver services to various stakeholders. EG 1.0 utilized the World Wide Web and available ICTs to strive toward efficiency. EG 2.0, through portal services supported by Web 2.0 technologies, became more citizen-centric, promoting citizen participation and enhancing e-democracy. The technological evolution shaping EG infers EG 3.0 will use Web 3.0 ICTs such as distributed ledger technology (DLT), AI, Semantic Web, and the World Wide Virtual Web. Artificial Intelligence is a promising and disruptive technology. AI’s technological ability to equip machines with cognitive capabilities that learn, infer, and adapt per consumed data is reinforced by the amount of information produced by smart devices, social media, and web applications. One problem governments, organizations, and companies face in leveraging this amount of information is centralization and provenance, the latter related to information source legitimacy and authenticity.