And if you've found yourself wondering what it means, you're not alone.

如果他發現自己納悶它的意思，那你不孤獨。

Web 3.0 is seen as the third generation of the internet, a decentralized online ecosystem based on the blockchain.

Web 3.0 被視為網際網路的第三代，一個區塊鏈的去中心化網路生態系統。

Web 3.0 represents kind of a new philosophy about how to realize these technologies in a more distributed and democratic way.

Web 3.0 代表了一種新的哲學，有關如何在更分散、民主的方式實現這個科技。

Venture capitalists have invested billions into this vision, but some tech experts are unconvinced that Web 3.0 could scale globally.

創投家投資了數十億元到這個遠見中，但一些科技專家對於 Web 3.0 是否可以做到全球性規模仍存疑。

Skeptics like Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, have called it a marketing buzzword.

像是特斯拉執行長伊隆·馬斯克等持懷疑態度的人稱之為行銷術語。

A lot of the skepticism about Web 3.0 comes from the fact that its early expressions are fairly primitive.

許多對於 Web 3.0 的懷疑來自其早期表達相當簡陋的事實。

As experts debate whether or not this new version of the web can become a reality, here are some of the underlying principles behind the vision for Web 3.0.

隨著專家們辯論此新版網路是否能成真，以下是 Web 3.0 想法背後的一些潛在原則。

To better understand Web 3.0 and what sets it apart from the web we use today, you have to go back to the early days of the internet, what experts now refer to as Web 1.0.

要更好地了解 Web 3.0 並知道它與我們今日使用的網路差別，我們必須回溯到網際網路早期，也就是專家們所謂的 Web 1.0。

Most of the participants were content consumers who were limited to navigating through individual static web pages.

多數參與者都是滿足的消費者，受限於只能在靜止網頁間瀏覽。

Web 1.0, for those who remember, was just, you know, raw HTML and lots of very simple web pages, and it wasn't really controlled by anybody.

對那些還記得的人來說，Web 1.0 不過是原始 HTML（超文字標記語言）以及許多非常簡單的網頁，並未真的由任何人控制。

This was a more decentralized version of the web, meaning anyone who knew how to code could build on it from their own computers.

這是網路一個較為去中心的版本，表示任何知道如何編碼的人都可以用自己的電腦建構在那之上。

But at this time, only a small number of users had the technical skills to create and publish content.

但在這個時候，只有少數使用者擁有足以創造並發布內容的技術能力。

Then came Web 2.0, which is the stage of the internet we're living through now.

接著 Web 2.0 出現了，也就是我們現在生活當中的網際網路階段。

Web technologies like JavaScript and HTML5 made the internet more interactive, allowing startups to build platforms like Facebook, Google, Amazon, and many others.

像是 JavaScript 以及 HTML5 等網路科技讓網路變得更具互動性，讓新創公司可以建構如 Facebook、Google、Amazon 以及其它無數平台。

For the first time, anyone could publish content online, even if they couldn't code.

史上初次地，任何人都可以在網路上發布內容，即使他們不會寫程式。

Web 2.0 is this modern, centralized version of the web.

Web 2.0 是現代、中心化版本的網路。

You know, we're all sharing things on social media which are owned by, you know, only two or three companies, and we're all using Google Search.

我們都在社交媒體上分享事物，而這些社交媒體僅由兩到三間公司所有，而我們也都會使用 Google 搜尋。

These companies own and manage the data collected from their users, and they frequently track and save this data and use it for targeted ads.

這些公司持有並管理由使用者身上搜集的資料，而他們也會頻繁地追蹤並儲存這些資料以用在定向廣告。

What's at the core of their business model is data.

他們商業模型的核心是資料。

Olga Mack is a blockchain lecturer at UC Berkeley, and is optimistic about Web 3.0's potential to reshape the internet.

Olga Mack 是加利福尼亞大學柏克萊分校的區塊鏈講師，對於 Web 3.0 重塑網路的潛力持樂觀態度。

The data economy, where the user-generated content, whether it's a conversation or a video, that is exchanged for services.

資料經濟是，無論使用者產出的內容是對話或影片，都會被交換以取得服務。

And so there is a perception that this monopoly of data could be abused.

所以有一個觀點，這個資料的壟斷會被濫用。

Here's where the vision for Web 3.0 comes in.

而這就是 Web 3.0 想法奏效的地方。

The term Web 3.0 was first coined by one of the creators of the Ethereum blockchain, Gavin Wood.

Web 3.0 這個詞首次被以太坊區塊鏈創造人之一 Gavin Wood 所提出。

In a 2014 blog post, Wood envisioned Web 3.0 as an open and decentralized version of the internet.

在一篇 2014 年部落格文章中，Wood 預見 Web 3.0 為開放、去中心化版本的網際網路。

Theoretically, users would be able to exchange money and information on the web without the need for a middleman, like a bank or a tech company.

理論上來說，使用者能夠在不需要像是銀行或科技公司的中間媒介的狀況下，在網路上交換金錢以及資訊。

In this vision for a Web 3.0 world, people would have more control over their data and be able to sell it if they choose.

在這個想像中的 Web 3.0 世界，人們會更能控制自己的資料，並根據自己的選擇出售。

And it would all be operated on a decentralized, distributed ledger technology.

而這一切都會在一個去中心、分散的分帳科技上運行。

The most common version of this is known as the blockchain.

這最普遍的版本以「區塊鏈」為名。

While still considered relatively new and unproven, it could offer more transparency and autonomy for users.

雖然它仍被認為相對新且未經證實，他可以提供使用者更高透明度及自主性。

The computers that are actually doing that computing for you or storing that data, anyone could own those computers, anyone can become a part of that blockchain.

那些實際幫你做運算或儲存資料的電腦是任何人都可能擁有的，任何人都可能成為區塊鏈的一部分。

And so it's not Facebook and Google's computers doing that.

所以並不是 Facebook 或是 Google 的電腦在做那些事。

With a single, personalized account, users would theoretically be able to move seamlessly from social media to email to shopping, creating a public record on the blockchain of all that activity.

利用單一、個人化的帳號，使用者理論上將能夠無縫地在社交媒體、電子郵件、購物之間移動，在區塊鏈上製造所有活動的公開紀錄。

But how exactly would Web 3.0 remain operational if it's not controlled by a central corporation or entity?

但如果 Web 3.0 不由中心企業或單位控制，究竟要如何維持運作呢？

Theoretically, people would be given virtual tokens, or cryptocurrencies, to incentivize them to participate in the operation of Web 3.0.

理論人，人們會被給予虛擬代幣（或稱加密貨幣）以鼓勵他們參與 Web 3.0 的營運。

A central element of the system is so-called DEFI, or decentralized finance.

這個系統的中心元素是所謂的 DEFI，或稱為「去中心化金融」。

And the idea is that if you can issue a token for everything in the universe, if you can financialize every possible interaction of computers and software and humans,

這想法是，如果任何宇宙中的事物都可以發放代幣、如果你可以將每一個可能的電腦、軟體以及人類互動金融化，

then you can create this vast ecosystem of cryptocurrencies which can be traded, which can be valued relative to one another.

那麼你就會創造一個廣大的加密貨幣生態系統，可以被交易、可以被付諸相對價值。

Still, it's unclear how this decentralized token system would be regulated, how it could operate on a large scale, or even how well it would distribute control of the internet.

然而我們能不清楚這個去中心化的代幣系統將如何被調節、將如何在此巨大規模下運轉，甚或它將可以多好地分散網路的控制。

Critics of the idea, like Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, called Web 3.0 "a centralized entity with a different label".

像是 Twitter 共同創辦人 Jack Dorsey 等對於該想法批判的人，稱 Web 3.0 為「貼上不同標籤的中心化單位」。

Developers who really dug into this think that the underlying blockchain structures of Web 3.0 are very insecure, not decentralized as promised; they're actually as centralized as previous technologies.

深入研究的開發者認為，Web 3.0 潛在的區塊鏈結構極不安全，也不同承諾般地去中心化，它們其實跟過往科技一樣中心化。

Some see Web 3.0 as a critical building block in creating the metaverse, an immersive online world where people can use avatars to socialize, shop, work, and play.

有些人將 Web 3.0 視為創造元宇宙的重要基礎，一個人民可以利用虛擬化身進行社交、購物、工作並遊玩的沈浸式線上世界。

But others say Web 3.0 and the metaverse are two very different concepts.

其他人則認為 Web 3.0 和元宇宙是兩種截然不同的概念。

Because the Metaverse is being hyped a lot right now and Web 3.0 is,

因為原宇宙以及 Web 3.0 到想法現在都大大地被炒作，

there are some companies at the intersection of the two, like, let's create a metaverse that, you know, somehow is connected to the blockchain.

有些公司位在這兩項的交叉路口，會想著，我們來創造一個跟區塊鏈有連結的元宇宙吧。

Right now, Web 3.0 is still very much an abstract concept with little real-world foundation.

目前，Web 3.0 仍是一個非常抽象的概念，含有極少真實世界基礎。

Skeptics, like engineer and blogger, Stephen Diehl, argue that Web 3.0 doesn't have the computing power, bandwidth, or storage to work on any practical level.

像是工程師兼部落客 Stephen Diehl 一樣的存疑者爭論 Web 3.0 不具有在實際層面運作的運算能力、頻寬或儲存空間。

For skeptics of Web 3.0, their argument is that, you know, tokens and cryptocurrencies, in general, are just a giant bubble,

對 Web 3.0 持懷疑態度者的論點是， 代幣或貨幣整體而言不過是一個巨大的泡沫，

and as soon as it pops, in their view, all of this nonsense about how that's going to build the next internet will go away.

而他們的觀點是，它一但爆破，所以關於它將建構下一代網路的胡話都會消失殆盡。

While it remains to be seen whether or not Web 3.0 will become a reality,

雖然 Web 3.0 是否會成真仍需要時間來證明，

the philosophy behind it is driving billions in investments in the venture capital world, funding a vast ecosystem of decentralized internet services.

其背後的哲學正驅使著創投界的數十億投資，資助了廣大的去中心化網路服務生態系統。

So, there's so much real-world money going into building Web 3.0 startups that even if, as a concept, it proves unworkable, we're gonna be hearing about it for a long time yet to come.

所以說，投入到 Web 3.0 新創事業的真實金錢多到即便它被證明是無效的概念，我們還會繼續在未來很長的日子聽到這個概念的討論。