Hello everyone! This my first, small post. Please tell me what you think!
What is decentralization?
Decentralization represents a more individual-focused Internet, a way for true Peer-to-Peer networking to occur, without the corruption of any third parties as the middleman. Decentralization is a key factor to this new era, as has gotten rid of the central server in favor of more direct connections to one another. It enables a somewhat trustless system, where person A does not have to know who person B is. Person A does not know person B's motives, all that is shown is an generated address and nothing more. This allows for anonymous and private transactions to take place, where the only witnesses are the participants and a public, constantly changing ledger, the blockchain.
In a more technical sense, there is a main way these decentralized solutions like blockchain differentiate themselves from "normal" implementations. For example, Apple has an iCloud server that you backup all your favorite photos and videos on. These are treasured moments that you depend on the iCloud servers to keep and protect securely for you. Now, let's introduce a unrealistic factor but still possible factor - Apple has been hacked, and the hackers have stolen or destroyed the identities of millions of people. Because you depended on Apples central server, and that was the only server, the damage is permanent. Both you and Apple are out.
With a decentralized system like blockchain, however, the information is spread across various nodes, which keep record of everything that has happened in their system. If a node gets taken down for whatever reason, no worries, the information is still on all the other nodes!
I believe blockchain could be Web 3.0 - and only time will tell to see if it will become the next Internet.