Web2 to Web3: who owns what you make
On Web2, the platform keeps the billions. On Web3, the question is whether the people who create the value can finally own a piece of it.
What's going on
Gaurav Saroj frames Web3 as a shift in ownership, not just technology. Web2 - Google, Facebook, Amazon, Spotify - created enormous value, but the platforms captured the profit. You made the content, did the work, spent the time; they owned the platform, so they owned the upside.
Web3's claim is that smart contracts can split value automatically and fairly, without a middleman deciding the cut. When the rules of who-gets-paid are written into auditable code rather than a company's policy, creators and users can hold ownership directly - through tokens that represent a real stake.
Gaurav was careful not to oversell it. This is early - by his read, only a small fraction of people use these platforms today, regulation is still forming, and plenty of projects are hype or outright Ponzis. His framing for the whole tier that follows: the technology genuinely changes who can own value, but you evaluate every project before you trust it.
A musician on a streaming platform might earn a fraction of a cent per play while the platform takes the rest. Gaurav's point is that Web3's value isn't "number go up" - it's the structural possibility that the person creating the value keeps more of it.
Key terms
- Web2
- Today's platform internet - you create, the platform owns and profits.
- Web3
- An ownership model where tokens and smart contracts let users hold a stake.
- Smart contract
- Code that enforces an agreement automatically, with no middleman to take a cut or change the rules.