So, while there are marketplaces on the Internet, in some ways, the Internet, itself, is a marketplace. Right now, that marketplace seems to be in Web 2.0 mode: there are centralized platforms, which are, like, Goliath shopkeepers - Google, Meta, Amazon, X and more - dominating, selling their products, determining who enters, who gets the best spots and additionally, keeps detailed info about what all visit, why and when. The services may be free, but as it's often said - if you're not paying for it, you are the product.
So, this 2.0 seems to be the status quo. They have the infrastructure, the user base, operational maturity after being in the business for decades, people are acclimated to the Web 2.0 interface & we've all gotten heavily reliant on it all for our communication, our commerce and more. Our dependency seems entrenched, almost.
But, in the 2020s, maybe, just, maybe, a 3.0 is brewing.
And what does that 3.0 look like? It's an open marketplace, where everyone owns a part of the space. There's no dominating shopkeeper. Someone visiting would have complete ownership of what they do and where they visit. There's no middleperson and there's full transparency about how everything works.
