In this episode of Ventures, my guests Jim Reavis (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimreavis/), Kurt Seifried (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtseifried/), and I discuss the philosophies and principles behind the Web 1, Web 2, and Web 3 transitions from a cybersecurity perspective. We talk about the implications of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), user experiences in a Web 3 world, and an exciting new project that Kurt and Jim are working on in the blockchain and education space.

You can watch this episode below or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts (search for “Ventures”).

In this episode we cover the following:

1:30 - Jim background and story, early days of the Internet & cybersecurity

5:07 - Kurt background and story, also early days of the Internet & writing cybersecurity documentation.

9:07 - In previous episodes we’ve talked about data security tips for founders and individuals, but in this episode we’ll get more philosophical. What was the original utopian vision for the Internet (Web 1.0)? (starting with Jim’s thoughts)

12:43 - Kurt’s thoughts on the above question.

16:37 - Regarding the Web 1 to Web 2 transition, why did the downsides of what we see in Web 2 happen? (thoughts on economic incentives and ability for many people to have access to the tools)

19:08 - Back in the 2000s, the big tech players gave us (web developers) all the data. Will remembers thinking “if I had nefarious intentions, I could be getting away with a lot”. How do we think about government regulation and keeping people safe?

26:37 - Jim’s thoughts on opportunities for sharing cybersecurity best practices and making security more relevant to the things we care about.

28:21 - Is the transition from Web 2 to Web 3 already happening? Where do we think we’re at with this transition? “The future is already here, it just isn’t evenly distributed yet” (William Gibson)  (Kurt’s thoughts initially)

31:26 - Jim’s thoughts on the above question. (Overabundance of options)

34:10 - Question about Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI). Is SSI going to be real? Is a good thing from a cybersecurity perspective? Is this still way far off?  (Jim’s thoughts first)

36:54 - Kurt’s thoughts on the above question. (esp. re: ease of proving things)

39:05 - Authentication as a significant challenge.

40:13 - The future that we’re heading toward is one where we can prove authenticity quickly and efficiently. This is going to speed up the future (crush latency in many daily operations).

41:47 - What is the next Social Network in a Web 3 era with SSI? (Jim’s thoughts first)

45:20 - Kurt’s thoughts on the above question (e.g. on mashups...a new type of IT that we won’t recognize as such).

47:20 - What are the questions/projects that Jim/Kurt are thinking about right now? Where can people find Jim/Kurt online? (Using blockchain to issue a pseudo-cryptocurrency to prove education/knowledge) https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/ // https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimreavis/ // https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtseifried/