Blockchain powered internet might function as an alternate form of password based security where instead of a password a person might use their blockchain secret key to authenticate their identity & login to social media, etc.
Other than that, I can't think of many applications.
Other than that, I can't think of many applications.
The blockchain could prove its use case for the internet, as it is an immutable and decentralized database free from manipulation, unlike standard databases used on websites. Using it as a form of password based security sounds like a great idea, and might strengthen the security of user accounts on any site hosted on the web.
But I believe that as blockchain matures, it would be used for other sorts of applications to decentralized the internet further. It may reach up to a point where no one could take down a specific site, as it would be secured by the blockchain.
Internet is already decentralized
And it is conceptually decentralized. While you would have to use the DNS system to access sites using their mnemonic names (e.g. bitcointalk.org), which can be considered as some form of centralization, you can still access the same site in a completely decentralized way using its IP address. You just need to know this address, which loosely matches a wallet address in Bitcoin, as well as the IP address of your gateway. The latter can be construed as a mining node of sorts confirming your request and sending it to its own gateway or directly to the site if it is a gateway to it. Note that you don't have to pay any fees for sending and receiving network requests, and the same should be done in Bitcoin in regard to transactions
And it is conceptually decentralized. While you would have to use the DNS system to access sites using their mnemonic names (e.g. bitcointalk.org), which can be considered as some form of centralization, you can still access the same site in a completely decentralized way using its IP address. You just need to know this address, which loosely matches a wallet address in Bitcoin, as well as the IP address of your gateway. The latter can be construed as a mining node of sorts confirming your request and sending it to its own gateway or directly to the site if it is a gateway to it. Note that you don't have to pay any fees for sending and receiving network requests, and the same should be done in Bitcoin in regard to transactions
It could be seen that way, although it is somewhat centralized in the sense that governments could shut down a specific site, as well as ISPs being able to censor access to certain sites. However, with a fully decentralized internet powered by the blockchain, it would make it harder for government agencies to take down any site, as the same would be replicated across all the nodes on the network. I know that it may not be the most viable solution for large sites, as the blockchain data would become even bigger than Bitcoin's, but as storage capacity increases over time, it may become a reality at some point in the future.
Just my opinion.
