A formal business arrangement providing regular dealings or services. It is a recording of transactions that an individual or entity engages upon. Both debits and credits are tracked as part of the ledger.
An example is a bank account whereby cash is deposited or withdrawn.
Accounts historically have been opened by companies. This has caused the environment where they were controlled by said entity. This is true for finance with banks and other financial institutions making the call on the account. It also applies to social media with the likes of YouTube and Twitter controlled what takes place on the platform.
In the digital realm, this is what many refer to as Web 2.0.
Web 3.0: True Account Ownership
Under the idea of Web 3.0, individuals will completely own their accounts. This is due to the concept of a private key system tied to a blockchain. While most think of this in terms of cryptocurrency, the account management system these types of networks provide is very valuable.
One of the tenet espoused by Web 3.0 proponents is true account ownership. Here is where the control of an account is outside the platform. By designing applications that utilize the account management system of a blockchain, users are not beholden to them.
This is a radical shift from the existing financial and social media systems of today. Web 3.0 also is inclined to merge the two, putting wallets with social media accounts, creating a new realm of responsibility.
None of this is an issue when the users have account ownership.