Web3 has no official definition. People got excited about blockchains and thought it would issue in a new type of digital web where people could own things secured by a blockchain.

Most people actually thought it would finally create a new gaming paradigm where items in games can exist outside and outlive the games themselves.

Then there was a bunch of people that saw digital IDs and thought that web3 would be a web that allowed people to own their own identities and build trust and be able to prove things like their age without having to reveal more than needed using things like zero knowledge proofs. These identities could be created and persist on a blockchain.

Forward to today, I think it is clear that the promise of a blockchain that cannot be restarted, censored or controlled in any way is still a dream. NFTs, smart contracts, all these innovations were used for gambling but not much beyond that.

It is also clear with Nostr, that we don't need blockchains to create idenities. Nostr is barely scratching the surface of what is possible.

I was asked to figure out web3 by a mate who wanted to invest in it and all I could find was fluff, buzzwords and dreams. By the time I reported back with my findings, he told me he wasn't interested in it anymore anyway... (🤬ing wasted my time).

So TLDR; it is just a buzzword and people chase buzzwords because they think that is where, if they can master that thing, they can develop a career in the next big industry and strike it rich.