Theorising web 3.0 : ICTs in a changing society

Purpose: In this Editorial introduction the broad phases of web development – the read-only Web 1.0, the read-write Web 2.0, and the collaborative and Internet of Things Web 3.0 – are examined for the theoretical lenses through which they have been understood and critiqued. Design/Methodology/Approach: This is a conceptual piece, in the tradition of drawing on theorising from outside the Information Systems field, to shed light on developments in ICTs. Findings: Along with a summary of approaches to Webs 1.0 and 2.0, the Editors contend that a more complex and post-structuralist theoretical approach to the notion of, and the phenomenon of Web 3.0, offers a more interesting and appropriate theoretical grounding for understanding its particularities. Value: The discussion presages five further papers engaged with ICTs in a changing society, each of which similarly addresses novel theoretical understandings