Web3 revolutionizes the concept of social networking, departing from the conventional social network model. Its objective is to establish a decentralized ecosystem for social networking, empowering users to possess and manage their own data. Presently, users devote significant time to consuming videos, blogs, and endlessly scrolling through feeds on these platforms. Despite generating substantial revenue from users, the majority of users do not reap any monetary rewards from their engagement. Web3 has the potential to incentivize users and offer a multitude of additional benefits.
Understanding the functionality of Web3 social media platforms
Web3 social media platforms represent an upgraded iteration of traditional social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. These platforms incorporate groundbreaking technologies such as blockchain and smart contracts to deliver a user-centric socializing experience. Similar to various cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Web3 social media platforms leverage distributed ledger technology (DLT) through a blockchain, ensuring users’ data remains immutable and transparent. Smart contracts serve as a framework for efficient execution of backend tasks.
One crucial aspect is the decentralized nature of Web3 social networks facilitated by blockchain technology. They operate on a network of independent servers, eliminating control by any single individual or organization.
Furthermore, crypto tokens play a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of these socializing platforms. They utilize the native tokens of the blockchain, which serve as incentives for all users. The platform’s reward system is designed to encourage active participation from users, regardless of whether they are content creators or consumers.
10 benefits of Web3 in social networking
- Enhanced User Control: Web3 in social networking grants users greater control over their personal data and content, empowering them to determine how it is shared and utilized.
- Decentralization: Web3 brings decentralization to social networking, eliminating the need for a central authority and distributing control among network participants.
- Improved Privacy and Security: Web3 platforms prioritize user privacy and employ advanced cryptographic techniques to safeguard personal information, reducing the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access.
- Transparent and Immutable Data: With Web3, social networking data is recorded on a blockchain, ensuring transparency and immutability, which enhances trust and accountability.
- Monetization Opportunities: Web3 social networks offer new avenues for monetization, enabling users to directly earn rewards or revenue for their contributions, creativity, and engagement.
- Content Ownership: Web3 platforms enable users to assert ownership rights over their content, reducing the risk of intellectual property infringement and providing a more fair and transparent environment for creators.
- Interoperability: Web3 in social networking fosters interoperability between platforms, allowing users to seamlessly connect, share, and interact across multiple decentralized networks.
- Community Governance: Web3 social networks often incorporate decentralized governance models, giving users a say in platform decision-making and fostering a more inclusive and democratic community.
- Reduced Censorship and Bias: By removing centralized authorities, Web3 platforms reduce the likelihood of censorship and bias in content moderation, promoting freedom of expression and diverse viewpoints.
- Trust and Authenticity: Web3 social networking leverages cryptographic verification and reputation systems, enhancing trust among users and facilitating the discovery of genuine and credible content and connections.
Web3 social media platforms – our top picks
Web3-based decentralized social media platforms function independently, without relying on a central governing body. These networks operate on a peer-to-peer system, enabling users to engage in direct interactions with one another while ensuring security and transparency.
MINDS
MINDS is an Ethereum-based social network that operates on an open-source framework. This platform provides users with a secure and protected environment to connect with one another, while also offering the opportunity to earn cryptocurrency rewards for their contributions, such as posting or commenting.
MINDS encompasses an extensive array of features, including private messaging, group chatrooms, and live streams, among others. Additionally, the platform implements incentivized curation, enabling creators to receive rewards for generating high-quality content based on upvotes from fellow users.
Mastodon
Mastodon is a decentralized social network that operates on an open-source model and utilizes the ActivityPub protocol. This protocol enables compatibility and interoperability with various established web2 social networking platforms, including Twitter and Facebook.
One of Mastodon’s distinguishing features is the ability for users to create their own separate instances. This means that individuals have the freedom to launch their unique versions of Mastodon, independent of the main server cluster. This grants users complete autonomy over content creation and moderation rules within their respective instances. However, despite this independence, Mastodon still allows for communication and interaction between different instances through federation protocols like ActivityPub and OStatus. These protocols are widely used by prominent web2 social networks today.
Solcial
Solcial, a social network built on the Solana blockchain, offers creators the ability to effortlessly create and sell their own tokens. They can also choose to hide content behind a paywall, requiring others to hold a specific number of tokens to access it. This model, referred to as the “invest-to-subscribe” approach, is a key feature of Solcial. Additionally, the platform enables all users to mint and showcase NFTs directly on the platform. By utilizing the Solana blockchain, Solcial ensures users enjoy a fast, convenient, and low-fee experience compared to other networks.
The platform stands out from other blockchain-based social networks by prioritizing quality. Solcial’s reward mechanism favors users who deliver valuable and beneficial content, discouraging low-quality engagement and content farming.
Torum
Torum is the first social media platform built on blockchain technology. Launched on the 1st of July 2020. Torum strives to create a comprehensive ecosystem that unifies cryptocurrency communities globally. By integrating DeFi, NFTs, and decentralized social media, Torum serves as a bridge connecting crypto projects and users worldwide. It pioneers the concept of SocialFi metaverse, aiming to establish the world’s foremost platform in this domain.
Within Torum, cryptocurrency enthusiasts can engage in social interactions while being rewarded. Additionally, they can conveniently access various essential crypto services in a single location, including rapid information exchange, community building, and cryptocurrency trading, among others. Torum aims to cater to all the daily needs of crypto enthusiasts, providing a seamless and comprehensive experience.
