Why does Decentralized Social Media Matter?

Social media has been a vital part of the Internet ever since My Space came into existence in 2003. Since then, the world has seen tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit etc. that took the vision of early social media platforms to the next level and became more significant and powerful over the years. As of today, these handful of companies control the identity, content, personal data of every user and play a crucial role in major world events like elections, International controversies etc. Let’s dive into the current state of social media platforms and learn more about their issues.

Current State Of Social Media - A Centralized Monopoly on the Internet

Social media as of today is extremely centralized. All your identity, data and content is owned by few entities that decide what to do with the data you generate for them. This centralization comes with a lot of issues:

1- Monetization on Cost of User Privacy:

If you think that using the current social media is free, then you are totally wrong. As the famous saying goes, “If you aren’t paying for it, you become the product”. You are paying through your privacy and time. These monopolies have been striving over the time to find new methods to generate revenue from the billions of user data they generate every day. We have seen them being accused of selling this data to private organizations for vote-garnering and money-making motives. Not forgetting the continuous user harassment through user targeted advertisements. You search something on Google and suddenly all your social media accounts are filled with ads regarding this search.

2- Ban and Removal of Accounts:

In the modern world, your network is your net-worth but how will you feel if someone robs your net-worth with just a click of a ban button? We have seen many times how these centralized entities have banned users who have millions of followers just because the company didn’t like the views of that user in some matter. Years of building an audience on a centralized social media can be dashed into dirt in no time and you can do nothing about it.

3- Censorship:

Freedom of speech is crucial and is the right of every human being to express his/her views without any interference and regulations. The current age of social media is full of censorship. The company itself decides what anyone can say and the extent of censorship is much more than many government entities. If the company does not agree with your views, they will delete your content along with shadow banning or suspending your account. In the words of Naval Ravikant, "If you can silence the king, you are the king" and we have seen centralized entities like twitter banning social activists and political leaders.

4- Biased Algorithms:

The closed source algorithms that curate feeds on these platforms creates bias and echo chamber views of the world. Every like and comment makes that closed algorithm stronger to show us the one-sided echo-chamber view of the world. A view that only affirms and never challenges our views can increase social unrest and conflicts.

To solve all the above drawbacks of centralized Internet services, the Internet is now entering a new phase, known as Web3.

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Web3 - The Decentralized Internet

To understand web3, let’s take a look at previous versions of the Internet. Starting with web1 which was all about read-only websites where users can read news feeds and articles. Websites during web1 weren’t interactive at all. 

The next version of the Internet, Web2, took the Internet to a new phase where users can read and write as well. Platforms like Facebook, twitter and reddit are best examples of web2.

Web3 is the newest version of the Internet which empowers users to read, write and own the data.

We at Desofy think of web3 as a decentralized, trustless and permissionless Internet that leverages the blockchain technology enabling users to govern the services and products they use. Therefore, a social platform built on blockchain takes the power from the single entity and distributes it to its users.

Web3 has given rise to a new era of creator economy where creators can monetize their content through NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens), Social Tokens and built-in tipping.

This new generation of social media provides portability of content and user followings. Imagine if you could use Twitter and Instagram while having the same followings and content on both the platforms. Just one identity across all apps.

No one can de-platform or censor speech on blockchain. Followings built on a blockchain based social platform cannot be taken away from the owner. No one can take your startup down if it’s built on a decentralized social platform.

How Desofy is revolutionizing social media?

Desofy is the first social media mobile app built on the Decentralized Social Blockchain. Our ultimate mission is to usher in a new age of the Internet and creator economy. By leveraging the blockchain technology, Desofy enables users to create their decentralized social identity and monetize their content through NFTs, social tokens and tipping (AKA diamonds). Creators can also make money through FR (founder reward) of their social token. Creators have made thousands of dollars just through founder rewards. Check latest statistics of creators earning on Desofy here.

Not just creators, but followers can also earn money on Desofy simply by sharing the content of their favorite creators, thanks to CloutCast - a new kind of promoted post engine on the DeSo blockchain. Fans can also buy social tokens of their favorite creators and become a part of their growth journey.

Desofy has a completely open-sourced backend and there is no algorithmic feed creating echo chambers of any kind. We truly believe in making social media a better place for the world. We believe incentives change everything. Traditional social media is quite negative as there is hardly any incentive to the end user but this is not the case for Desofy. Even if a user has no huge following, they can get anywhere between $0.05 - $2 simply by posting through the Desofy app!

So what are you waiting for? Create your decentralized identity using Desofy and enjoy the perks of web3 social media from Today!

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