Decentralized Social Networks
Decentralized Social Networks
This week I discuss decentralized social networks and why they would be an asset to the digital landscape.
This is MadeMeThink – A Weekly Publication with Curated Content for Visionaries, Innovators & Critical Thinkers Exploring the World of Tomorrow. Written by Prof. Thomas Metzler, Ph.D.
This MadeMeThink last week…
Decentralized Social Networks
This week I joined two new social networks: Warpcast and BlueSky. You may have heard of Bluesky, since former Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is involved, it's been more in the news. But Warpcast is of greater interest to me and it (currently) has more momentum in the Web3 community. Warpcast is based on Farcaster, a "sufficiently decentralized social media protocol". I won't go into the "sufficiently" part now (read more about it here or in the short explanation in the footer1); I will rather focus on the big picture: Why is decentralized social media interesting?
I've been active on various social networks for 15 years and it's always the same story. At the beginning, the social networks promote content creators because they want the content, then when the social network has established itself, they limit the organic reach and want money for you to reach the user base you have built up. Ouch!
The same thing is currently also happening on Linkedin. I can only reach a fraction of my connections there anymore (hence this newsletter, to have a direct channel to my readers - so don’t forget to subscribe), the organic reach is becoming increasingly limited (Linkedin probably also doesn't like the fact that I often use links to MadeMeThink.xyz and thus drive traffic away from the platform).
This issue with centralized social networks, causing significant challenges for content creators, is exactly where decentralized social networks come into play.
“Centralized social networks closely control their users’ ability to reach their audience (…) They seem to believe that limiting choices is the path to a healthy network, while the opposite is probably true. A decentralized social network can challenge this hypothesis by making two powerful promises that centralized networks cannot. They can guarantee that users own a direct relationship with their audience and that developers can always build apps on the network.” - Varun Srinivasan (Source)
So what does that mean in practice?
“Imagine if Twitter was built on a decentralized protocol. If you’ve ever been unhappy with how things are being run: the ads you’re seeing, the content you’re seeing, the terribleness of The Algorithm, the amount you’re paying per month for your verified badge… wouldn’t it be nice if someone could create a new client that had all of the same users & content as Twitter, except had a different approach to ads, content, The Algorithm, and subscriptions? (…) That’s basically how Farcaster works (…) Farcaster is the decentralized protocol (…) Warpcast is an application built on top of it.” - Zeneca (Source)
The idea of decentralized social networks is therefore to give users more power, to let them “own” their social network, which shifts power to the content creators. As a content creator, I of course like this idea. It would be great not to be rugged by big social networks every few years.
And this is what Warpcast looks like (see below), classical social media design and UX I would say. Warpcast is fee-based (depending on the region): For me it was 6 euros per year.
However, there is one "small" change with Farcaster/ Warpcast that has caused quite a splash: Frames. So what are frames?
“Frames is the most compelling example of why blockchain networks might ultimately disrupt corporate networks (…) Frames let people build small apps that run inside of casts (…) They’re essentially small, interactive iframes embedded in casts, hence the name. Like casts, handles, and channels, Frames work in any Farcaster client. Frames can support anything from Doom to polls to block explorers to mints to buys to prediction markets. Frames are just a canvas; developers will figure out what to paint on them.” - Packy McCormick (Source)
To explain it with an analogy. You probably know YouTube videos that can be played directly from a post in your social networks. The videos are located in a window that belongs to the post. Frames are like these YouTube windows, but they allow you to program anything into them, from games, polls, 1-click shopping options to NFT mints and much more. Below you can see an example of a frame with which an NFT can be mined directly from the newsfeed. Decentralized social networks & frames definitely have potential and I am excited to see where this development will lead.
Feel free to connect with me on Warpcast or Bluesky. If you found this article interesting, do me a favour and pass it on.
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Disclaimer: The thoughts published in this publication are my personal opinion and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation for any type of action. I am not a financial expert. The startups or corporates highlighted in this publication have caught my interest. This mention is not an endorsement or recommendation to engage with them. Readers should always do their own research.
“A social network achieves sufficient decentralization if two users can find each other and communicate, even if the rest of the network wants to prevent it. This implies that users can always reach their audience, which can only be true if developers can build many clients on the network. If only one client existed, it could stop users from communicating. Achieving this only requires three decentralized features: the ability to claim a unique username, post messages under that name, and read messages from any valid name.” (Source)