Concerns related to censorship, data ownership, and privacy have led to the advancement of decentralized social media platforms, which can fix many existing problems (server outages, data breaches, de-platforms, privacy violations, etc.) and enhance users’ overall experience. Decentralized social networks operate on blockchain technology, so data entries can be stored anywhere worldwide, fostering transparency and accountability. Much of the expansion can be attributed to Ethereum-based social networks like Peepeth, which offer widening features and functionalities. Peepeth costs some crypto to sign up, so carry enough coins in your wallet before the Ethereum price skyrockets.
Some Of The Most Significant Issues With Social Media
Social media was born in 1997, but its roots can be traced back to the 1990s, which marked the beginning of the Internet age. It has become an integral part of our lives, helping us connect with friends, families, and opportunities, regardless of distance. Social networking platforms streamline the exchange of information and ideas, enabling the creation of communities around shared interests. Those who participate professionally use social media to advance their business goals or for marketing purposes. Consumers discover, learn about, follow, and shop from brands on social media, so if you’re not online, you’re missing out.
Web2, the second generation of the World Wide Web, marked by the rise of social networking platforms, is now elaborate and controversial because all responsibility is given to the platforms, and it’s unreasonable to assume that both sides are satisfied with the agreement. Social media companies like Instagram make a large portion of their revenue by selling users’ data to third parties for targeted ads, and the public is becoming increasingly aware of the risks pertaining to sharing personal and sensitive information online. Additionally, social media platforms are subject to many laws and regulations, which can lead to behaviors of concern.
Decentralized Social Media Offer A Solution To The Current Drawbacks Of Traditional Platforms
Traditional social media platforms deploy databases, so there’s a potential risk of system flaws. More exactly, if the database crashes, the entire system crashes. As we can all remember, Facebook and its subsidiaries went offline for hours while the social media giant struggled to restore services. Decentralized social platforms place reliance on peer-to-peer networks that encompass thousands of nodes around the world. A P2P network is resistant to node failures, meaning it doesn’t fall back on a single node or a group of nodes to operate, so even if one or two nodes fail, the network will run continuously.
Social networks built on the Ethereum blockchain protect user information against exploitation and malicious use – all data is encrypted, meaning it’s secure and immune to evolving cyber threats. Blockchain transactions enable users to control their data via public and private keys, so third-party intermediaries can’t misuse or obtain data. Social networks that operate within a decentralized manner promote free speech and provide censorship resistance, so there’s no issue of heavy-handed content moderation. In other words, there’s no central authority to control or manipulate the content. Many platforms are guided by decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), which make decisions in terms of development.
Social Platforms Are Integrating Ethereum into Their Infrastructure
The pandemic and the restrictions that accompanied it confined us to our homes, so what passed for normal life took place mainly online. Simply put, it forced us to make an extraordinary digital leap. Yet even so, much of global society has already been long online; it’s just that now, social media dominates our existence. The advent of blockchain technology has brought about a revolutionary upheaval, one area that has witnessed significant development being social media. Social media apps make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before, not to mention they offer a more trusted and open Internet experience, leading to a shift in the hierarchy as we know it.
The blockchain-based social media ecosystem is indeed rapidly developing, but it’s by no means new. Although decentralized social networks exist on many blockchain platforms, Ethereum is the preferred choice for development due to its versatility and robustness. The state of rapid growth in the Ethereum social media landscape can be explained by the presence of ERC-20 tokens and NFTs, to say nothing of Ethereum’s supremacy in decentralized finance (DeFi). Ethereum-based social networks use fungible and non-fungible tokens to monetize content, completely changing how companies make money. The social networking platform itself can introduce premium features that can be paid for with cryptocurrency.
Here, we’ll provide a few examples of Ethereum-based social networks to illustrate different solutions.
- Peepeth – Peepeth is a blockchain-powered alternative to Twitter that leverages the Ethereum blockchain and the InterPlanetary File System to store data. It provides decentralized services directly by interacting with other smart contracts and dApps. It costs Ethereum to sign up, so you need a MetaMask wallet to execute Peepeth actions. You can send short messages called Peeps that can’t be deleted or modified. You control your identity and credentials; you can even take your data (photos, posts, and interactions) with you if you choose to leave.
- MINDS – One of the most used decentralized social platforms, MINDS allows users to earn cryptocurrency for their contributions to the network. The ERC-20 tokens can be swiped for more views on content or send tips to content creators to demonstrate your support or unlock special rewards. Like any other social media network, MINDS requires a profile picture and a bio. You can choose what you want to see in the MINDS feed, which will save you time and keep you focused on topics. The end-to-end encrypted messaging app enables private communication; popular features include file sharing and video calling.
- Indorse.io – The Ethereum-based network Indorse seeks to address the issue of social networking sites, mainly economy, autonomy, and trust. The platform is very much like LinkedIn, but it tends to focus on tech candidates, allowing anyone to share their skills, activities, and accomplishments. Powered by an ERC-20 token, the decentralized social platform empowers a more accurate process of assessing qualifications and skills by means of “indorsements”. The more active and popular exchanges for buying and selling IND are Kraken and Binance.
Even if Ethereum-based social networks are very different from traditional ones, they allow users to connect to anyone in real-time. At their best, they make the world more interconnected.
