The World Wide Web has come a long way since its inception in 1989. From the early days of static HTML pages and simple hyperlinks, we have entered the era of Web3 – a decentralized, user-controlled online experience powered by blockchain technology.
One of the key features of Web3 is the emergence of social media platforms that allow users to interact with each other and share content in a more decentralized and user-controlled way. These platforms are built on decentralized, peer-to-peer blockchain networks and offer a range of features that are designed to promote user autonomy, privacy, and security.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the top 5 Web3 social media platforms and explore their unique features and benefits.
Steemit - The First and Oldest
Steemit is the longest-running decentralized social media platform, which runs on the Steem blockchain that rewards users for creating and curating content.
Not to be confused with Steemit, Steem is an open-source, decentralized social blockchain platform where user-generated content is immutable thanks to blockchain technology. Also, it has an incentivization system that rewards contributors to the network via upvotes. Over 300 social apps are built on the Steem blockchain, of which Steemit is the most popular.
Users who take the time to rate and vote on material published on Steemit also play a role in distributing the currency to those who are adding the most value to the platform. These actions are rewarded according to their worth, as collectively determined by the platform's users through the stake-weighted voting system. This helps to increase the distribution of the currency to a larger number of users and enhances the overall impact of the network.
Peepeth - Web3 Twitter Alternative
Peepeth is a decentralized social media platform that allows users to create and share short messages, similar to Twitter. The platform is built on the Ethereum blockchain and uses smart contracts to ensure that all content is stored in a decentralized, user-controlled manner. More importantly, "peeps," the replica of "tweets," cannot be deleted; they stay immutable on the blockchain. Hence, users are enjoined to weigh their thoughts before making them public.
Peepeth offers a range of privacy-enhancing features, such as the ability to set custom visibility settings for individual posts, spam resistance, and the option to use pseudonyms instead of real names. Also, verification is quite easy; users just need to connect their accounts to their blockchain wallets, and voila!
Minds - Anti-censorship Platform
Minds is a decentralized social media platform that allows users to create and share content and earn rewards for contributing to the network. The platform is built on the Ethereum blockchain and uses smart contracts to ensure that all content is stored in a decentralized, user-controlled manner.
Minds first gained popularity as an alternate social platform due to its no-censorship policy; hence, there is "free speech," and the platform urges users to deradicalize people with extremist views with civil discourse.
Some unique features of Minds include the ability to earn rewards for creating and curating high-quality content, which can be spent on the platform to promote content or crowdfund other users. It also allows users to go premium for exclusive content, get verified, and access a much more filtered homepage.
Lens Protocol - Most Sophisticated Web3 Features
Lens Protocol is a blockchain-based social media platform that empowers the creator economy, allowing users to share content and directly monetize their own content with their data.
Typically, on traditional Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, data is kept on centralized databases where users can barely access them; however, Lens facilitates a decentralized "social graph" that users own, allowing them control of their information and monetize it as desired with the platform provided features.
Each user profile is minted as a composable NFT, which continually updates itself based on posts, comments, and general activity. This NFT is tied to a wallet address on the blockchain, making it easy for users to utilize smart contracts to grant access to their content or even set up subscription services paid to the wallet address linked to the associated profile.
Built on the Polygon Proof-of-Stake blockchain, Lens protocol enjoys the associated decentralization, speed, scalability, and, best of all, low fees. Hence, several transactions can happen simultaneously for just a few cents.
Mastodon - Web3 Reddit Alternative
Almost as old as Steemit, Mastodon is a decentralized, open-source software that has inspired a series of alternative social media platforms.
Due to the outrage in March 2022, when many people said they were leaving Twitter for Mastodon, it had gotten many comparisons to the bird app. Although its layout and features are more similar to Twitter, including the use of hashtags and "toots," Mastodon is more similar to Reddit, as it has servers (similar to subreddits) that allow people to join chatrooms that align with their specific interests and beliefs.
Toots (like Tweets) on Mastodon have a standard 500-character count, which could be slightly more on some other servers. To join Mastodon, users must select a server to start with; some servers are private and require an invitation to join, while others are open to all users.
Mastodon allows each server to set community rules with a consensus but generally recommends that servers have strict rules against racism, sexism, and transphobia. Still, ultimately, the decision is left with the servers, each with its own moderators and privacy policy.
Conclusion
Web3 social media platforms are changing how we think about online communication and content creation. By offering a decentralized, user-controlled experience powered by blockchain technology, these platforms enable users to interact with each other and share content in a more secure and private way, and, more importantly, in a more lucrative way for individual users.
With a range of features and benefits to choose from, these platforms are helping to build a more decentralized and user-controlled online experience that is better suited to the needs and preferences of the near future.
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