Social networks play a massive role in our daily communications and interactions. However, centralized control of these platforms has created many problems: data breaches, server outages, de-platforming, censorship, and privacy violations are some of the trade-offs social media often make. To combat these issues, developers are building social networks on Ethereum. Decentralized social networks can fix many of the problems of traditional social networking platforms and improve users' overall experience.
What are decentralized social networks?
Decentralized social networks are platforms that allow users to exchange information as well as publish and distribute content to audiences. Because these applications run on the blockchain, they are capable of being decentralized and resistant to censorship and undue control.
Many decentralized social networks exist as alternatives to established social media services, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Medium. But blockchain-powered social networks have a number of features that put them ahead of traditional social platforms.
How do decentralized social networks work?
Decentralized social networks are a class of decentralized applications (dapps)—applications powered by deployed on the blockchain. The contract code serves as the backend for these apps and defines their business logic.
Traditional social media platforms rely on databases to store user information, program code, and other forms of data. But this creates single points-of-failure and introduces significant risk. For instance, Facebook's servers infamously went offline for hours in October 2021, cutting off users from the platform.
Decentralized social networks exist on a comprising thousands of nodes around the globe. Even if some nodes fail, the network will run uninterrupted, making applications resistant to failures and outages.
Using decentralized storage systems like the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), social networks built on Ethereum can protect user information from exploitation and malicious use. No one will sell your personal information to advertisers, neither will hackers be able to steal your confidential details.
Many blockchain-based social platforms have native tokens that power monetization in absence of advertising revenue. Users can buy these tokens to access certain features, complete in-app purchases, or tip their favorite content creators.
Benefits of decentralized social networks
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Decentralized social networks are censorship-resistant and open to everyone. This means users cannot be banned, deplatformed, or restricted arbitrarily.
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Decentralized social networks are built on open-source ideals and make source code for applications available for public inspection. By eliminating the implementation of opaque algorithms common in traditional social media, blockchain-based social networks can align the interests of users and platform creators.
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Decentralized social networks eliminate the "middle-man". Content creators have direct ownership over their content, and they engage directly with followers, fans, buyers, and other parties, with nothing but a smart contract in between.
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As dapps running on the Ethereum network, which is sustained by a global, peer-to-peer network of nodes, decentralized social networks are less susceptible to server downtime and outages.
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Decentralized social platforms offer an improved monetization framework for content creators via , in-app crypto payments, and more.
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Decentralized social networks afford users a high level of privacy and anonymity. For instance, an individual can sign in to an Ethereum-based social network using an profile or —without having to share personally identifiable information (PII), such as names, email addresses, etc.
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Decentralized social networks rely on decentralized storage, not centralized databases, which are considerably better for safeguarding user data.
Decentralized social networks on Ethereum
The Ethereum network has become the preferred tool for developers creating decentralized social media owing to the popularity of its tokens and its massive user base. Here are some examples of Ethereum-based social networks:
Mirror
Mirror is a web3-enabled writing platform that aims to be decentralized and user-owned. Users can read and write for free on Mirror by simply connecting their wallets. Users can also collect writing and subscribe to their favorite writers.
Posts published on Mirror are permanently stored on Arweave, a decentralized storage platform, and can be minted as collectable non-fungible tokens (NFTs) known as Writing NFTs. Writing NFTs are completely free for writers to create, and collection happens on an Ethereum — making transactions inexpensive, fast, and environmentally friendly.
MINDS
MINDS is one of the most used decentralized social networks. It works like Facebook and has racked up millions of users already.
Users use the platform's native token $MIND to pay for items. Users can also earn $MIND tokens by publishing popular content, contributing to the ecosystem, and referring others to the platform.
Farcaster
Farcaster is a "sufficently decentralized" social network similar to X and Reddit that allows users to share and discover "casts". It is built on the Optimism L2 network to keep transactions relatively cheap.
Use decentralized social networks
- Status.app - Status is a secure messaging app that uses an open-source, peer-to-peer protocol, and end-to-end encryption to protect your messages from third parties.
- Mirror.xyz - Mirror is a decentralized, user-owned publishing platform built on Ethereum for users to crowdfund ideas, monetize content, and build high-value communities.
- Lens Protocol - Lens Protocol is a composable and decentralized social graph helping creators take ownership of their content wherever they go in the digital garden of the decentralized internet.
- Farcaster - Farcaster is a sufficiently decentralized social network. It is an open protocol that can support many clients, just like email.
- Ethereum Follow Protocol - Ethereum Follow Protocol is a fully decentralized onchain social graph for Ethereum accounts, advancing the vision of a modular Ethereum identity stack, complementing ENS and SIWE.
- Ethereum Comments Protocol - A new, programmable social content primitive on Ethereum to put your thoughts onchain.
Web2 social networks on Ethereum
native social platforms aren't the only ones trying to incorporate blockchain technology into social media. Many centralized platforms are also exploring or have experimented with integrating Ethereum into their infrastructure:
Brave Browser
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Brave has integrated the Basic Attention Token (BAT), an ERC-20 token built on Ethereum, into its browser ecosystem to revolutionize digital advertising and content creator support.
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The Brave Rewards program allows users to earn BAT by viewing privacy-respecting ads and then automatically contribute to websites and content creators across various platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and GitHub based on attention time.
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Content creators can register as Brave verified creators to receive these contributions directly to their Ethereum wallets, creating a bridge between traditional web platforms and blockchain-based monetization.
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BAT tokens exist independently on the Ethereum blockchain, allowing users to transfer them to personal wallets or exchanges once earned.
Audius Music Platform
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Audius is a music streaming platform that uses Ethereum blockchain technology to connect artists directly with fans.
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The platform features a hybrid decentralized architecture where content is stored on IPFS while utilizing blockchain for ownership rights and the AUDIO token.
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Audius has established a partnership with TikTok, bringing Web3 functionality to mainstream audiences and allowing artists to monetize their content through blockchain technology.
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The platform's technical details are available in their whitepaper, showing how they've built upon Ethereum's infrastructure.
Sorare Fantasy Sports
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Sorare is a fantasy sports platform built on Ethereum that allows users to collect, trade, and play with official NFT player cards.
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Player cards are verifiable NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain, and the platform's smart contracts can be viewed on Etherscan.
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Sorare combines traditional fantasy sports gameplay with blockchain ownership of digital assets, bringing Ethereum to fund functionality to mainstream sports fans.
Twitter/X (Crypto Tipping)
Twitter (now X) has incorporated blockchain technology in multiple ways to enhance creator monetization and digital identity verification:
- Crypto Tipping: The platform has integrated Ethereum tipping, enabling users to send payments via Ethereum-based wallets like Strike.
By integrating blockchain features, X is bridging the gap between Web2 social experiences and decentralized digital ownership.
Further reading
Articles
- Decentralizing social media: a guide to the web3 social stack - Coinbase Ventures
- Social Networks Are the Next Big Decentralization Opportunity — Ben Goertzel
- Web3 holds the promise of decentralized, community-powered social networks — Sumit Ghosh
- An Overview of the Blockchain Social Media Landscape — Gemini Cryptopedia
- How Blockchain Can Solve Social Media Privacy — Prableen Bajpai
- Sufficient Decentralization for Social Networks — Varun Srinivasan
Videos
- Decentralized Social Media Explained — Coinmarketcap
- DeSo Blockchain Wants to Decentralize Social Media — Bloomberg Technology
- The Future of Decentralized Social Media w/ Balaji Srinivasan, Vitalik Buterin, Juan Benet — ETHGlobal
