By Larry Wright
Introduction
Social media networks have become a household name in the current day and age. It is impossible to find a person without a dozen social media accounts to their name. Social Media sites allow users to project their personalities online and meet like-minded people.
There are a wide variety of Social Media networks in the world, and since the introduction of smartphones and mobile applications, the majority of the world population has access to such sites. Social Media applications have continued to evolve, and with the integration of blockchain technology, the concept of decentralized Social Media has started to gain popularity among people.
What is a Decentralized Social Media Network?
A decentralized Social Media platform is the next stage on the evolutionary scale for the standard social media networks. Developers are taking the idea of governance and automation from blockchain technology and applying it to create a social media platform that is wholly or predominately community-owned.
The aim of a decentralized social media network is to grant greater data independence to its users. The average users on a decentralized social media network can enjoy greater control over their online presence, has a better ownership claim on their content, and be free from the regulatory pressure implemented by the government and private organizations.
How do Decentralized Social Media Networks Work?
A decentralized Social media network is not backed by a centralized server under the supervision of a private or government enterprise. A decentralized social media network is a community-based enterprise that is spread across a number of independent servers, just like any standard blockchain project. In this manner, a decentralized social media platform can grant its users better data management options and freedom of choice. Decentralized social media networks appoint a community-nominated jury to act as the board of directors and make important decisions through voting.
90% of all the social media platforms in the world like Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. are centralized social media networks. These social media networks are run and owned by a private firm that is entitled to make all the decisions for its users and content creators.
In most cases, the users and content creators on centralized social media platforms cannot claim personal and legal ownership over their material and contributions. If the private firm owning a centralized social media platform decides to change its policies, users can lose their content, get banned, penalized, or suffer from financial restrictions. The centralized social media platform is independent of making any changes in its algorithms without any input or approval from its consumers.
Salient Features of a Decentralized Social Media Platform
The line of distinction between centralized and decentralized social media platforms is quite indistinguishable. Most decentralized social media networks currently aim to provide a familiar user interface that has a striking resemblance with the centralized social media networks.
However, on the technical end, the users are bound to enjoy a lot more benefits from decentralized social media networks. Therefore, it is important to note down all the key features of a decentralized network in order to correctly identify and reap the advantages of these networks. Some of the salient features of decentralized networks are mentioned as under:
Fediverse
Fediverse is a federated network of independent servers that allow independent web entities to corresponding with each other. Take, for example, Twitter and Instagram; users on one of these platforms cannot send a message directly to the other social media network.
However, Google and Yahoo users have the ability to send each other emails while their moderators can keep running independently at the same time. Traditional Social Media networks do not have the power to have such integration, while decentralized social media networks can enjoy greater flexibility since they are based on Fediverse.
Blockchain
Decentralized social media networks are not just appearing on dedicated blockchain platforms alone. There are many examples of hosting blockchain ecosystems such as Ethereum and other networks allowing developers with the tools and space to create decentralized social media networks on them. By design, a decentralized social media network requires protocols like DAOs and smart contracts to run independently, and therefore they adopt blockchain technology heavily.
Data Autonomy
Data Autonomy is one of the most important features for content creators. For a typical user of decentralized social media, the user interface may not offer a lot of new features in comparison to their traditional counterparts. However, for content creators, greater control over their data ad content contribution holds a considerable amount of incentive. It is also worth mentioning that users can also have better options for their digital footprint, account management, and data history sharing on decentralized social media networks.
No Private or Centralized Regulators
In addition to the absolute control of the private corporations on centralized social media platforms, these entities are also susceptible to any type of regulatory changes enforced by the government. Therefore, the users and content creators on centralized social media networks are unable to battle any unforeseen policy change even if it is detrimental to their interests. Decentralized social media platforms, in principle, should grant a full or significant amount of freedom from regulatory dictatorship.
Legal Ownership
Users and online content creators are bound to sign lengthy service agreements that take away their legal claim over the contributions on a centralized social media network. With technologies like cryptocurrencies and NFTs, the contributors on decentralized social media platforms can maintain their legal ownership rights over content even after it has been posted and claim a share of income if and when their artwork is used or recycled by any other entity.
Earning Models
Decentralized social media platforms are doing more than just entertaining their users. These platforms have the ability to incorporate innovative earning models that allow their users to collect income points by participating in any online activity. Users can opt to play a game, participate in a workout, view content, share reviews or make any other type of interaction to get qualified for earning financially viable credit like cryptocurrencies or tokens.
Key differences between Centralized and Decentralized Social Media Networks
The readers who have made it thus far now possess the basic knowledge about centralized and decentralized social media networks. Before discussing why decentralized social media networks are necessary, it is important to discuss in detail the key differences between centralized and decentralized social media networks. Here are some of the most important ways that set the two entities apart from each other:
Cyber Security
Cyber Security on Decentralized Social Media Networks or DSMNs is many times greater in comparison to their centralized contemporaries. Since DSMNs use blockchain and encryption technology, they are much more difficult to hack. However, the users should also factor in the open-sourced decentralized networks that allow free access to all the community members on that platform to view, access, and track the digital footprint of a user. Therefore, while DSMNs have the potential to preserve the data of a user, they also grant easy and unrestricted access to tech-savvy trackers.
Freedom of Speech
DSMNs are able to provide users the absolute freedom to express their opinion on political, social, religious, and other matters. However, at one end, where the decentralized platforms can shield their users from the regulatory restrictions of private firms and government organizations, these platforms are also in corporate governance by a community-nominated jury.
In some cases, the largest token holders of a DSMN can get entitled to more votes or greater community influences in comparison to others that allow them to dictate the governance policies as per their liking. However, centralized platforms have legal experts, government regulatory bodies, and board members to perform the same task without any input or influence from users.
Censorship
Centralized social media platforms have a set of rules and regulations that grant them complete autonomy over setting boundaries and operating standards. All users and content creators have to abide by these rules that can also expose them to censorship and other disciplinary actions. In many cases, users can suffer from banning, blocking, reduced traffic exposure, and even demonetization of their accounts. On DSMNs, censorship laws are created and amended by the consent of the entire user base rather than just one private organization or a government regulator.
Advertisement
Centralized social media platforms focus on increasing their user interactions by any means to increase their advertisement revenue. At times, centralized social media platforms have been exposed to go to unethical lengths to ensure a better user engagement that involves hijacking the user data and selling it to companies without the consent of the users that can have a psychological impact on them. However, the core business model of most DSMNs is not based on revenues from advertisements.
Economic Incentives
Centralized social media platform users are unable to generate any income by contributing on these platforms, creating an account, or spending time on the platform. Only content creators with a designated amount of user engagement are able to earn revenues. On the other hand, DSMNs have managed to incorporate earning models at a user level by allowing every account holder on the platform to get qualified for tokens in exchange for their time and contribution to the network. Some DSMNs also allow their users to earn more income by offering staking options to generate yields.
Technical Background
Centralized social media platforms have a very different technical composition in comparison to the DSMNs. Centralized social platforms depend on a centralized server that is owned by a private entity. On the other hand, the DSMNs are based on federated servers and use blockchain as their core. The user experiences on both platforms can be similar in many ways; however, their technical differences allow them to offer a visibly different range of functionalities.
Advantages of Decentralized Social Media Networks
At first glance, centralized and decentralized social media networks can seem indistinguishable from each other. It is common for readers to question why decentralized social media networks are needed when they look and feel the same as their centralized counterparts. Here are some of the most important benefits of Decentralized Social Media Networks that justify their presence:
User Rights
Decentralized social media platforms are not wholly independent and ideal networks. However, these platforms are still an upgrade from the centralized social media networks in terms on providing greater financial, data, and rights protection for their users.
Decentralized platforms can lessen the burden of unjustified regulatory compliance enforced by the state or a private enterprise. Additionally, the users can also choose to delete their account credentials completely from a decentralized platform and do not have to share their personal data with companies without their consent and knowledge.
Personalization
The personalization options for decentralized platforms are better on account of the Fediverse system. The users can import avatars and themes from a vast network of global platforms without any restrictions. They are also able to have better options for creating personalized themes and skins and other presentation enhancement programs based on their taste and maintain digital ownership that legally restricts any other user from copying their style.
Evolution
Decentralized social media platforms are a necessary evolution of the current social media platforms that contain a lot of technical and social limitations. There are several issues with centralized networks like wasting people’s time, selling their data, psychological impacts, lack of proper maintenance, disruption of free speech, encouragement of immoral content, and participation in violent inciting material, among other issues.
Decentralized platforms are not a perfect solution for the issues current social media platforms are dealing with. However, they are nevertheless a step forward in the right direction.
Digital Ownership
Decentralized social media platforms allow the users to legally and technically ensure their legal right over the content. However, when a content creator on a centralized social media creates an account, they are unable to make a legal claim over their contribution. Other users can also steal their work and use it to create second-hand revenue without offering any profit sharing to their original creators. However, with protocols like NFTs, creators can retain the legal right over their entities and get qualified to earn a percentage of the income when their work is recycled by other users or content creators.
Financial Incentives
The financial incentive is the main motivation for the users of decentralized platforms that are able to earn cryptocurrencies or tokens by spending some time on the network. However, the centralized social media platforms do not offer any type of financial perks for their users. Content creators are also only able to monetize their accounts after they are able to maintain a specified amount of audience and followership.
Technical Education
Decentralized platforms are increasing the technical knowledge and a greater understanding of basic digital entities such as blockchains, computer algorithms, and cryptocurrencies.
On the other hand, these platforms are raising awareness among the common social media users about the social, legal, and psychological aspects of platforms by encouraging the users to exert their right to financial independence, freedom of speech, and campaigning for better treatment from the private tech industry about their online presence.
Drawbacks of Decentralized Social Media Networks
Every coin has two sides, and it is important for the readers not to turn a blind eye to the drawbacks of a decentralized social media network while learning about its advantages. Here are some important limitations of DSMNs that everyone should be aware of:
Pseudo-decentralization
While several decentralized social media platforms like to introduce themselves as wholly decentralized networks, it is important for the users to understand that they are only partially decentralized as the founder of a blockchain or a community member with the largest token reserves can manage to dictate the governance policies on these networks.
Immoral Activities
It is a great idea to imagine that decentralized platforms that are free from any type of regulatory scrutiny can become breeding grounds for creating groundbreaking ideas and innovation.
However, the darker side of a regulatory-free social media environment also allows the users to breach the moral boundary without feeling the weight of any legal consequences. The platforms like 8chan have been accused of breeding grounds for Neo-Nazi propaganda and providing inconsequential platforms for racist, sexist, and oppressive parties.
Partial Data Protection
While many users believe that decentralized social media platforms can grant them complete anonymity, the truth is a little different. Decentralized platforms are able to provide their users with a greater level of protection from hack threats. However, it is possible for IT expert to track down their digital print due to the open-sourced nature of such networks. Therefore, users are unable to fully mask their online presence even when they are using decentralized social media accounts.
Conclusion
Decentralized social media networks are the next step for upgrading of the centralized networks. It is possible that the world will adopt the newer version in the next decade and make better advances in the e-commerce sector using blockchain technology at its base.