The blockchain technology has not only revolutionized the global financial system, but it has also introduced a new concept of decentralization that is just beginning to change the world around us. When it comes to social networking, blockchains can forge innovative solutions that omit the control and censorship imposed by centralized business corporations such as Facebook, Twitter…etc.
How Can The Blockchain Technology Transform Social Networking?
The blockchain utilizes a public ledger that stores all the data handled by the blockchain protocol. In other words, there is no central server that could be hacked to undermine the protocol; instead, all data stored on the public ledger is broadcast to the whole network and is stored by nodes across the blockchain. Accordingly, a social network that is built using the blockchain protocol will be more “hack-resistant” than it would be, if built using a centralized hosting server.
One of the most appealing advantages of the blockchain technology is that recorded data can never be deleted once recorded on the public ledger. This would help counter censorship and promote free speech for everyone across a social network that is built using the blockchain technology. Just like it omitted the middleman from monetary transactions, the blockchain can omit the need for third parties, or centralized bodies, just to promote communications across a social network.
Examples of Social Networks Based On The Blockchain Protocol:
Today, AKASHA, Synereo and Steemit represent the most prominent decentralized social networks that are built using the blockchain technology.
AKASHA:
AKASHA is a decentralized social network that uses the Ethereum blockchain to store the content created by users. AKASHA was announced in May, 2016 and the beta release was launched last October. On AKASHA, you can post, share and/or vote for published content, the way you normally do on social networks such as Medium. The content is broadcast across Ethereum’s decentralized network. Votes are bundled with Ethereum microtransactions, so if your published content is voted for, you can earn some Ethereum from it, as if you were using your brain to mine cryptocurrency!
Synereo:
Synereo was announced in 2014 by Dor Konforty, in The Israel Bitcoin Conference, as a social network that will be implemented on the Synereo platform, which is a decentralized platform based on the blockchain protocol. RChain, Synereo’s blockchain, and a beta version of the social networking platform, are planned to be launched early in 2017. Synereo incorporates 3 technological layers that support decentralized computation:
1- RChain: a blockchain protocol that facilitates the execution of various forms of computational operations.
2- Special-K: A storage layer that delivers and secures various forms of data to nodes across the network.
3- Rholang: a language for programming smart contracts which is built specifically to promote parallel execution of computational processes.
AMP is Synereo’s cryptocurrency and is considered the “fuel” for the virtual machine created by the Synereo protocol. You can acquire AMP coins by buying them, sharing and contributing content on the social network or by providing processing power and/or storage bandwidth to the network via running a node.
Steemit:
Steemit is an incentivized social network that has been built using the blockchain protocol. The concept is explained in a whitepaper that was published in March, 2016. The Steemit network functions in a way that is similar to social network sites such as Reddit; however, the content is saved onto the Steem blockchain rather than onto a centralized hosting server. Members of the Steemit network can upvote valuable content and authors, whose content gets upvoted, are incentivized with a cryptocurrency called Steem along with a pair of other tokens called Steem Power and Steem Dollars. Also, members who comment on or upvote others submissions are also incentivized in the same manner for “curating” the network’s content.
By far, Steemit represents the most successful blockchain based social network as there were more than 40,000 Steemit accounts by the end of July, 2016. It is estimated that there will be more than 1 million accounts on the network during the first quarter of 2017. The price of Steem, the cryptocurrency, rose steadily during June and July, 2016 and the coin’s market capital exceeded 400 million USD on July 20, 2016.
Conclusion:
The blockchain technology is changing the whole world around us. Not only financial transactions, but also the way people communicate can be introduced to a whole new era of decentralization that promotes free speech and omits the restrictions imposed by big corporate companies.
The post Social Networking & The Blockchain Technology – A Brand New Era appeared first on Deep Dot Web.
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