Decentralized Social Media: Revolution or Illusion?

Decentralized Social Media: Revolution or Illusion?

By Jack1976 | Tech Check Mag | 4 Jul 2023


Why do I think that many decentralized social media platforms fail? Okay, I'm not saying all will fail, but most of them will, actually there were many social media platforms built on blockchains that have already failed and did not even touch a slight glimpse of success.

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Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Why? Because there are no users. Users are the main life of any public platform on the internet. If no one wants to use your platform, your platform will not be able to generate income to support its expenses.

Here are some of the reasons why I think most decentralized social media fails:

Topics

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Photo by Traxer on Unsplash

The first thing that draws people away from decentralized social media is the topics. When you browse a decentralized social media platform for the first time, what topics are you going to see? Mostly crypto-related, right? It's okay if the platform's purpose is for crypto enthusiasts only, but in most platforms, the most popular topics are either crypto or blockchain games.

User-friendly

Not all decentralized social media platforms are user-friendly. Some users just want to post a picture, and these social media platforms make it hard for them. Do they think everyone will want to study markup? Lol.

Investment required

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Photo by Igal Ness on Unsplash

Many social media platforms will require you to pay before you can sign up. They try to entice people with the rewards they can get for using their platform. Only a few will do that, and later on, when those few find out that it's not easy to earn in this decentralized social media, they will just abandon their account.

Post limitations

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Some decentralized social media platforms limit your posting based on the power you have in your account. Social media isn't supposed to be like that. If people are limited in how often they can post, they will still go back to centralized social media to post.

Because of this, the next problem will occur:

No users

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Photo by Oleksandra Bardash on Unsplash

Since you need to pay for a membership and resources to post, users don't want to try it anymore. Why would they use a platform that they need to pay for when there is Facebook and Instagram? Why would they care about decentralization if it doesn't benefit them? What is the use of owning a decentralized account if no one is engaging because there are no users?

And because there are no users, what do you think will happen next?

No engagement

Because there are no users, there is also no engagement. Social networks are for socializing and engagement. The only engagement you will get from most decentralized social media platforms are upvotes, and most of them don't even bother to read your post. In some decentralized social media, you can even vote without even reading the post because there are vote buttons on the news feed.

Anonymity

Anyone can create an account on decentralized social media. People are not verified here. Some just create multiple accounts to farm rewards, and other accounts are created for the purpose of downvoting and upvoting. People want to engage with real people and not just an account that slaps a banner on your comment section telling you that you've been upvoted.

Now, all of these factors will result in:

No income

If there are no users, there will be no income. Users generate income. Facebook is free to use, but it generates income because they have a lot of users. Users are the strength of a social media platform. If your platform has many users, many companies will notice you because you are a potential platform for business growth. If there is no money coming in, how can these websites continue to manage the platform?

Let's admit it, only a small percentage of people are interested in crypto. Many social media users are not after rewards; they are more after fame and the happiness that likes can give them

.They can't be blinded by rewards and the promise of decentralization. They just want to engage. But I think these developers don't understand this.

What's the use of having an account on a decentralized platform that no one even knows? Worse, if these platforms go down because they're already out of funds, your account will also disappear. What are you going to do? create your own platform to fetch your account?

I hope in the future, someone can build a decentralized social media platform that considers the wants of people. Someone who understands people. Don't just hire developers to build platforms; hire someone who knows people's behavior. Creating a platform is easy if you have initial funds, but making it be accepted by the market is hard.

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Jack1976
Jack1976

Just a random guy with random thoughts


Tech Check Mag
Tech Check Mag

I am "The Good Garcia", a man who, through continuous reflection on his past mistakes, found redemption through the teachings of Christ

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