Upcoming Blockchain-Powered Social Media Platforms of 2020
Mainstream platforms have been the source of controversy over the years due to concerns about how they handle user data. Today, there is growing concern about the power that these platforms over the user-generated data.
One of the options that social media platforms have for giving users privacy, freedom, and rewards, is the use of blockchain technology. Since the advent of blockchain technology over a decade ago, various platforms have emerged that run on the technology. Here are the top five social media platforms powered by the blockchain.
Society2
Society2 is a blockchain-based platform that runs on the IOTA blockchain and the IOTA Streams framework. On the platform, users have more control over their data. Besides that, it offers users more privacy and the ability to earn IOTA tokens when they view ads. There is also an option for developers to build a platform on top of Society2.
The Society2 platform was announced on May 5, 2020. Its goal is to be the first mainstream decentralized social media platform in the world. An early prototype is expected to launch in Q3 2020. However, a final launch date has not been revealed.
Voice
Voice is a social media platform that will have a focus on transparency and distribute rewards to content creators in the form of crypto. The platform is being developed by Block.one, the company that developed the EOS blockchain. Voice was initially announced in June 2019. In February 2020, Block.one launched the beta version.
Voice has received some criticism due to its heavy focus on transparency but not user privacy. The goal of Voice is to end fake news, bots, and dishonest advertising practices by ensuring every section of the platform is accountable. To do so, all users have to verify their identities and make them publicly accessible.
Hive and PeakD
Hive is a blockchain created as a fork of Steem. The blockchain was created after TRON bought Steemit Inc. in February and gained control over Steem. Several Steem nodes and users decided to create Hive, which has a unique governance model that will ensure no one party has control over it.
Except for those few differences, Hive functions in the same manner as Steemit. Users can post content on PeakD, which is the social blogging platform of Hive. Additionally, they can utilize other blockchain apps developed on Hive. Users are rewarded with HIVE tokens for their content and comments just like on Steemit.
Blue Sky and Twitter
Jack Dorsey, the Twitter CEO, announced Blue Sky in December 2019. The Blue Sky project wants to create decentralized standards for social media. While the platform has not directly mentioned the use of the blockchain, it is likely given the past interest of Dorsey in Crypto. Very little is known about the Blue Sky project thus far.
Summary
The above-mentioned projects show a lot of promise. However, there are already projects that have been launched, which run purely on the blockchain. They include Minds, DTube, Memo.cash, Peepeth, and Steem. They are quite easy to join and while their user base is still small, it has been growing steadily.
