Exploring the Future of Decentralized Social Networks

During the Web3 Social Day hosted at ETHCC in Brussels on July 9, Mask Network Founder Suji Yan and Lens Protocol’s Founder Stani Kulechov engaged in a thought-provoking fireside chat titled “Views on Decentralized Social.” The conversation delved into the current state and future of decentralized social networks.

Suji Yan kicked off the discussion by asking Stani Kulechov to rate the maturity of decentralized social networks on a scale from 1 to 10. Stani humorously rated it a “1,” highlighting the nascent stage of the sector. He emphasized that despite significant progress, the protocols and infrastructure are still in their infancy.

Parallels with Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Stani drew parallels between the early days of decentralized finance (DeFi) and the current state of Web3 social networks. He noted the initial limitations of DeFi, when stablecoins were not available and financial transactions were limited. Persistent innovation eventually pushed the space forward, gaining traction during the COVID-19 pandemic. He believes Web3 social is at an even earlier stage, with evolving infrastructure and upcoming consumer applications.

Suji highlighted the value of various ecosystems competing in the early crypto landscape, noting that the first stablecoin wasn’t on Ethereum. Stani agreed, mentioning his close watch on Bitcoin’s ecosystem, which often operates independently of other Web3 developments. He emphasized the Bitcoin community’s pragmatic and philosophical approach to centralization challenges.

Web3 Social and Social Capital

Stani expressed satisfaction with DeFi’s progress but acknowledged that Web3 social poses more complex problems. Unlike financial transactions, which rely on liquidity, Web3 social revolves around social capital — how it’s preserved, expanded, and integrated into networks. He finds the expansion of Layer-2 solutions in the Bitcoin ecosystem particularly interesting and mentioned Cluster as an interesting project to follow. Cluster will soon integrate with Mask’s NextID Web3.bio identity graph project.

Federated vs. On-Chain Models

Stani emphasized that infrastructure is just a small part of the Web3 social puzzle. The application layer is crucial for onboarding users, and both federated and on-chain models have their merits. He highlighted the benefits of federated models, such as better incentives and more cost-effective consensus over data, which is crucial for security at scale. He argued that social transactions require the same security level as financial transactions, and blockchain technology excels in ownership verification.

Scalability and transaction costs remain significant hurdles. Stani pointed out that service providers often absorb transaction costs to offer seamless services, factoring these expenses into their business models. He believes successful applications will attract new users, despite many “hit-or-miss” attempts.

Future Prospects

During the Q&A session, a participant asked about mass adoption. Stani replied that mass adoption must be driven by user experience, with everyone building together in shared social networks. He anticipates successful applications will attract new users, reducing concerns about transaction costs, account abstraction, embedded wallets, and gas issues.

Suji concluded the talk by discussing the promise of Web3 for monetizing social capital, envisioning a future where social capital in the “cyberverse” could allow individuals to purchase tangible assets. Stani agreed, noting that the financial side of Web3 and the social attention economy will converge as the space continues to develop.

This conversation between Suji Yan and Stani Kulechov explored the reality of “being early” to the decentralized social space. They discussed the relationship between infrastructure and applications and the crucial need for better applications and features to create a network effect. Their insights highlight the ongoing effort to create secure, scalable, and user-friendly platforms that will drive the future of Web3 social forward.

For more details, visit the original article by Mask Network.

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