Tinder Swindler: How to avoid dating scams and catfishing this Valentines Day
11 February 2022
How Farosian Reports Are Supporting Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Within Organisations
13 April 2022
THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA?
The latest data suggests that the number of social media users around the world now equates to almost 75 percent of the eligible global population, at an estimated 4.62 billion individuals. Whether we like it or not, social media has and will continue to play a major role in our lives and the way that the world works. The issue though – is what social media platform we are using, and understanding how these platforms are using our data.
Before delving into the specifics of decentralised social media, it is pertinent to understand what exactly social media is. Social media platforms aren’t just websites, they are a browser-based software service which provides both hosting data and determining who sees it. Essentially, social media is a service connecting people with each other’s data.
A social media platform needs to fulfil a number of basic functions, namely; it needs to allow users to create a unique account, the platform needs to be able to access a user’s data, it needs to be able to share that data with other users, and finally, it needs to allow users to interact with each other, and with other data they have seen.
CURRENT SOCIAL MEDIA
The majority of the most popular social media platforms available today are centralised, which means that there is a central authority which is in control of all of our data, and it is not accountable to anyone for what it does with that data.
While current social media platforms have given us the ability to connect, learn, share, and network, there are a number of underlying issues with the way it all works. The general rule of thumb is that if you are not paying for the product, you are the product. This is very true with the vast majority of current social media platforms. One needs to be aware of the way in which these networks generate revenue, which is by collecting and storing your data, and then selling it to marketers and other third parties.
If you are a business advertising and using social media, you are paying for that data, however, if you are a user, your data is getting sold to marketers on your behalf. This has been referred to as “digital exploitation”.
Another major issue with centralised social media is that it doesn’t allow users to monetize their data, attention or media. As users, we are essentially feeding these platforms an enormous amount of free multimedia and information, and getting nothing but adverts in return.
ENTER: DECENTRALISED SOCIAL MEDIA (DeSo)
One of the first things to understand, is the concept of decentralization. “Decentralization refers to a system of interconnected, independent, privately owned elements that work together to provide private, secure, and more stable solutions; as a result, online or in cryptocurrency, where we’re seeing decentralization accelerate, things we use (like a website or app) are less controlled or controllable.”
If you are unfamiliar with Web 3.0, just understand that is essentially defined by digital ownership. This is also not restricted to ownership and control of your money, free from any central authority or permission, but ownership of your actual digital self, your digital data, your digital art, your applications, images, music and so much more.
This is where we combine blockchain technology, Web 3.0, and traditional social media models to create decentralized social media. This has the same capabilities that we have come to know and love, such as sharing, tagging, commenting, hashtagging, liking, and retweeting. The difference here is that these platforms promote a community-focused approach, which promotes transparency, privacy, and incentives.
Another huge benefit of decentralized social media is the fact that some of them are built on a blockchain, which means that user data is encrypted, which improves user privacy and data security. Decentralized social media isn’t something in our future, it is something that is already here. There are a number of different kinds of decentralized social media platforms to choose from, and we will be lumping them together into 3 categories, namely; peer-to-peer, blockchain, and federated/distributed.
PEER-TO-PEER (P2P)
These platforms turn all participating computers into a ‘server’ for some of the data that the software stores. Data is decrypted and encrypted as it is stored on various servers and therefore it becomes very difficult to lose. This is the most decentralized model of them all.
Some examples of P2P platforms:
- Iris: a Twitter alternative that doesn’t require making an account
- Planetary: an Instagram alternative with user-friendly UI
- Manyverse: a new (in Beta) Facebook alternative from Scuttlebutt
- DTube: a familiar-looking Youtube alternative that is primarily peer-to-peer but hosts its comment section on the Steem blockchain.
- Aether: a Reddit alternative with a nice dark-themed application
BLOCKCHAIN
For those who are unfamiliar with blockchain technology (think cryptocurrency), this system is essentially a type of ledger, which uses encryption to make it immutable. The ledger stores all data, code, and transactions on a peer-to-peer network in order to maintain permanence. This makes blockchain based social media platforms more secure than P2P systems, however it is not completely decentralized because the software is still run and managed by a company.
Some examples of blockchain-based social media platforms:
- Minds: a user-friendly Facebook alternative with lots of features.
- Steemit: Twitter alternative where your popularity earns cryptocurrency.
- SocialX: an upcoming Facebook alternative where you can earn cryptocurrency.
- All.me: an ambitious marketplace and social network that is visually similar to Instagram
- Peepeth: another Twitter alternative
- Odysee: a fun Youtube alternative run by LBRY
FEDERATED/DISTRIBUTED
These systems are based on the principle of self-governance, where users host their data on their own computers and can therefore control who sees it. The issue here is the fact that if you want to socialize with users outside your immediate group, you risk sharing your data with others who could misuse it. This means that it is never truly public.
Some examples of federated social media networks:
- CTZN: The absolute easiest and safest Facebook alternative to join. Joining the main community is little different than joining Facebook and it guides you through making your own.
- Mastodon: Twitter alternative whose communities have been rapidly growing in popularity.
- Friendica: the most user-friendly Facebook alternative with lots of colourful servers.
- Pleroma: a network of Facebook-like instances.
- Diaspora: a Facebook-like system that has been around a long time and has many active pods.
- Funkwhale: a SoundCloud-like social network for sharing and enjoying music that also uses pods.
- Plume: a social network for blog posts.
- PeerTube: a network of YouTube-like instances.
- Pixelfed: a network of Instagram-like instances.
- Hubzilla: arguably the most feature-rich Facebook alternative with lots of different hubs.
What’s clear is that social media is here to stay, what isn’t so clear is which platforms are going to hold the dominant role in the future. Do you believe that decentralized social media will become the norm? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
