Blockchain is said to become an extremely disruptive technology in the following years, and, as a matter of fact, it is already making a difference in areas such as e-commerce. When applying this technology to social media, many advantages arise:
No central authority: decentralized platforms allow users to hold larger control over their data, which leads to a more private and free environment in which people’s interactions and private messages will no longer be accessible to those in charge.
As aforementioned, users control their data. They have the power to choose what to share according to what they want others to see and know about them.
Since there is no single “moderator” controlling these social media platforms, users will be able to share their thoughts without the fear of being censored because of their opinion.
Anything built on the blockchain is transparent, therefore, everyone will be accountable for their actions.
All content will be valuable, and creators will earn what they deserve for their work. Plus, rewards can also benefit users not only when posting content but also when interacting with others.
Although Blockchain social media seems to be a highly appropriate alternative to what we have now, some aspects of it do not convince me. Firstly, if we get rid of censorship and control over what people do on these platforms, there are more opportunities for criminal activities. Then, the whole purpose of ensuring freedom, respect, and privacy becomes pointless. That is why I think that regulations are a must in this kind of platforms, and that it is idyllic to assume that every user will behave decently if there are not any limits.
Secondly, content creators would benefit accordingly to what they create, and they will have platforms that help them to grow and spread their content. But, will posting any content be rewarded or only posting quality content? And if these social media gives quality content more credit, how does the platform measure quality? Based on how many people interact with that content? Maybe users interact with it because it is a selfie from a celebrity and not a stunning photo of a freelance photographer who is trying to grow their business. I personally think both are valuable since they are different types of entertaining audiences but, there will always be people who get more attention -hence interaction- than others simply because it is impossible to keep up with every single user’s content. So, if we base rewards on that, there will never be such equality as blockchain social media promises. On the other hand, these platforms will serve as a window for content creators, instead of what, for instance, the Instagram algorithm is doing nowadays.
Finally, I consider that blockchain social media could worse customer experience in some ways since fewer data from users equals fewer opportunities for personalization.
