How Blockchain is Connecting Humans

Blockchain or the technology of trust, has redefined the way we transact. The technology is based on a patriotic concept, i.e. a huge database authenticated by a wider community, rather than any middle authority further allowing a self-sustaining, secure, and fast movement of information/payments/data.

To be more technically sincere, what happens when you integrate computers, and internet– records are shaped, established over a distributed network of computers and paired with preceding entries in the chain, developed, as a result of continuous data addition (blocks), conclusively, a blockchain is forged.

Since the technology is now no more extrinsic to timeless controversies, the utility of the technology is what is being debated, left, right and center, everywhere online, offline, the right usage or implementation of the massive technology is still being “talked”. Adding some more debatable, but logical and proof-injected, the utility of blockchain, in this article, I will discuss the fusion of social media and the wide and economically responsive tech.

How Blockchain works and Why its proof model provides trustless and distributed consensus?

Blockchain has the potential to move beyond just buy and sell; it has the capability to change the way social interactions take place today, at Viral News Teller–Facebook; Excessive and Unnecessary Trolls–Twitter; Restricted Content–YouTube and Open Scams.

Required and proved benefits of Social Media with Blockchain backing

• Exclusive control over content: A decentralized approach to connectivity, and a good riddance from a central server, no single authority can enforce monitoring, and control over user-generated content. Since there has to be a financial incentive attached to maintain the decentralized nature of the platform, cryptocurrency can be used to reward the hosts who continue to contribute technically. Again, this removes every financial liability on the company like advertising, payments and software maintenance.
• The removal of middlemen: Portals like Upwork, Freelancer have annoyingly high ritualistic checks that are indeed necessary but they reduce the employee/employer power. Considering Social Job Portals are now relevantly required, blockchain based SN job portals are evolving where the data is controlled by the users. An already established an ongoing effort of Humans.net is bringing back the concept of privacy back in the most compulsory part of internet i.e. online services. Built on the axiom of “by the people and for the people”, the SN portal charges no fees, has no middlemen, and has no uncertainties of user profiles.

In an interview with Entrepreneur, Humans.net, CEO quotes: “The fundamental building block of Humans is the development of a huge databank or directory of people, and their skills, made accessible to other people on the platform.” and continues to say “We will be a full-fledged decentralized system with social recommendations in the blockchain ranking the skills and services on offer.” In short,  users can provide and seek services through the clever implementation of the blockchain.

• Riddance from Data Manipulation: Eavesdropping on user data is at present an outcome of rising connected population and interestingly, as shared earlier, Facebook was the false prophet of privacy. However, the third generation of social networking will give users the stick of control, as they can monetize on their content, and decide whether their data is eligible to receive payments or not.
• A place where user is NOT the product: Social Media is a goldmine of user data which has been exploited/ or is still be exploited by Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; Blockchain which is the spinal cord for new social media networks, eliminates the possibility of exchanging aggregated information for targeted marketing and money exhaustive campaigns. Hence, the user is NOT the product with blockchain based social media networks, instead is the driver of a reliable, pure and a content-rich community.
• Improved, Promising and Proven Security: Digital sales is a painful reward of targeted marketing where the smartphone penetration has been taken excessively for granted and has played the catalyst for promoting the same, i.e. user targeting. Facebook was recently accused of invasion of privacy, done at a ridiculously massive scale. The result was a mockery, but again, Facebook is still riding the same horse, this time carefully.

Blockchain-based social networks ensure security and privacy through a distributed consensus mechanism further giving the freedom back into the hands of users. Companies like Nexus is working on decentralizing and encrypting all the data and uploads.

• A new way to transact payments: Facebook is at present working on creating a payment platform, integrated with messenger but as history says, there is always a disjoint in terms of the messaging and the payment platform, how much is achieved, is to be seen. On the other hand, blockchain based social networks can easily prosper in terms of payment capabilities as a smart token exchange through messaging is already into play.
• Freedom of Speech: The result of social sharing today is that each and every user, leaves breadcrumbs of information which is usually picked up by third parties. This can happen intentionally or unintentionally as well, but the outcome of the same is usually uncalled interference. Blockchain-based social media networks phenomenally eliminate the need of user accounts and only use digital addresses which cannot be used, exploited or even determined, as well. Obsidian Platform is one of the companies that implement decentralized tech, and, as a result, the communication metadata is scattered over the globe, further giving “immortal privacy and freedom of speech” to its users.

What makes Blockchain a special ingredient in its awkward yet beneficial handshake with social media, is the combination of security provided by cryptography with the immortality of the internet.

Backing the claim with some examples, here is what a few blockchain companies are doing with social media networking as a key ambition. Stay with me!

Steemit: Steem, one of the earliest adopters of the blockchain, has matured into the most trustable, effective and organically growing blockchain based social media network. Unlike Facebook, that only implies viral content growth, Steemit, is based on a decentralized reward platform for publishers who can monetize on content and ultimately grow a community.

A Steemit user, David Kadavy in a short interview with Bloomberg says: “I feel like I’m in the Stone Age when I’m on Facebook or Twitter,” and continues by saying: “They have no value without what you’re contributing to them. If Facebook doesn’t respond to this, things can change very quickly. They should be very concerned.”

Sola: A hybrid of social network and media, commanded by Artificial Intelligence, has more than 700,000 users worldwide now as claimed by the website. Sola is responsible for spreading information at a viral pace, by applying AI algorithms further combined with user reactions. The quality content then reaches the user base of Sola where the rest is done, and that is, making it more viral.

As reported by ICO Alert, an interview with Sola’s CEO, he explains: “It allows us to share revenue from advertising, user payments, and partnerships with users, providing a strong financial incentive to use our service and create quality content.”

PROPS Project: The Props Project is an unusual yet very critical to the need of social networking today. The project is responsible for providing users with real-time engagement, content trending boosts, and gains upvote curation power, along with, knowing the status of their contributions to the whole network growth. Social Media stars like Phil DeFranco and Casey Neistat are broadcasted regularly on the platform, which has in a way, attracted many new users.

CEO of Props Project quotes: “We asked ourselves, how can we leverage our strengths and what would the next generation of a social video look like?” according to WIRED.

Opportunities within the social network that have become available thanks to Blockchain

The best example or indicator of public traction is the continuous, traumatic yet exciting up and down of Bitcoin price. This year 2018, was the year where Blockchain emerged into a greater collective conscious which was the reason why Bitcoin price has been swinging to and fro through hell and heaven. Knowing that blockchain will contribute consequently into cybersecurity, the smart integration of the tech with social networking will bring the following changes:

1. Access to content
2. Content Authenticity
3. Content Consumption

Will blockchain-based platforms replace traditional modes of interaction? Predictions

It is a brutal truth that Facebook is in no imminent danger; the blockchain has the potential to offer a necessary solution to plenty of industries deep-seated problems. A more rewarding, interactive and intellectual experience can be created if the fusion of blockchain and social media maintains the growth it has come up to today. All we have to do is, accept!