Key Insights on Decentralized Social Networks from Mask Network and Lens Protocol

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.

Image
source:
Shutterstock