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The Metaverse and NFTs are the hottest topics in the cryptocurrency community but decentralized social media could be the next big thing. Decentralized social media systems, like decentralized finance, lack a centralized governing body and may one day give viable alternatives to established platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. The technique is now progressing just beyond the embryonic stage. 

Let’s look into the detail. 

Decentralized Social Media Network 

Decentralized social networks encompass all blockchain social media networks. There is no central authority or government entity in charge of the data here. Only the user's wishes, i.e., on the user's request, will data be served. This data is stored on multiple servers, each with its level of protection. 

Any company's servers run a centralized social network. Data can now be stored anywhere in the world, thanks to decentralization. It will not be kept in a central network. It provides users with greater transparency and security while also giving them more power. 

Using decentralizing strategies, users can control how it runs and what they can say. The federal social network can define a set of acceptable terms to the users. No corporation or group is responsible for monitoring site behavior. In a decentralized social network, users can do so. 

A social graph – a social network model that maps everyone on a platform and how they're related — is used by both centralized and decentralized social media platforms to allow users to engage with one another on a front-end platform. 

Decentralized social media platforms operate on public blockchains, and for the most part, anyone anywhere can run a node, access the back end, build an app, and curate a feed. 

• DeSo: According to its website, DeSo is a new layer-1 blockchain created from the ground up to expand decentralized social applications to one billion users. The blockchain is open-source, with all data and code kept directly on-chain. Deso has over 200 apps deployed. Users who create a profile in one app can easily move their profile and their community of followers to another blockchain app. 
• Entre: Entre, short for "entrepreneur," is a DeSo-based social Web3 application. Self-employed, traditionally employed, and other professionals can post Twitter-like material and conduct business transactions on Entre. They may hold meetings, host virtual events, and hire employees, with the software acting as a decentralized, digitally monetizable alternative to LinkedIn, Zoom, and Google Calendar – all rolled into one. 

While Entre operates on a social blockchain, the Aave-backed Lens Protocol operates on Polygon. 

When a user of a protocol-enabled app creates a profile, the profile is tokenized as an NFT. When someone follows a profile, they establish an on-chain relationship that cannot be terminated arbitrarily by the platform or anybody else because such relationships are tokenized as NFTs that can be viewed in a digital wallet like MetaMask or on the web on OpenSea. 

• Audius: Audius is a decentralized audio streaming platform built on Solana that aims to provide everyone with the freedom to publish, market, and stream any audio material. Fans may listen to original compositions and mixes, collect libraries, and repost, follow, like, and share content, while artists can effortlessly upload musical clips to the platform. It provides the same amount of entertainment without the intermediaries who toss irrelevant adverts your way and then take a significant share from content providers. 

Decentralized Social Media Networks on Bitcoin Cash 

While Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is best known as a peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency, its underlying network also has significant features. Bitcoin Cash features its native token economy powered by the simple ledger protocol (SLP) and a fascinating ecosystem of blockchain-based social media. Here are some notable BCH-powered social media projects: 

Read.cash 

Read.cash is a blogging site where you may read and write articles. When you sign up, you will be granted a BCH-enabled web wallet. When you upvote a post, you send P2P micro tips (or huge tips, if you like) on-chain using the Bitcoin Cash protocol. 

Memo.cash 

Memo.cash is a mobile and desktop decentralized social network that allows you to share visual material and messages. It filters material using hashtags and employs BCH suggestions instead of likes. Every Memo.cash account is linked to a crypto wallet address, and everyone can see every post on the blockchain. 

Member.cash 

Member.cash, like Memo.cash, is a blockchain social media network. You can leave comments on posts, "love" them, and tip using BCH. It also lets you "remember" a post, like a Twitter retweet. 

The Ethereum Blockchain and social media 

While Ethereum is likely best known for its enormous token ecosystem and the quickly expanding decentralized finance (DeFi) industry, several significant companies have established decentralized social networks on the Ethereum platform. Following are some examples: 

Minds.com 

The Minds layout is like that of the established social media giant but is positioned as the "anti-Facebook." Minds' code and algorithms, on the other hand, are open source, and it has a transparent content control and spam policy. Minds uses its ERC-20 token MINDS to reward users for high-quality content creation, code contributions, and other actions that benefit the Minds ecosystem. 

Peepeth 

Peepeth is like the Twitter decentralized social network. Accounts and "peeps" (posts) on Peepeth are stored on the blockchain. You can accept cryptocurrency tips; however, the company charges a 10% fee. One distinctive aspect is that you are only permitted one "Ens" (analogous to a "like") every day. This rule was enacted to encourage more high-quality content and participation. 

Indorse.io 

This may be defined as a decentralized LinkedIn — with a dash of Instagram thrown in for good measure. Indorse is powered by its ERC-20 token, Indorse (IND). Through its "indorsements" method, the platform seeks to provide more accurate credentialing and talent verification. Indorse is currently being updated to Indorse 2.0, which will enable IND to stake and gradually decentralize governance through the Indorse Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). 

Steem's Blockchain Social Media Landscape 

While some may be surprised to find decentralized social media platforms on Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash, Steem is the "social blockchain" and has long been focused on establishing online communities. Steem's native STEEM coin is used to power its expanding ecosystem of decentralized social networks. Some of the most well-known Steem-powered networks are as follows: 

Steemit 

The Steemit platform allows users to earn cryptocurrency for creating and curating content. Steemit, the first decentralized app (dApp) released on Steem, debuted in 2016. It is maybe the oldest blockchain-based social media site currently in operation. 

DTube 

As the first blockchain-based social media video network, DTube was built on Steem and the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), and users were paid in STEEM. Subsequently, it switched to its blockchain, Avalon, and is now using its native dtube coin (DTUBE). 

Dlive 

Dlive is another blockchain-based social media platform for video, focusing solely on live streaming. It emerged from the Steem ecosystem and has since changed hands and swapped chains multiple times. It first ran on the Lino blockchain before migrating to the TRON network. 

Pros of Decentralized Social Media Networks 

We've been talking about decentralization in social media platforms lately, but why are we opting for it? Let us investigate its advantages: 

• The unethical use of consumers' data can be avoided using decentralized networks. 
• Blockchain technology employs encryption to safeguard user interactions, resulting in data security and privacy. 
• They result in freedom of expression due to the lack of a central authority. As a result, users control what they can and cannot publish. 
• Cryptocurrency, the most popular blockchain application, aids in crowdfunding and has a lot of potential in the future. 
• The issue of the current trending social media platforms is content moderation, which is overcome by Decentralized social networks. This is the primary benefit of employing a blockchain-based social networking tool. Furthermore, the open-source nature is the reason for establishing private servers, which allows for more effective content moderation and content sharing. 

"Content makers should have a censorship-resistant distribution channel with their audience. At the very least, the individuals posting material, developing content, consuming it, and sharing it would profit greatly from decentralized social media." - According to Stani Kulechov, the CEO of Aave and a decentralized social media developer. 

Is Decentralized social media the Future? 

While today's decentralized social media platforms may not have the same network effects as the ubiquitous social media apps, we're all familiar with, blockchain-based social media platforms provide new functions and methods to interact with technology and one another. 

Enhanced privacy, censorship resistance, and built-in monetization capabilities are important reasons for increasing the use of crypto social media networks. Blockchain protocols' borderless and permissionless capabilities may contribute to a more interconnected, engaged, open, and collaborative global social media environment. 

The blockchain-based alternative technology system, like cryptocurrencies, is here to stay; thus, investing time and money in mastering blockchain technology can be a tremendous asset for you to advance in your career. 

Conclusion 

Traditional social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, are plagued by fundamental problems such as fake news, excessive trolling, censorship, and demonetization. Because there is no central organization or supervisor regulating value, the decentralized nature of Blockchain technology represents the future of various professions, mainly social media. 

Decentralized social media can shift the balance of equity and privacy to favor users and content creators. It has the potential to revolutionize the social media sector and redefine a new era of digital free speech in the Web3 age. However, to do so, it may still need to find an elusive answer to content filtering and win widespread adoption. Thought leaders in the space are looking to the future. 

To end up, we can say that these Blockchain-based social media platforms have the potential to change the way we interact on the internet.