Exploring the Path of Flourishing Web3 Social: A Flash in the Pan or the Next Mass Adoption?

1. Introduction: What is Web3 Social?

Recently, the popularity of friend.tech has once again drawn people's attention to Web3 social. By giving power to price dynamics, it has attracted many users. The subsequent emergence of Bodhi has also sparked interest, as it aims to assign value to content and realize the return of data value. In the field of social networks, Web3 social seems to be undergoing some new transformations and explorations. With the development of blockchain technology, it is redefining our perception of social interaction and providing a range of innovative solutions. Whether it's social finance ( SocialFi ) or decentralized social ( Desoc ), Web3 social is actively exploring the possibilities of future social networks.

Looking back at the development of social products, Web2 social products such as Facebook, X, Instagram, and WeChat have provided users with unprecedented convenience for sharing, interacting, and communicating. However, this convenience also hides some dilemmas. Web2 social platforms typically concentrate control over user data, lacking transparency and privacy protection, and platform governance and decision-making are often controlled by a few centralized entities. Additionally, creator incentives are also a highly controversial aspect of Web2 social products.

At the same time, Web3 social is redefining social networks in a new way. Web3 social emphasizes decentralization, user data privacy and control, as well as the incentive mechanisms of cryptocurrency economics, giving rise to protocols and products such as Lens, CyberConnect, Farcaster, Phaver, Debox, and friend.tech. Concepts like SocialFi integrate finance and social interactions, reshaping the landscape of social networks. Desoc, on the other hand, focuses on building a decentralized social ecosystem to eliminate the many issues present in Web2 social networks.

Although the social track has long been expected to be the next Mass Adoption, it has not produced large-scale applications since its inception. What will the future of Web3 social look like? Are the endless social products a flash in the pan or the next mass adoption? This article will delve into the core concepts and solutions of Web3 social, analyze its current development status, advantages, and challenges. We will return to the essence of socializing, examine the Web3 social field, reveal their advantages and challenges, and explore the roles they play in redefining social networks.

2. Why do we need social in Web3?

1. The essence of social interaction does not change with the development of history.

As mentioned in Tom Standage's "A Brief History of Social Media", we often think of social media as a new concept that emerged with the development of the internet and digital technology. However, in fact, humans have always engaged in socializing and information dissemination in different forms. From ancient letters and coffeehouses to modern social networks, the essence of social media has not changed; it is only the forms and technological tools that have evolved. Social media is an extension of a human trait, a way for us to constantly pursue connection and communication.

Observing from different historical stages, technology has had a significant impact on the development and evolution of social media, serving as an important driver of change.

1. Ancient and Traditional Media Period: In ancient times, letters and postal services were the main forms of social media. With the invention of printing, books and newspapers became the primary tools for information dissemination, but the scope of social interaction was limited by geography and the speed of communication.

2. The Era of Telegraph and Telephone: From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the advent of the telegraph shortened the time for information dissemination, and the popularity of the telephone changed the way of long-distance communication, allowing people to exchange information more rapidly.

3. The Era of Radio and Television: The broadcasting and television media of the 20th century changed the way mass communication occurs, allowing information to spread more widely and shaping cultural, political, and social ideas.

4. The Internet and the Web 1.0 Era: From the 1990s to the early 2000s, the emergence of the Internet made information dissemination more widespread and instantaneous. The Web 1.0 era was mainly composed of static web pages, with content primarily being a one-way transmission from officials to users, and users were unable to actively participate in content creation, resulting in low interactivity.

5. The Rise of Web 2.0 and Social Media: Since the mid-2000s, with the emergence of Web 2.0, more interactive and user-participatory social media platforms have appeared, such as Facebook, X, and YouTube. These platforms provide more user-generated content and social features, becoming the main tools for daily communication, sharing, and interaction.

6. Web3.0 and Decentralized Social: Recently, with the development of blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies, social platforms focused on decentralization, privacy protection, and user control have emerged. These platforms aim to address the issues present in Web2.0 social, such as data privacy, algorithmic filtering, and information authenticity, and provide a more secure and transparent social experience.

It is easy to find that humans have had a social need since ancient times. However, at its core, whether it is face-to-face communication, sending messages via carrier pigeon, or carving on stone tablets to pass to others, the essence of humans' social needs has not changed significantly with the development of the times. The core needs can be summarized into the following four points:

1. Maintain connection and a sense of belonging: Socializing makes people feel a sense of belonging, satisfies emotional and emotional needs, builds intimate relationships, and gains support.

2. Information learning and exchange: Through social interactions, people can share experiences, knowledge, and information, promoting learning, development, and personal growth.

3. Cooperation and Mutual Assistance: Social interactions help people collaborate and work together to solve problems and achieve common goals.

4. Social identity and self-expression: Socializing is a way for people to showcase themselves, establish their identity, and gain recognition.

2. Web2 social addresses the needs of "speed, quality, and cost-effectiveness".

After the mid-2000s, Web 2.0 social media began to flourish. Facebook became a pioneer among them, offering users the ability to share information, photos, videos, and status updates, while allowing them to build social networks. Subsequently, various social platforms such as X, YouTube, and LinkedIn emerged.

Each platform has its own unique features and functions. For example, X has become an important platform for information dissemination and discussion with its unique instant messaging and social interaction methods. Its 140-character limit allows for rapid information spread, making it a hotspot for news and topic discussions. YouTube, as a video sharing platform, has changed the way people watch and share videos, becoming a widely popular content creation and sharing platform. LinkedIn focuses on professional networking, providing a platform for users to establish professional relationships, share work experiences, and expand their connections. Instagram, with its powerful image sharing capabilities and social interactivity, has attracted a large number of users, becoming one of the main platforms for photo and video sharing.

In the Web2 phase, there was an emphasis on user participation, interaction, and content generation. Websites transformed from static information displays to more dynamic and interactive social platforms, enabling users to create and share content, ranging from simple text and images to richer videos, blogs, and personal profiles. With the development of mobile internet and the popularity of smartphones, people can access social media platforms anytime and anywhere, facilitating and increasing the frequency of social activities.

As the number of users increases, social media has gradually become the main platform for business activities and advertising promotion. Companies and brands use social media to attract users and promote products, and the market value of social projects has been climbing steadily. Among them, the leading company Meta(, formerly known as Facebook), has seen its market value soar since its IPO in 2012, surpassing 1 trillion dollars in market value in 2021.

Looking back at the development history of Web2 social media, the essence of social needs has not changed; the core change is to provide faster, more convenient, and cheaper services. Facebook allows people to make friends and share information more quickly, while X enables faster access to trending news and interactive discussions ( compared to newspapers and television ). LinkedIn has transformed workplace networking from being limited to offline introductions to quick online professional networking... Essentially, Web2 social products address the social demand for "speed, quality, and cost-effectiveness."

3. Challenges in the Traditional Social Industry

However, Web2 social also brings some problems, which can be summarized in two main aspects: data ownership and centralization.

1. Data Ownership: In Web2 social products, users do not own their data; it belongs to the platform, which can lead to many problems.

• Privacy Leakage: User data is collected and utilized in large quantities, leading to the risk of personal privacy leakage. The platform may abuse user data or sell it to third parties, resulting in issues of privacy leakage and data misuse.

• Value does not benefit users: Users' data enables social platforms to engage in precise marketing and advertising activities, yet users cannot gain benefits from the revenue, leading to the platform taking users' data for free.

• Cannot cross-platform: Because the user's data belongs to the platform rather than to themselves, registering on different social media often requires starting from scratch. Personal social card information cannot circulate across various social platforms, making each social platform an island.

In the social environment of Web2, many creators report that after creating most of the value, they cannot receive the compensation they deserve, or they only receive a very small portion. They can build their own IP on social media platforms, but they lack ownership and control over the data and value of the content they create. Once X or YouTube deletes their profiles, they lose all the accumulated content data.

2. Decentralization: In Web2 social products, the platform has unlimited rights to use the content.

• Weak censorship resistance: Due to Web2 information being stored on centralized servers, the freedom of speech cannot be realized in many countries' apps under the influence of political, cultural, and other factors, resulting in a certain degree of deprivation of the right to express freely. Whether it's the ever-changing rules of X, account bans, or platforms like Facebook and TikTok, there are too many centralized restrictions and constraints on centralized platforms, forcing users to dance under constraints.

Although applications like Mammoth are making efforts in decentralization, there are still many unavoidable issues. Overall, it is decentralized, but within specific servers, users still face the risk of being dominated, abandoned, or banned by the server provider.

3. Analysis of Web3 Social Industry Products

Facing various issues in Web2 social, Web3 product development