Exploring the Future of Web3 Social: From Definition to Business Model

Introduction: The Essence of Web3 Social

Recently, the popularity of projects like friend.tech and Bodhi has once again sparked people's interest in Web3 social. Web3 social is redefining social networks through blockchain technology, exploring the possibilities of future social interactions. Whether it's social finance ( SocialFi ) or decentralized social ( Desoc ), they are all actively exploring new forms of social networks.

Looking back at the development of social products, Web2 social products such as Facebook, X( original Twitter), and Instagram have provided users with unprecedented convenience. However, this convenience also comes with some issues, such as centralized control of user data, lack of transparency and privacy protection, and platform governance and decision-making being controlled by a few entities. In contrast, Web3 social emphasizes decentralization, user data privacy and control, as well as incentive mechanisms from cryptocurrency economics.

This article will delve into the core concepts and solutions of Web3 social, analyzing its current development status, advantages, and challenges. We will return to the essence of social interaction, examining the Web3 social space and revealing their roles in redefining social networks.

Why do we need Web3 social?

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

Human beings have had social needs since ancient times, and the essence of social interaction has not changed significantly with the development of the times. The core needs can be summarized in the following four points:

• Maintain connection and sense of belonging
• Information Learning and Exchange
• Cooperation and Mutual Assistance
• Social identity and self-expression

2. Web2 social solutions to meet the needs of "speed, quality, and cost-effectiveness"

Web2 social products mainly address the "fast, good, and economical" needs of socializing. Facebook allows people to meet friends and share information more quickly, X enables quicker access to trending news and interactive discussions, and LinkedIn has transformed workplace networking from offline to rapid online connections.

3. The Dilemma of the Traditional Social Industry

Web2 social networking has also brought some problems, mainly reflected in two aspects: data ownership and centralization.

Data Ownership:

• Risk of privacy leakage
• Users have not benefited from the value of data
• User data cannot circulate across platforms.

Centralization:

• Weak censorship resistance
• Freedom of speech is restricted

Analysis of Web3 Social Industry Products

1. Data value returns to users

Lens Protocol

Lens Protocol is a decentralized social graph protocol created by the Aave team. Its features include:

• Data value can be traded: User data is tokenized as NFTs and can be traded in the market.
• Data circulation: User data can be synchronized and circulated between different applications
• High degree of decentralization: Content, social interactions, and identity are all on the blockchain.

friend.tech

friend.tech tokenizes personal influence, realizing fan economy:

• Fans can purchase a KOL's key to join the private chat group.
• KOL earns revenue from transaction fees

Bodhi

Bodhi will trade individual content to achieve content assetization.

2. Anti-censorship

Farcaster

Farcaster is a decentralized social protocol, characterized by:

• Decentralized Identity: User identity information is stored on the chain.
• On-chain and off-chain integration: High-frequency data is stored off-chain to enhance user experience.

Nostr

Nostr is an open-source decentralized social protocol that primarily addresses the issue of censorship resistance.

3. Web3 Native Social Scenarios

DeBox

DeBox solves the "position chat" problem by allowing entry into the community through holding specific NFTs or Tokens, establishing consensus.

Why is Web3 social relatively quiet?

1. The trade-off between decentralization and user experience
2. The switching costs of social products are very high.
3. The sustainability of user value derived from data
4. The overlap between the target social users and Web3 user profiles is low.

Social Business Model

The Evolution of Business Models in Social Products:

1. Web 1.0: Advertising and Membership Fee Revenue
2. Web 2.0: Advertising Display and User Data Collection
3. Web3: Data value feedback, token economy, NFTization of data assets, etc.

Exploring the Future of Social: The Collision of Web3 Social and the AI Wave

AI and Web3 have complementary potential in the social domain:

• AI focuses on emotional companionship and support
• Web3 focuses on data value feedback and censorship resistance.

Looking forward to the sparks of innovation that AI and Web3 will create in the social field, better meeting the diverse social needs of humanity.

Summary

Web3 social brings revolutionary changes in data value feedback and anti-censorship, but still faces challenges such as high replacement costs and network effects. In the future, it may be worth focusing on community attributes and integrating with areas like gaming. Although it is relatively quiet at the moment, the development prospects of Web3 social are still highly anticipated, with new projects and technologies continuously emerging to push this field forward.