Are decentralised social networks the next big thing?

Decentralized social networks the next big thing in 2023?

As we've seen with the current clamour surrounding Elon Musk's leadership and social media activitism, decentralised networks are quickly becoming more than just a hot topic. But what exactly do these new platforms entail? Let us take you on a journey of discovery to explore why decentralized social networks offer freedom from censorship as well as enhanced security for users across the globe.

What is it?

Decentralized social media networks offer a more secure, censorship-free alternative to traditional platforms and are becoming increasingly popular. By utilizing the power of blockchain technology - stored on independent servers rather than being controlled by one central body - users can take control over their data and ensure that it is securely protected from external influences or restrictions.

Dissimilar to traditional media platforms, these freely accessed dapps exist on a highly resilient global network composed of thousands of independent nodes; offering users an uninterrupted experience even when individual nodules go offline. In comparison with centralized structures that store user information and data in single databases vulnerable to crashes - like last year's Facebook outage- decentralized solutions represent a promising approach for secure communication without compromise or risk

Blockchain-based social media platforms have revolutionized the way people interact and monetize their content. By using native tokens or NFTs users are able to purchase exclusive features or make in-app purchases – as well as allowing creators to engage and monetise their audience on a different scale.

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Who has entered ?

As more and more users become dissatisfied with existing centralised social media platforms, decentralized alternatives have been gaining traction. With a wider range of features being offered than ever before, these new-age networks are providing creative solutions to the issues that have plagued their predecessors for years.

There are now decentralized alternatives to almost all of the most popular social media platforms of today. Some of these include:

• Minds (Facebook alternative): A blockchain-based social network that focuses on privacy while allowing users to earn its native utility token (MINDS) in return for using the platform.

• DTube (YouTube alternative): A decentralized video sharing platform that completely nixes forced advertising while still allowing creators to advertise within their videos. Featuring a lack of censorship and no recommendation algorithm, DTube provides videos with fair coverage.

• Aether (Reddit alternative): Widely billed as a decentralized version of Reddit, albeit with self-moderation and increased privacy, Aether allows users to take control of their data while still engaging with their favorite communities. Unlike other platforms, Aether doesn’t use blockchain but does store data on a peer-to-peer distributed system.

• Mastodon (Twitter alternative): Mastodon is an open-source social network that allows users to create and participate in online micro-communities through a unique self-hosted architecture. The platform is cryptocurrency free but still fully decentralized.

• Feeds (Instagram alternative): Leveraging ElastOS blockchain technology, Feeds is a decentralized platform that uses decentralized identifiers (DID) to provide true content ownership.

• Secretum (WhatApp alternative): Secretum leverages the Solana blockchain to provide a fully encrypted peer-to-peer messaging and OTC trading application, without requiring any personally identifiable information.
  

The venture capital world has been abuzz with increased attention on new platforms in recent months, and major players like Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital and Master Ventures are amongst those joining the fray. At Kryptonite, our predictions for 2023 point to an explosion of growth within this sector - certain projects may even reach unprecedented market caps! It's a fascinating moment in time; let's observe how things pan out over the next year or two.

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