
// Blockchain
How to Build a Decentralized Blockchain Social Network in 7 Steps?
// Blockchain
The most popular social networks today are Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, which are centralized in the sense that there is one organization responsible for managing access to any content that you download or distribute privately or publicly on these platforms. This is a traditional approach that has been considered normal for many years.
However, after the scandal with Cambridge Analytica, when it became known that Facebook was selling personal user data to structures that used them for political propaganda, this scheme began to cause rejection in people. Decentralized social networks based on the blockchain, designed to protect the confidentiality of users without restricting their communication and content became the response to rejection.
From our article you will learn:
Confidentiality. Users of decentralized social networks independently establish the rules for using the data generated by them, prohibiting and giving permission for their transfer, sale and monetization. Blockchain and smart contracts will be responsible for this. Anyone can be sure of their reliability and honesty, since this software is open source.
User rights. In centralized social networks, ordinary users have almost no rights, which can be easily verified by reading the Facebook, Youtube or Twitter User Agreement. Services are provided “as is” and you cannot demand more quality, reliability or security. In decentralized systems, users manage the system by reaching a consensus on all common issues (development and management), as well as the choice of each user in private moments.
Lack of censorship from above. Popular Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube accounts often suffer because of allegedly violated site censorship rules. This is especially noticeable in countries where there are problems with freedom of speech. For example, in Russia, Iran, and China, accounts are blocked, which states:
In decentralized social networks, the rules of censorship, as well as ways of monitoring compliance with these rules, are set by users themselves.
Reward system. All centralized social networks have become popular and earn billions of dollars thanks to their users who create content and advertise these sites for no special reason, that is, for free. Do such sites share profits with their users? Of course no. And why, if they do everything for free?
This approach is unfair because they work alone and others become millionaires. In decentralized social networks, a different model is used: every view, like, comment and other active actions of the audience are monetized and bring profit to the creator of the content. Advertising can also be run, and it will be profitable for users, not Facebook or YouTube owners.
Facebook is communication with old friends and the search for new ones, as well as the opportunity to get news about them. LinkedIn allows you to build business and professional connections. YouTube allows you to upload your video to the network in unlimited quantities and show it to anyone. Instagram has the same idea, but with a photo orientation.
When creating a decentralized network based on the blockchain, start by finding an original idea that could be implemented with your capabilities. Such an idea should be popular with a large number of people and at the same time encourage them to communicate or other interaction: watching videos, reading texts, comments, likes, etc.
Examples of already running decentralized social networks:
The name should not:
You can check the availability of your domain name on Google Domains, Namecheap, Bluehost, and others. If the domain is already taken, you can sometimes buy it, for example, on Domain.com, NameCheap.com or GoDaddy.com. You can also try to create a domain name on sites that combine, cut and complement one or more keywords in various ways.
Based on existing platforms. You can use existing platforms to launch social networks based on them, for example, Sola, Steem.io or Loom Network, sharpened for launching decentralized social networks, or EOS, TRON, Ripple or Ethereum. This reduces the time and cost of development, but limits in terms of features and functions of the product being created.
Ready solutions. White label and clones allow you to run a social network for a couple of days, spending from $ 100. Risky option that can play only if you need to start a social network in a segment without competitors.
Depending on the approach and complexity of the project, direct coding can take anywhere from a week to a year. At the same time, about a third of this time, you should spend on testing the platform. This is important since no team can write perfect code without bugs and errors. Testing allows you to find and eliminate them, making your platform more reliable, faster and safer, and more convenient - design and usability are also tested and improved during testing.
This should be a grand event, which is waiting for dozens, and preferably hundreds of thousands of users. It is difficult to create such an agiotage, but if you correctly organize a marketing company and start it long before the launch of the site, then it’s quite realistic to do.
Usually for this purpose use the following things: