I and likely all of you reading this believe we are on the cusp of a social media revolution. Luckily for all of us, we are still just at the very beginning of this monumental change. For people like us that are deeply entrenched in crypto and the decentralization movement, it is clear that the world of the internet is changing rapidly. However, for the large majority of the world who have no idea what decentralization even means, things seem to be the exact same.
This shows just how much massive value there still is to be captured. Even though cryptocurrency has been gaining massive attention on the world stage lately it is remarkable how much room it still has to run. Bitcoin has changed the world and grabbed headlines for years due to its massive innovation in creating money without borders that cannot be inflated or manipulated by governments. It still took the world over 10 years to even start realizing how incredibly of an innovation Bitcoin is. It seems as if decentralized social media is right at the beginning of that adoption curve currently.
Let's look at some stats
Hive currently has about 10 000 daily active users. Compare this to Reddit's 50 million daily active users, Snapchat's 250 million, and Facebook's 1.8 billion and you see the monumental room these platforms have left to grow.
Hive also has around 250 new accounts created daily. This is a good sign of growth and is steadily increasing daily, but once again pales in comparison to the legacy social media giants.
Overall Hive network is trending upwards and gaining momentum but has not even scratched the surface of its potential if it gets any sort of mainstream adoption.
Now the beauty of Bitcoin was once it started gaining momentum it truly became an unstoppable force. Why? Because it is simply better than all other stores of value currently out there. Now we can argue all day about Bitcoin vs your favorite cryptocurrency but that's not the point of this article. My point is Bitcoin was destined to win because it was just fundamentally better than everything currently available.
When you give technologies like that to the free market it becomes inevitable they win in the long run. What always wins is the most value provided to the average user, so when you compare bitcoin to fiat currency you see it is scarce and cannot be inflated, censored, or controlled. It is destined to win because average people benefit more from it than its competitors.
If the cryptocurrency market overall or a digital asset is solving a problem, it’s going to drive some value. - Brad Garlinghouse
Now enough Bitcoin metaphor, let me get to the point. Decentralized social media like Hive and LeoFinance will win in the exact same way Bitcoin did over its legacy counterparts.
This adoption should be much quicker and more exponential though as we have seen just how quickly social media platforms can explode in short time periods. Take Tik Tok for example, basically unheard of then in under a year over 2 billion downloads. This is partly due to the network effect and partly due to the viral nature of social media. If your friends join a new form of social media odds are you will too. As much as some might resist, once they start receiving multiple posts from those around them the majority end up breaking and making an account.
The kicker here is to imagine how fast a new social media platform would grow if it paid each user to use it. How much easier would it be to convince your friends to join a new network if you showed them you made $10 yesterday with one post. This was part of what made Tik Tok successful, but it is still nowhere near the value-added of decentralized social media. Once Hive or one of its new projects gains any sort of mainstream status it will likely take over the social media market at an astonishing pace.
I am very excited about the prospect of using cryptocurrency, not just as a money equivalent, but using it as a way to earn something as a result of doing some type of work.
– William Mougayar
Blockchain social media simply beats all other social media at its own game in every way. Let's look at a few examples of just how much better this new wave of social media is for the end-users...
Monetization: Instead of a centralized company selling your data and content for ad views to make millions, now we are entitled to our fair share of what our content and curation efforts are worth.
Censorship: No central party can take away the fanbase you have worked for, or the content you have created, or the money you have made. You are in control of everything, instead of a corporation in control of you.
Multiple platforms: With blockchain social media you can use multiple platforms to view the same content. This provides way more freedom and choice in what your UI looks like and the way you receive and filter your content. No more Instagram updates that ruin the whole app, instead switch to a different app that loads the same content onto it.
There are many more advantages that will reveal themselves more prominently as we progress but these three selling points alone are more than enough to show how legacy social media stands no chance.
When technology comes along that provides incredible value add to users with no downside, it really is only a matter of time until it takes over. That has been the way our civilization has worked since it has begun and it is exemplified beautifully through the internet and the rise of blockchain.
“Companies now face a digital imperative: adopt new technologies effectively or face competitive obsolescence.” - MIT Sloan Management Review
Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road.
-Stewart Brand
I believe the social media revolution is at our doorstep and I hope I have convinced some of you to as well. Hold onto your seats and hold onto your tokens, we might just be taking off faster than you expect.
I would love to hear your opinions on the future of decentralized social media and if you believe it will take off very soon!
If you enjoyed this article and found it informative, an upvote or a rehive is much appreciated.
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