Challenges and Potential: Decentralized Social Media Struggles to Attract Users, but Paves the Way for Mass Adoption
Summary:
Decentralized social media networks face challenges in attracting and retaining users, with up to 99% of first-time users quitting due to onboarding difficulties and a lack of connections. Simplifying the user experience and building strong communities are crucial for success. The involvement of top-tier creators and influencers could be a tipping point for adoption. Specialized blockchains tailored to social media applications are suggested for mass adoption. Revenue projections for decentralized social media networks are optimistic. Notable platforms in this space include Friend.tech, Bluesky, Mastodon, and Lens Protocol.
The decentralized social media industry is facing challenges in attracting and retaining users, despite the recent buzz around platforms like riend.tech. According to industry insiders, up to 99% of first-time users in this space end up quitting due to various issues, such as complex onboarding processes and a lack of connections. Simplifying the user experience and ensuring a seamless onboarding process are considered crucial for the success of decentralized social networks. Suhail Kakar, creator of the DeSo app Onboard, explains that users often hesitate to take the first step because they need to familiarize themselves with blockchain technology and wallets. Building strong communities within these apps is also a significant hurdle, as competing with the massive network effects of established platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is no easy task. However, there is hope that the involvement of top-tier creators and influencers in the decentralized space could be a tipping point, attracting more users seeking high-quality content. It is worth noting that the decentralized social media market is still relatively small compared to its centralized counterparts, with platforms like Odysee averaging only 5.3 million monthly unique users between January and April. One of the reasons decentralized social media has yet to achieve mass adoption, according to Ed Moss from DeSo, is that existing smart contract platforms like Ethereum are not designed to handle social media applications at scale. Moss suggests that specialized blockchains tailored to specific application categories may be the key to widespread crypto adoption. As for the ideal blockchain architecture for social media, Moss proposes a "storage-heavy" or "infinite-state" blockchain that can store and index large amounts of data at a low cost, enabling full decentralization and user ownership of content. While some decentralized social platforms like Friend.tech have shown promising growth recently, with over 85,000 users and 127,000 wallets, industry experts remain cautious, considering it a potential short-lived trend. Nonetheless, projections indicate significant revenue potential for decentralized social media networks, with estimates suggesting sales revenue could reach $12.1 billion in 2023 and exceed $101 billion by 2033. Other notable players in the decentralized social media space include Jack Dorsey's Bluesky, Mastodon, and Lens Protocol.
Published At
8/27/2023 11:07:00 PM
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