Topic: Empowering People w/ Decentralized Technologies- Starting w/ Social Networking (Read 1044 times)

After taking a closer look, it seems like these projects have created decentralized social networks based on protecting user privacy, so those are definitely a step in the right direction and an improvement upon the currently available mainstream social networks. However, I don't believe that privacy alone will make people want to switch over to something like this, and in their current form I don't think they are necessarily beneficial to Bitcoin in the way I had imagined because they both leave out the important factor of monetizing the site and kicking back some (or ideally a large percentage) of the profit to the site's users.

I think this is the selling point with decentralized technologies.. either something can either be done cheaper than a current centralized solution, or users can actually get paid for using them. Privacy is great don't get me wrong, and more people around here understand that more than most, but I feel it is not enough to make this go mainstream. Ignoring privacy for a second, if someone is going to pay me (even a very small amount, as it would add up in a lifetime of use) to use a social network or look at videos on youtube, I am exponentially more likely to use their services than Facebook/Youtube if I knew that such a service existed.


I consider myself libertarian but anarchism is pretty much the same thing, except that the public generally views anarchism as being hostile. I think the word libertarian is a friendlier word for what I believe in, but I don't really care what others think about my political beliefs anyways.

The need for decentralized technologies goes way beyond political beliefs, as they are built to solve some sort of problem. Social networks make a ton of money off of the backs of people that use them, no one cares or does anything about it because they don't know any better. However, we as Bitcoiners and decentralized technology enthusiasts, can look at the problem more completely than the average social networking user. Bitcoin (et al) has already enlightened us as to the benefits of such a system. If wanting to see some (or most) of this money go to the actual users that give these things value is anarchist, then sure I am an anarchist.

sounds pretty anarchist

Thanks!

I think my OP is somewhat confusing. The post was supposed to be less about social networking and more about the benefits of building decentralized applications for the future of cryptos. Thanks very much for pointing me to those projects though, I'll check them out.


This wouldn't have to replace Facebook to be a success. Facebook has 1.25 billion users, even if only a small percentage switched over it could still be a success. Paying people to use it is a pretty good selling point IMO.

Diaspora* is pretty active by now, but still it's not perfect. But it's a nice online community for now and you will find people with the same attitude, to find and develop new models of social networking.

Friendica has even more features and can federate with Diaspora*, but it's still a horrible UX, no matter which design/theme is used. Friendica Red / Red Matrix is a restart/rewrite of the project with even better architecture and more powerful features and possibilities, but still horrible UX (but a bit better from what I see). Any help from designers would be welcome of course, but I'm not sure if it's even possible to create a smooth UX for it.

proof of login.

I really care the privacy and like decentralized social network. But Facebook is so powerful and popular as no other competitors can beat it. Decentralized social network is new concept and haven't got competitive application. I accepted  all of the advantages you mentioned. If any team bring out decentralized social network application, I will definitely try it.

I added a bit to the end there to make sure I was making the point I was trying to make. I don't think I had originally worded it correctly to do so.


Opinions?

I read an interesting article today that confirmed my suspicions that Facebook is collecting large databases of information on its users, and it likely selling that information. If you would like to read the article, you can do so here: http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/28/5852652/facebook-altered-689000-users-news-feeds-for-a-psychology-experiment

This is only one use case for decentralized technologies, but I feel like it is a good one to start with. I would venture to say the amount of time the average person spends on social networking sites pales in comparison to the amount of time the average person spends on the rest of the internet. Furthermore, I would guess that most of these people do not use Bitcoin or crypto currencies, this could be a "killer app" to bootstrap widespread adoption. If you've ever used anything like MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter, I think you can understand what I am saying in that they are oddly addictive, similar to how someone obsessed with crypto currency would view these forums. The difference is that there are millions (billions?) more people that use social networking compared to those that use crypto currencies. So, how can decentralized block chain technologies improve upon current social networks?

If you think Facebook is not analyzing our data, then this article is proof that it does happen. I'm certain this is just a small part of it, if they were to release all information about what data they are collecting and selling, I think most people would be shocked. They sell that information to people that would find it interesting, people to whom that information will give them an edge in marketing and product design.

Making a decentralized social network for the specific purpose of increasing privacy may seem like an unnecessary thing to do if you don't have anything to hide. Although I disagree very much with that sentiment, for reasons that would make this post much longer than it already will be, it is not only our privacy that is at stake. They are also making a lot of money off of everyone that posts and likes things on their social network. You are making Facebook money every time you like or post about something. The only thing that gives Facebook value is its users, the information it can collect from them, and advertising revenue. In other words, we are the ones that gives Facebook its value, and we have made them a LOT of money. Let me ask... how much of that money that Facebook has made off of you have you seen?

So... Facebook, etcetra, are making a ton of money off of all of us, and along with it our privacy takes a huge hit. How can we solve both of these problems? By making a decentralized social network. All data can be encrypted, so the only way someone can see a post, message, or what you like, are only the people that you want to see that information. It would be cryptographically provable that your information is safe.

I realize the average person doesn't care about privacy, but most people do care about money. Imagine being paid for posting and liking things on Facebook, even clicking on the adds. A decentralized social network makes this possible. We are afterall the ones making money for Facebook, shouldn't at the very least some of this be going into our own pockets? It would be possible to decrypt your information and submit it anonymously to the decentralized social network's database, which could then sell that information and distribute it to users of the decentralized social network. You could of course opt out of sharing your information, but this extra revenue stream would be possible. Furthermore, all advertising revenues could be split evenly among users.

In summary, privacy is not the only reason to want decentralized technologies to become mainstream. Decentralized technologies can put money large corporations are making off of us back into our pockets as well. This is only one use case, there are many more, one of the most obvious that comes to mind is Youtube. It will be interesting to see all of the projects come to fruition, and I think decentralized applications are the next new frontier in the crypto currency space. The decentralized movement is in full swing, Bitcoin has inspired so many great ideas of how to use decentralized block chain technology. Mark my words, there will be some decentralized applications that are adopted mainstream and it will bring many new users to crypto currencies.

Point I'm trying to convey: I realize I'm being captain obvious here, and bringing up an idea that many people have had before- a decentralized social network. However, my point here is in pointing out the importance of using decentralized block chain technology other than for money. I see a lot of hate and disdain on the forums for people wanting to create something that's not Bitcoin, when instead we should be embracing these projects for many reasons, if not for the sole reason of giving more people a good reason to adopt crypto currencies. One of the biggest things holding crypto currencies back at this point is that there's not a whole lot you can do with them. Creating other uses for crypto currencies through making decentralized applications will help solve that problem, and give "normal" people a reason to adopt them that otherwise wouldn't. I believe too much emphasis is being spent on trying to get merchants to accept crypto currencies as the only way forward (as far as mass adoption.) People already have a way of paying for things that is quite convenient and are mostly not bothered from paying the fees or eating the inflation (Fiat/Credit Cards/Debit Cards/Etc.) By focusing on creating other innovative uses of crypto currencies by creating decentralized applications, we can FORCE merchants to accept crypto currencies instead of just asking them to. What I mean by that is by creating new uses we will bring more users, and at that point (hopefully) there will be so many people using crypto currencies that a business would be crazy not to accept them.