Blockchains and NFTs have the potential to revolutionise social media.
@LensProtocol is powerful web3 infrastructure that might just spawn the next major social platform.
Deep dive π§΅
@LensProtocol is powerful web3 infrastructure that might just spawn the next major social platform.
Deep dive π§΅
Whatβs to come?
β’ What is Lens Protocol?
β’ Why do we need Lens Protocol?
β’ Whoβs behind Lens Protocol?
β’ How does Lens Protocol work?
β’ dApps spotlight
β’ Lens Protocol social reaction
β’ Wen Token?
β’ Challenges
β’ What is Lens Protocol?
β’ Why do we need Lens Protocol?
β’ Whoβs behind Lens Protocol?
β’ How does Lens Protocol work?
β’ dApps spotlight
β’ Lens Protocol social reaction
β’ Wen Token?
β’ Challenges
If you want to read the longer version of this then check out the substack, or just continue with the thread.
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What is Lens Protocol?
Lens Protocol is a composable and permissionless social graph built on top of the Polygon blockchain.
It is designed to empower creators to own the links between themselves and their community, forming a fully composable, user-owned social graph.
Lens Protocol is a composable and permissionless social graph built on top of the Polygon blockchain.
It is designed to empower creators to own the links between themselves and their community, forming a fully composable, user-owned social graph.
But, what is a social graph?
In the context of a blockchain, a graph is an indexing protocol.
TLDR: Graphs bring order, structure, and connection to data in a way that makes it easier and quicker to query and find specific information you need.
In the context of a blockchain, a graph is an indexing protocol.
TLDR: Graphs bring order, structure, and connection to data in a way that makes it easier and quicker to query and find specific information you need.
The success of Facebook comes down to the concept of the social graph, a term coined by Mark Zuckerberg.
Itβs not a graph you would see in a maths textbook and is easier to think of as simply a data structure.
Itβs not a graph you would see in a maths textbook and is easier to think of as simply a data structure.
A social graph creates all of the social relationships between accounts, helping with order and structure in the world of social media in order to offer a richer, more engaging experience.
Why do we need Lens Protocol?
If we want an open and free internet, we need open and free social media networks. The majority of internet users spend most of their time on the major social media platforms.
If we want an open and free internet, we need open and free social media networks. The majority of internet users spend most of their time on the major social media platforms.
These major social media platforms determine what users see and donβt see, have the power to censor content/profiles they donβt like and control all of the user data.
There is no portability with web2 social platforms. Your profile, friends, and content are locked to a specific network and owned by the network operator. This causes each network to fight a zero-sum game for your attention.
Network effects are fundamental to social media and they require these platforms to keep users attention, no matter the cost to the user. The algorithm only cares about increasing your dwell time on the app, as this increases earnings.
Both @StaniKulechov and the @BanklessHQ YouTube channel were deplatformed recently.
They have since recovered their accounts, but for content creators the threat of having your account deleted is real.
They have since recovered their accounts, but for content creators the threat of having your account deleted is real.
As I said before, social networks and the content populated on those platforms dominate the usage of the internet.
So, you could say that a few companies are in control of the internet and what people are seeing on the World wide Web.
So, you could say that a few companies are in control of the internet and what people are seeing on the World wide Web.
I donβt think I need to explain why this is a bad thing, or what the most dystopian outcome for the world is as a result of this power dynamic. The power to shape what the global population thinks should not be in the hands of a few corporations.
Lens Protocol is looking to solve many of these problems and provide the tooling to spawn new alternative decentralised social media platforms.
Lens can unlock network effects for developers. This is a huge moat for the major centralised platforms. Now anyone can build their own social media dApp on top of the existing network.
The success of todayβs social media platforms is mostly a result of amazingly talented content creators, but the value capture is very, very skewed towards the corporations.
Some creators do very well from a few of the major video/social platforms, but this clip demonstrates how poorly TikTok is giving back to their creators:
cc: @ksicrypto
vm.tiktok.com
cc: @ksicrypto
vm.tiktok.com
Whoβs behind the Lens Protocol?
Lens Protocol is the brainchild of the team behind DeFi mainstay Aave , led by Aaveβs founder @stanikulechov
Lens Protocol is the brainchild of the team behind DeFi mainstay Aave , led by Aaveβs founder @stanikulechov
Why AAVE?
Well, someone needed to to build a decentralised social media protocol fit for web3, but AAVE might also be thinking about how to use reputation scores in order for users to access under-collateralized credit.
Well, someone needed to to build a decentralised social media protocol fit for web3, but AAVE might also be thinking about how to use reputation scores in order for users to access under-collateralized credit.
How does Lens Protocol work?
Lens Protocol is built with modularity in mind. It makes use of NFTs in order to give users and creators ownership of everything.
Everything is essentially an NFT all the way down.
Lens Protocol is built with modularity in mind. It makes use of NFTs in order to give users and creators ownership of everything.
Everything is essentially an NFT all the way down.
Profile
The Profile NFT is the main primitive in the Lens Protocol. It is ownership over this NFT that gives you control of your content.
The Profile NFT is the main primitive in the Lens Protocol. It is ownership over this NFT that gives you control of your content.
Individual addresses own Profile NFTs, and an address can contain multiple Profile NFTs. Profile NFTs hold the history of all posts, comments, mirrors (shares), and other contents a user creates.
Publications
Publications are posted directly to a user's Profile NFTs; this ensures that all content created by a user remains user-owned and in their wallet.
Publications are posted directly to a user's Profile NFTs; this ensures that all content created by a user remains user-owned and in their wallet.
Publications can represent text, an image, a video, or other arbitrary content stored on either a decentralised protocol such as IPFS or Arweave, or a centralised storage provider like AWS S3.
Publications also have two attached modules, a Collect Module, and a Reference Module. The collect module allows users to mint publications as an NFT, or in other words βcollectβ posts. The reference module determines who can mint and mirror (share) the posts.
Comments
Comments allow users to provide additional commentary on other publications.
Like Publications, comments live in the user's Profile NFT and therefore are wholly owned by the user.
Comments allow users to provide additional commentary on other publications.
Like Publications, comments live in the user's Profile NFT and therefore are wholly owned by the user.
The profile that owns the Publication can limit the comments only to accounts who follow the original poster, and if the commenter does not hold a Follow NFT their comment, which is a transaction, will fail.
Mirror
Mirrors are the curation tool of the Lens Protocol. They are the protocol's equivalent to reposting or re-amplifying content.
Mirrors are the curation tool of the Lens Protocol. They are the protocol's equivalent to reposting or re-amplifying content.
Mirrored users can earn a cut of the revenue from anyone who collects the original content through the re-share.
Curating is also type of content creation and Lens Protocol is built to reward this.
Curating is also type of content creation and Lens Protocol is built to reward this.
Collect
Collects allow creators to monetise their content.
Users are in control of whether they allow people to to mint their publications for a set period of time, how many can be minted, and for what price.
Collects allow creators to monetise their content.
Users are in control of whether they allow people to to mint their publications for a set period of time, how many can be minted, and for what price.
Follow
When users follow a profile on the Lens Protocol, they are given a Follow NFT, which creators and communities can encode with additional value. For example, a profile could require a user to pay 5 MATIC to receive a Follow NFT.
When users follow a profile on the Lens Protocol, they are given a Follow NFT, which creators and communities can encode with additional value. For example, a profile could require a user to pay 5 MATIC to receive a Follow NFT.
Follow NFTs also have built-in governance capabilities, such as vote delegation, to allow for the creation of Social DAOs.
Voting strategy possibilities:
"The first 1000 follows have one vote each" or "The longer you have followed, the more voting power you have."
Voting strategy possibilities:
"The first 1000 follows have one vote each" or "The longer you have followed, the more voting power you have."
Here is another great thread for how @LensProtocol works:
Ultimately, the Lens Protocol empowers its users by allowing them to decide how they want their social graph to be built and how they want it to be monetised, if at all.
dApps spotlight
The Lens Protocol just launched and there many dApps live in beta. Since users own their data, they can bring it to any application built on top of Lens Protocol.
There are a reported 50+ dApps that are building on Lens Protocol.
Iβll highlight a few here:
The Lens Protocol just launched and there many dApps live in beta. Since users own their data, they can bring it to any application built on top of Lens Protocol.
There are a reported 50+ dApps that are building on Lens Protocol.
Iβll highlight a few here:
Lenster
@lensterxyz is a social media platform build on Lens Protocol. Right now it looks like a decentralised Twitter.
@lensterxyz is a social media platform build on Lens Protocol. Right now it looks like a decentralised Twitter.
There is already a prototype app available to test curtesy of @m1guelpf
Lenster are showing how you can use the Lens Protocol functionality to build simple features so that content creators can be rewarded for their work.
CLIPTO
How about decentralised Cameo? @CliptoDAO is the brainchild of crypto content creator @gabrielhaines
How about decentralised Cameo? @CliptoDAO is the brainchild of crypto content creator @gabrielhaines
Iris
Iris could be described as a decentralised Patreon with live streaming capability.
Iris could be described as a decentralised Patreon with live streaming capability.
Harfang
Iβve just come across an app in development that further showcases what is possible with Lens.
@0xharfang is a platform that will allow you to buy and sell trip memories using NFTs.
Iβve just come across an app in development that further showcases what is possible with Lens.
@0xharfang is a platform that will allow you to buy and sell trip memories using NFTs.
Social Commentary
I also had the same opinion as DeFi Dad initially, but the speed of innovation has got me excited that Lens might be taking off much quicker than anticipated.
I also had the same opinion as DeFi Dad initially, but the speed of innovation has got me excited that Lens might be taking off much quicker than anticipated.
Lens Protocol makes it possible for devs to quickly create social media apps, as they donβt have to build the underlying infrastructure.
Popular Ethereum thread writer @cryptogucci has been having his Twitter account restricted recently, which is one problem Lens is looking to solve.
Will there be a token?
There has been no communication regarding a potential token thus far. Lens is controlled by a community multisig consisting of trusted parties throughout the Web3 ecosystem.
There has been no communication regarding a potential token thus far. Lens is controlled by a community multisig consisting of trusted parties throughout the Web3 ecosystem.
I think there is a good chance there will be an airdrop of tokens to users in the future, as I think they will want to decentralise the protocol, but this is just pure speculation from me.
Generally speaking, it pays to be a web3 user. Join the Lens discord, claim a handle when they re-open the minting of profiles, post some content and use the protocol.
There are many dApps you can get stuck into as well. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
There are many dApps you can get stuck into as well. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
What are the challenges?
Decentralised social media needs to compete with the very popular centralised platforms. This will be no easy task.
Decentralised social media needs to compete with the very popular centralised platforms. This will be no easy task.
Can Lens scale? Yes, but only when the underlying blockchain scales. Polygon has committed to being one of the main players attempting to help Ethereum scale with its various L2 solutions.
The number of transactions that need to be recorded on a blockchain for a functional social media network is beyond where we are right now, and itβs probably the most intensive scaling application that I can think of for blockchains.
The Founder of the Graph Protocol (a decentralised indexing protocol) has suggested the fact Lens are running the indexing part of the stack is a problem.
Here is the explanation for why the Lens team are using a custom indexer:
There are a ton of other challenges (how to manage censorship of illegal content, decentralising the protocol etc.) but I am still excited by the Lens Protocol innovation nonetheless.
Rome wasnβt built in a day.
Rome wasnβt built in a day.
Thanks for making it this far. If you found the thread interesting or useful follow me @alpha_pls and RT the first tweet here π
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