At the ETHCC Web3 Social Day, prominent figures in the decentralized social network space came together to discuss the evolving landscape of social media, according to Mask Network. The event featured a roundtable discussion with key participants such as Fiatjaf, author of the Nostr protocol; Wouter Constant, a Nostr researcher; Limone.eth, founder of ETHRome; Eric, a distributed network engineer at Codex; and Shane Gaffney, head of the Sending.me community. The discussion was moderated by Suji Yan from Mask Network.

Key Participants and Their Perspectives

Suji Yan initiated the conversation by highlighting differing views on decentralization. Some participants favored independent operations free from external influence, while others, like the Sending.me team, had raised substantial venture capital. Suji mentioned that Bitcoin’s inception about sixteen years ago and the emergence of Nostr have reignited discussions within the Bitcoin community, bringing to light the imperfections of the current industry.

Wouter Constant provided an overview of Nostr, emphasizing its reliance on asymmetric cryptography, standardized data formats, and relay-based communication. He described Nostr as a decentralized network that initially served as a blogging platform similar to Twitter but has since evolved into a more extensive system.

Eric from Codex discussed their focus on data permanence, censorship resistance, and privacy, highlighting the importance of decentralized data storage in ensuring true decentralization. Limone.eth shared insights from ETHRome, noting that different projects approach decentralization uniquely, whether community-driven, protocol-driven, or product-driven.

Challenges and Solutions in Decentralized Social Networks

Shane Gaffney from Sending.me recounted the story of Dolphin browser’s founder and his shift towards decentralization after experiencing the limitations of centralized platforms. Sending.me aims to combine social networking with financial transactions and content creation, offering features like token-gated communities.

Suji raised a critical question about the viability of non-profit-driven social networks. Wouter responded by sharing Nostr’s journey, which began without funding and later gained support from Jack Dorsey’s OpenSats foundation. He emphasized that the focus should be on building public infrastructure first, with profitability considered later.

Decentralized Storage and Infrastructure Design

Eric and Wouter delved into the technical aspects of decentralized storage. Eric explained that Codex aims to address the need for censorship-resistant, persistent data storage, while Wouter highlighted the challenges of peer-to-peer systems and the role of relays in Nostr.

Limone.eth discussed Farcaster’s integration with Ethereum, allowing users to interact with decentralized applications (dApps) while retaining control over their identity and data. The conversation also touched on the potential of combining efforts across different decentralized protocols to create more robust systems.

Current Stage of Decentralized Social Networks

In concluding the discussion, Suji asked participants to rate the current stage of decentralized social networks on a scale of 1 to 10. Wouter gave it a 1, noting that integrating public and private keys into social systems is just beginning and will take generations to achieve widespread adoption. Eric rated it a 2 or 3, emphasizing the need for significant investment to overcome existing challenges. Limone.eth and Shane Gaffney rated it a 3 or 4, expressing optimism for rapid growth in the next decade.

The panelists agreed that while decentralized social networks are in their infancy, ongoing discussions and innovations are crucial for progress. They highlighted the importance of developing foundational infrastructure to support future applications and ensure data persistence and censorship resistance.

For more details, visit the original article by Mask Network here.

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