The Dawn of Socialfi! The Fusion of Social Media and Web3 Is Here

SocialFi, the combination of social media and web3, has arrived

Since Tim Berners-Lee invented the Internet in the 1990s and democratized its usage (it had previously been confined to scientific, academic, and government uses), it has changed dramatically during the subsequent three decades. A long-distance has been traveled from a decentralized Web 1.0 to a user-friendly and centralized Web 2.0, where "social" emerges as one of the basic foundations with the coming of the twenty-first century.

What is SocialFi?

SocialFi, short for social finance, is essentially a hybrid of social media and blockchain-based decentralized financing (DeFi). In other words, SocialFi is blockchain-based social media. SocialFi is establishing the foundations to generate added value to social networks and social forms of interaction through decentralized platforms, tokenizing achievements, engagement, and of course the management of key decisions for the improvement of these platforms under a decentralized governance scheme represented as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO).

Why is it so important?

The User Is the Most Important Part of Any Social Network

What is a social network if there are no users? To bring the online platforms to life, SocialFi must attract both crypto and non-crypto users. Currently, the market includes several platforms that are similar to web2 behemoths like Facebook and Twitter. Nonetheless, they include web3 features such as token incentivization and data rights. Cent, for example, mints Twitter and Instagram postings as NFTs. Meanwhile, web3's Pinterest, Dataverse, is being built by Ownership Labs. This is a solid start since it allows users to socialize in a familiar style while still controlling the data they generate.

The (Other) Next Big Thing Is the Metaverse

The metaverse will be central to your digital existence. At least, that's the plan. This seamless integration of augmented and virtual reality is made possible by several initiatives and blockchain technology. You'll use blockchain gaming, cryptocurrencies, SocialFi, and other technologies to play games, make purchases, and communicate with others.

In the metaverse, users may live and work in a shared virtual space. People socialize where they congregate, giving SocialFi a distinct advantage. To do this, the metaverse must provide a flexible and adaptive environment for creators of decentralized applications (dApps). To deliver a unified user experience, each module must interact with the others and collaborate.

The Experience as a Tool for Mass Adoption

Habit is built on repetition. It is significantly more likely to attract repeat, loyal consumers if something is simple and convenient. However, simple and convenient are not two terms that describe SocialFi right now. Most applications function on the assumption that the user understands crypto wallets or blockchain addresses. To become popular, the user experience must cater to the people.

A former Facebook worker Frances Haugen testified before Congress in September 2021 that there had been conflicting interest between things that were good for the public and what was favorable to Facebook, many anticipated that major changes to social networks as we know them were on the horizon.

When Facebook had its longest downtime in more than a decade a month later, it became clear that the social network may no longer be king. Then, just a few weeks later, Mark Zuckerberg revealed the new name of his technology organization, "Meta," short for metaverse, and social networks were given new life by the merger of online and virtual worlds enabled by virtual and augmented reality and blockchain.

How? Simply said, a large portion of this industry exists within the social networks themselves. As a result, consumers are the primary data producers for these enormous organizations, many of which sell data without the agreement of the average user.

If you don't believe it, consider Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, or the fact that Tik Tok is capable of collecting biometric data from our faces and voices for unknown purposes, as well as data from SIM cards, network usage, devices used, addresses, and GPS data; among other critical data that should be private and under the user's sole control.

Torum is a significant figure in SocialFi

Torum emerges as a significant market benchmark in this context of decentralized solutions to empower the average user and, in particular, to alter the established practices of centralized social networks.

Torum, by pioneering the creation of a SocialFi Metaverse, enables users on its platform to govern and manage the creative material they make, using a token economy in which all players profit from the decentralization of value transmission on the network. Torum also enables users to earn money by minting NFTs and interacting with other users, in addition to providing the content. Torum, as opposed to the centralized Web 2.0-based social networks we're accustomed to, provides a higher level of privacy and protection for users' data while also properly distributing money and delivering a better and more meaningful experience.