Decentralized social media protocol DeSo has announced a $1 million bounty for the development of a competitor to Reddit on its native blockchain. This move comes in response to concerns raised by developers about the monopolization of content and data on centralized social media platforms.
The decision to limit API access by Reddit sparked controversy within its community, leading to a series of subreddit blackouts in protest. The subsequent price hike for their API made it unfeasible for existing third-party developers to continue maintaining their applications. Developers view these incidents, along with Elon Musk’s controversial decision to impose reading limits on Twitter accounts, as examples of the ongoing issues plaguing centralized social media platforms, marked by excessive data scraping and system manipulation.
Nader Al-Naji, the founder of DeSo, believes these protests reflect a broader societal shift towards users seeking greater autonomy over their social media content, similar to the ownership of Bitcoin. DeSo, founded in 2019, offers various monetization features such as creator coins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), tokens, and tipping. The platform stores user identity, profiles, content, and social graphs entirely on-chain, making it impossible to ban or block content at a protocol level.
In September 2021, DeSo secured $200 million in funding from prominent investors like a16z, Coinbase Ventures, Sequoia, Pantera Capital, and even Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. The platform has recently introduced new in-app proposals, including Openfund 2.0, a decentralized exchange platform. While DeSo currently hosts over 150 projects on its community, their market caps remain relatively small.
This initiative by DeSo to incentivize the development of a decentralized alternative to Reddit highlights the increasing importance of blockchain technology and decentralization in reshaping the future of social media. By leveraging blockchain’s transparency, immutability, and user-centric approach, DeSo aims to address the concerns associated with centralized platforms while offering innovative features for content creators and users.
As the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry continues to evolve, decentralized social media holds tremendous potential to revolutionize how people interact, share content, and derive value from their online presence. The bounty program by DeSo serves as a catalyst for fostering innovation in this space and encouraging the exploration of decentralized alternatives to traditional social media platforms.