If you are like most people, you have a love-hate relationship with social media. We love it because it helps us connect and stay in touch with our friends and relatives and hate it mainly because it is a major timewaster
Now, with the distributed ledger technology, people can get paid to use social media.
Traditionally, centralized institutions such as Facebook and Twitter provide social media platforms for free in exchange for an advertising audience. These companies make billions of dollars in advertising revenue by collecting users’ data, analyzing it for marketing insights and selling these insights to businesses.
In the recent past, mainly Facebook has been in the limelight for collecting data without users’ permission and selling it to dubious companies such as Cambridge Analytica. Blockchain is here to take power from these centralized institutions back to the people by giving them control of their data and ensuring that they get a share of the advertising revenue they help generate. This means that social media users will now be able to choose whether to share their data with the advertisers and get paid when their data is used.
Simply put, unlike the centralized model where platform owners control everything and take all the revenue, the decentralized model will enable users to earn from their activity on social media. For instance, ASKfm, the world largest Q&A social network is working on a blockchain project that will make it possible for people to get rewarded when they answer questions on the platform.
According to ASKfm's CEO, Maksym Tsaryk, the platform users’ will be rewarded based on how often they respond to questions and the popularity of their answers. This will attract expert and high quality answers making the platform a resource for academics as well.
Currently, the ASKfm platform has over 215 million active users across the globe and the number is growing rapidly. The company intends to get its already massive user base to join the blockchain-powered platform or what it calls ASKfm 2.0. Every existing user who will migrate to the new platform within a specified period will receive an unspecified amount of ASKfm tokens (ASKT). The tokens can be used within the platform or can be exchanged with other cryptocurrencies or fiat money. The platform will apply the Smart Contract technology to facilitate payments and settle disputes.
Telegram, another mainstream company with over 200 million active users and an estimated value of over $5 billion, is also working on a blockchain project that will enable users to make money on their platform. With the platform, users will be able to enjoy the benefits of social media while securely and conveniently exchanging value. Meaning, people will be able to send and receive payments without leaving the platform or engaging third parties.
Similarly to Reddit, another blockchain project known as Steemit enables people to post content on its platform to be viewed by its wide user base. However, unlike Reddit, people who publish content on the Steemit platform can earn money on the basis of the popularity of their posts. The platform has a user base of 950,000 and claims to have paid out over $22 million to its users since its inception in June 2016.
Indorse, a social media platform for professionals, is applying the ethereum blockchain and AI to verify users’ credentials and reward those that make valid endorsements. The platform applies a similar model to LinkedIn with the difference being that they makes it possible to verify users’ credentials and pay those who make helpful recommendations.
The payments are made in IND token, which is the official cryptocurrency of the Indorse platform and they're safeguarded by smart contracts. Users can trade their IND tokens for other cryptos or fiat or use them on the platform to purchase services such as advertising.
While the traditional social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter have been lagging behind in the adoption of blockchain, they are now realizing that it is no longer business as usual. Blockchain has the power to disrupt this industry and therefore forward-thinking companies must start exploring its potential. Facebook has already started looking into the tech, setting up a team to explore the technology. But whether the company will decentralize its platform still remains to be seen.
Jim Hoffer is founder and managing director at Hoffer Financial Consulting. Follow him on Twitter.
© 2023 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.