SocialFi, a New Type of Mashup

November 22, 2022

Well this is quite an innovation. HackerNoon alerts us to a combination of just wonderful stuff in, “The Rise of SocialFi: A Fusion of Social Media, Web3, and Decentralized Finance.” Short for social finance, SocialFi builds on other -Fi trends: DeFi (decentralized finance) and GameFi (play-to-earn crypto currency games). The goal is to monetize social media through “tokenized achievements.” Writer Samiran Mondal elaborates:

“SocialFi is an umbrella that combines various elements to provide a better social experience through crypto, DeFi, metaverse, NFTs, and Web3. At the heart of SocialFi aremonetization and incentivization through social tokens. SocialFi offers many new ways for users, content creators, and app owners to monetarize their engagements. This has perhaps been the most attractive aspect of SocialFi. By introducing the concept of social tokens and in-app utility tokens. Notably, these tokens are not controlled by the platform but by the creator. Token creators have the power to decide how they want their tokens to be utilized, especially by fans and followers.”

This monetization strategy is made possible by more alphabet soup—PFP NFTs, or picture-for-proof non fungible tokens. These profile pictures identify users, provide proof of NFT ownership, and connect users to specific SocialFi communities. Then there are the DAOs, or decentralized autonomous organizations. These communities make decisions through member votes to prevent the type of unilateral control exercised by companies like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. This arrangement provides another feature. Or is it a bug? We learn:

“SocialFi also advocates for freedom of speech since users’ messages or content are not throttled by censorship. Previously, social media platforms were heavily plagued by centralized censorship that limited what users could post to the extent of deleting accounts that content creators and users had poured their hearts and souls into. But with SocialFi, users have the freedom to post content without the constant fear of overreaching moderation or targeted censorship.”

Sounds great, until one realizes what Mondal calls overreach and censorship would include efforts to quell the spread of misinformation and harmful content already bedeviling society. To those behind SocialFi have any plans to address that dilemma? Sure.

Cynthia Murrell, November 22, 2022

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under News, Social

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.