With over half the world now spending an average of two hours on social media platforms every day, the influence of this still embryonic sector on society has become evident.
Social media has permanently transformed the way we live and communicate. It has irrevocably changed our society and even rewired our minds, for better or worse.
SocialFi, short for Social finance, refers to the merger of social networking with blockchain finance. The SocialFi environment enables users to make cash via content production, participation in DAO governance, NFT minting, talking with other users, viewing entertainment, and gaming.
Unlike the Web 2.0 social networks, you are acquainted with, SocialFi initiatives provide greater privacy and security for users’ data, properly share advertising profits and provide a more meaningful user experience.
Social Media Companies Entering the SocialFi Space by Embracing NFTs
As the SocialFi field obtains more incredible momentum, more and more social media companies are increasing the research of NFT integration into their platform. Below is a list of firms actively integrating or researching the NFT area.
Facebook/Meta
With a projected user base of over 2.89 billion as of 2021, it comes as no surprise that Facebook reigned communication in Web 2.0. Facebook, now known as Meta, is making advances in its move towards Web 3.0. Meta’s step in establishing the world’s largest social media metaverse.
Although the photo-sharing platform hasn’t gotten aboard the NFT train yet, the company’s CEO said late last year that they are studying the NFT area in hopes of making NFTs more accessible to their user base.
In anticipation of their ambitions to incorporate cryptocurrencies into their platform, Twitter has launched a new feature that enables its Twitter Blue account users to display their NFT as their profile images on the social media network.
Not in a position to miss out on the chance to establish itself as a player in the SocialFi area, Reddit followed closely after Twitter in implementing the NFT profile image deployment.
Additionally, the social media behemoth intends to turn users’ Karma points into cryptocurrency tokens in the near future, in addition to aiming to launch an NFT marketplace.
YouTube
YouTube has been investigating non-financial transactions (NFTs) as a potential source of money for its artists as part of their attempts to grow their ecosystem.
Starting with customized NFTs sent to influencers on the YouTube platform, the company has revealed that artists could monetize the video content they make and sell it as NFTs.
A New Lighthouse of Hope
As the internet progresses toward decentralization with Web 3.0, SocialFi platforms will begin to acquire significance and will eventually become essential instruments for protecting freedom of expression and data sovereignty online.
One feature of blockchain architecture is that data that has been uploaded becomes immutable, which means that it cannot be modified or removed later.
The ability to share anything without the fear of being de-platformed or censored gives average users and content providers the ability to express themselves without restriction.
Greater transparency and the absence of intermediaries are the norms with SocialFi platforms, which aim to ensure algorithm modifications are monitored and that content producers earn a reasonable portion of income.
YouTubers have seen their earnings decline over the years due to tougher constraints. Still, systems powered by SocialFi, such as Subsocial and Deeper Network, allow content producers to monetize their works directly via their fan bases.
SocialFi is exhibiting the potential of alternative finance via the use of NFTs and tokens, while DeFi alternatives such as yield farming, lending, and other initiatives are also accessible.
Yet another essential feature of SocialFi platforms is that they let users regain control over their data, enabling them to select whether or not they want to sell their information and to whom.
These platforms not only allow users to get a percentage of advertising money, but they also allow them to choose the sorts of items and services for which they would want to see advertisements on their own.
Social Finance NFT Trends on Social Media
The Avatar Trend in NFT
It is common to see NFT Avatars on the majority of Twitter profiles. An avatar represents a user’s online persona that has been utilized for a long time in the social media sphere.
In SocialFi environments, an NFT Avatar may represent the owner’s identity in both the cryptographic world and the future metaverse, allowing them to communicate with one another.
User verification and usage of their NFT as a profile photo are now possible on Twitter Blue (and many other social media sites), among other things.
Social media (SocialFi) platforms are considered a potential cryptocurrency exchange.
Decentralized financial applications are being progressively integrated into social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in order to give users a next-generation personal finance environment.
The ability to transmit payments, trade tokens, participate in public offers, and more will be available to users on a single social networking platform.
Making NFTs more accessible to the masses on Social Finance
As more open-source Web 3.0 application developers emerge, such as those at the Mask Network, they are building decentralized application ecosystems that connect the existing Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 technologies.
Hopefully, this will result in additional Web 3.0 apps being added to conventional social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
DApps such as the Mask extension, in addition to enhancing NFT-related content alternatives by making it more straightforward for users to identify outstanding producers, may save NFT artists and NFT fans a significant amount of time by automating several time-consuming procedures.
If, for example, content producers and NFT collectors use a single account to effortlessly travel between social media sites and search for information while shopping for NFTs, they will save time by not having to create two separate accounts, one for each network and one for the marketplace.
Why Are Social Media Giants Obsessed With NFTs
NFTs are not presently available for purchase, sale, or creation on any social networking site. On the other hand, the success of an NFT project depends on how successfully the project’s creator advertises their work on social media.
Moreover, while social media platforms passively define the future of NFTs, digital giants such as Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit view this as a chance to get more actively engaged in the area.
The majority of NFT owners feel that posting pictures of their NFTs on social media increases the value of their assets. As a result, social media firms that are crypto-compatible will have the opportunity to reach and keep new NFT-oriented clients.
Additionally, the social media businesses with the most influence in the NFT area may have an effect on the development of Web 3.0, which is based on the notion of storing user data on blockchains and is expected to be implemented in the near future.
Is SocialFi the Next Big Thing in the Internet World?
Many people feel that SocialFi is a fantastic development in the technology business and a fantastic approach to secure users’ interests in the virtual environment, especially given the trajectory of growth that the company is now on.
Despite the fact that it is still in its early phases, SocialFi has the potential to have a significant influence on the cryptocurrency, blockchain, NFT sector, and how people interact socially throughout the globe.
At this point, it is very feasible that SocialFi may become a vital component of the Metaverse ecosystem in the not-to-distant future.
Conclusion
The acronyms Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, have become synonymous with the word “social media,” which is likely to change soon. Blockchain technology is giving way to a new generation of social networks that have the potential to be much larger and better.
The old social models are given superpowers by these new networks based on them.
Soon, data fraud, misinformed algorithm tweaks, and unnecessarily restrictive content restriction may all become a thing of the past. This could be because community members own and operate these new social networks.
The option of social financing is also included as part of this arrangement (SocialFi). Social influence on these platforms is tokenized, and individuals who are essential personalities on these platforms may earn direct monetary rewards due to their efforts.
The growth of these new social networks and their integration with SocialFi is undoubtedly one of the most acceptable applications of blockchain technology, and it may be at the forefront of widespread adoption.