Social media’s rapid rise due to the shift from mainstream media to focusing on user generated content has, in theory, given people the opportunity to control the content they produce and how it’s distributed. Some of these well-known platforms are considered a significant part of cyberspace and an important cog of human interaction.

With the sheer size and influence that these companies have, do the users really have full control of their own personal data and how far will these platforms go before people want to take back control?

Are decentralized social networking platforms the answer and will they thrive in the future?

Current Issues

Existing social media networks give users the impression that they are in full control of their data, however, it is actually those companies providing those services that have sole authority over a person’s information.

People, without even blinking an eye, sign and agree to privacy policies that give these companies the power to use this data in any way they see fit. This is a huge detriment to personal privacy and has increased the desire of social media users to take back the authority to their own personal data and how it’s distributed. There’s also nothing stopping them from using this information for their own financial advantage.

There’s a whole host of privacy issues when it comes to the major social networking platforms.

Facebook, as most are already aware, has a license granting them the authority to use a person’s content any which way they want to. Not a fan of how they operate? Feel free to deactivate the account, however, keep in mind that solely deactivating an account also doesn’t fully erase that data that’s already been stored on their servers.

Twitter analyzes a person’s tweets, retweets, locations, etc. so that it can build a personal profile to better serve ads. This seems normal because most social networks that allow for advertising have this function but, keep in mind they use that “Tweet” button on all websites to track web history and see where we’ve been.

It’s not just for sharing content anymore.

Photo by Caroline Attwood

The popular platforms’ end goal is to collect information, behaviors, and interests of their users in order to monetize that data and they’re never 100% transparent on how they use this knowledge. This is usually done in the form of some sort of advertising and since it is essentially their money maker, they guard the data and the secret sauce to how they collect this information very heavily.

Photo by Vincent Guth

Most of the social network platforms also suppress creativity through censorship and restrictions. Look at China and their Great Firewall as a prime example. Criticize government or any person or institution these platforms are affiliated with and things get censored through deletion of content or profiles.

Photo by Spenser H

When platforms like Facebook and Twitter become the public’s thought police, free speech and expression becomes a fairy tale and fake news and inaccurate information rise up from the cracks. This is not an accurate gauge of true social opinion as the information is slanted to what someone wants everyone to believe is true or important.

These centralized networks like Google and Facebook and a handful of other corporations control large flows of data on the internet as well as our private data because each becomes a single entity that manages account access and what gets shared publicly or privately. The online social networking experience is more than just connecting personally, it’s also about the interaction with the pages people have created.

So, how can a person not become a data point or a monetization asset for these companies while still being able to utilize the full benefits of social media?

Enter the ‘decentralized social network’

The lack of privacy and the desire to control how their data is being used and distributed has produced these new social media platforms that are decentralized. They’re all aimed at providing a solution to all the issues of the current social platforms in the form of privacy, censorship, and control over the content created.

Photo by Evan Dennis

Recently, there has been hype surrounding cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology, but what does that mean to the person that’s not familiar with these terms?

How does having a decentralized social network platform benefit the end users and why will these platforms be successful in the future?

In a nutshell, a successful decentralized setting gives the users control of three main aspects: privacy, ownership, and dissemination. All of which are stripped away when using any of the mainstream platforms.

Users will be able to choose who to show the content to and be able to set their own restrictions while determining how and where it gets distributed. They’ll also have full control of their private data. No more storing it on centralized servers and losing it when these servers go down or when their security gets breached.

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Most importantly, these platforms can run independently without a central authority imposing its own interests in human social interaction. The user gets back control of their private data, and the freedom of speech and expression is restored without the fear of censorship or backlash.

Another aspect to a successful, decentralized platform is the ability to fairly compensate its users for contributing value to the community.

Photo by Vitaly

Think about the mainstream platforms that are currently being utilized. Do they recognize key contributors and reward them accordingly?

The answer is a resounding ‘NO’.

The centralized social platforms are in it to pay themselves. They sell users’ private data, users’ content, and serve users endless advertisements while key contributors get nothing. That is far from a reasonable tradeoff.

This changes with a decentralized social network.

There is a handful of options available and some have a viable product ready and some are still in development. At the moment, most are slow, small and costly and vary with their structure and approach to social media.

Once the market adopts a viable architecture and strategy and there is a mass transition, the mainstream social platforms need to be on watch because users will demand that their social networks be more democratic, rewarding, and free of the underlying interests of these corporations.

Sapien is setting the bar high and democratizing social media giving the users back control of their privacy and control of the content they post. It’s a solid example of a decentralized social media platform as it is a highly customizable, democratized social news platform capable of rewarding millions of content creators and curators without any centralized intermediaries. It uses, SPN, an ERC-20 compliant cryptocurrency that incentivizes quality content, powers all platform functions, and serves as the backbone of the tokenized economy.

Photo by Daniel von Appen

The utility of the SPN token is very unique in that it gets most of its value from its ability to distinguish high quality content. Contributions are evaluated throughout the network, accumulating a domain-specific reputation score where it will mitigate trolling and reduce the spread of fake news. Content creators and curators will receive payouts for content that has quantifiable value. Users will also be able to tip one another for posts and comments.

Sapien is creating a truly autonomous social network by giving SPN token holders a voice in organizational decisions, feature developments, and marketplace rewards. The goal is to foster a passionate, engaged community that evolves over time and establishes a global reputation network on integrated platforms to fight fake news anywhere.