Decentralised Social

As we enter the latter half of 2024, decentralized social (deso) platforms/protocols are demonstrating a resilience and growth that their predecessors could only dream of. Unlike earlier attempts such as Mastodon, which struggled to expand beyond a technically savvy audience, today's deso platforms are on the brink of mainstream adoption.

Deso's growth akin to the early days of the internet
"Communications tools don't get socially interesting until they get technologically boring."
Clay Shirkey

Marc Andressen reflects on the early days of the internet when his open sourced development of Mozilla was largely ignored by wider society at the time. The first WIRED magazine made no mention of the internet, most experts and talking heads derided its potential. The first webcam was made in a laboratory by a professor who used it to monitor their coffee machine. Modest experiments that belied the outsized impact the tech would come to have on humanity.

Today's deso platforms seem to have reached this crucial juncture, where the technology has become accessible enough to enable widespread social adoption.

Protocols like farcaster serve as the Data Layer, responsible for storing user handles, casts (equivalent to tweets), and reactions (likes and recasts). This data is facilitated through Hubs, a distributed network of servers storing and validating Farcaster data.

The Application Layer consists of Clients, front-end interfaces enabling users to leverage interactive experiences built with a permissionless, interoperable and composable framework, allowing developers to create customized applications.

TOTH

The numbers tell a compelling story. Farcaster has seen daily unique posts skyrocket from 2,000 in January to over 60,000 by July 2024, with its user base swelling to more than 600,000. Lens protocol boasts similar success, with 400,000 users and over 34 million transactions. These figures represent a significant leap from the modest adoption rates of earlier decentralized platforms.

Dune Data: Farcaster
Dune Data: Lens

These platforms are finding their footing in a world increasingly receptive to blockchain technology. The success of dapps like Polymarket, which saw over $110 million in trading volume in June 2024, demonstrates a growing comfort with crypto-based applications among the general public.

Challenges like content moderation have historically proven a perennial issue for social platforms, and take on new dimensions in a decentralized context. Balancing free expression with community safety is a complex task when there's no central authority to make decisions.

Yet applications like Orb on Lens protocol and Ampcast on Farcaster are pioneering new approaches to content curation, allowing users more control over their social environment without resorting to heavy-handed centralized moderation. Through the architecture of clubs in the former, and power badge users exclusively being visible in feeds in the latter, there are protections being built into these clients against negative content.

As we look to the future, the potential of deso platforms extends far beyond replicating existing social media functionalities. Innovations like streaming funds are being promulgated by entities like Superfluid into dapps like Alfarens and Superboring; hinting at a future where social interactions, content creation, and financial transactions are seamlessly integrated.

Alfafrens
Alfarens is an app for private channels, powered by superfluid and $degen, its farcaster native, and essentially enables users to have private direct group chats with individuals/influencers/builders for a monthly subscription. In exchange for streaming funds to the influencer over the course of the month they get access to the chat and are streamed back a token called $alfa which has unique ecosystem utilities.

Superboring enables users to stream funds over time DCA'ing into (or out of) certain positions e.g. from MATIC to ETH or vice versa.

Papa

The road ahead is not without obstacles, but if the first half of 2024 is any indication, DeSo is poised to move from the fringes to the forefront of our online experience. In the coming months and years, we can expect to see continued experimentation and innovation in the space. As these platforms mature and their user bases grow, they have the potential to reshape not just how we interact online, but how we think about digital identity, content ownership, and community governance.

The trajectory of deso platforms recalls Metcalfe's Law, which states that the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users. As adoption grows, we may see an exponential increase in the value and impact of these networks.

The Algebra Of Wealth

Scott Galloway, a prominent entrepreneur and NYU professor, proposes a deceptively simple formula for financial success: focus, stoicism, time, and diversification. Market vicissitudes of late merit such reflection, with the early formation of new economies prone to violent volatility.

Galloway's emphasis on mastering marketable skills rather than chasing passions acknowledges our tendency towards overconfidence and recency bias, which often leads individuals to make irrational career and investment decisions. Galloway's formula is one characterised by a disciplined approach to saving and investing, serving as a bulwark against the psychological pitfalls that frequently derail financial planning.

Secret Leaders Podcast

However, this perspective, while pragmatic, carries its own set of paradoxes. Charlie Munger once quipped 'the first rule of compounding is to never interrupt it unnecessarily.' Diversification, in this light, protects against unknown risks. However, the Berkshire Hathaway duo Buffett & Munger built their fortunes on concentrated bets. "Diversification is protection against ignorance," Buffett famously states. "It makes little sense if you know what you are doing." The key, they argue, lies in understanding one's circle of competence & acting decisively within it.

This philosophy extends to the role of knowledge and continuous learning. While Peter Lynch advises to "Invest in what you know," Buffett and Munger would likely add: strive to know more. In an era where intangible assets like intellectual property and network effects drive value, expanding one's knowledge base becomes crucial. This aligns with Galloway's emphasis on developing marketable skills but goes further, advocating for a comprehensive worldview that allows investors to recognize value where others might not.

The psychological aspect of wealth-building cannot be overstated. Benjamin Graham taught that "The investor's chief problem - and even his worst enemy - is likely to be himself." Human tendencies towards fear and greed can lead even seasoned investors astray. While Galloway's call for stoicism is apt, Buffett and Munger suggest that true emotional stability stems not just from discipline, but from a deeper understanding of value. When investors comprehend the intrinsic worth of their holdings, fluctuations become opportunities rather than threats.

The parable of the contented fisherman serves as a poignant reminder that the end goal of accumulation should be a life well-lived. Buffett's pledge to give away the majority of his wealth reflects this philosophy. As Andrew Carnegie once said, "The man who dies rich, dies disgraced." This perspective challenges us to view wealth not as an end in itself, but as a means to create value for society.

Lens Alpha

The Dapps ecosystem continues to grow, especially from a clients perspective.

$Pointless is going multichain with our fearless leader and founder Sydney having implemented the layerzero 0FT standard. This is currently in code review with an invitation to developors to dive into the lore of the first memecoin on Lens.

Rewards

At least 300M $pointless in 20 days to those early, active & on-chain with Lens.
Pointless....until it isn't
  • 50m $pointless to liquidity providers ($10 or more)
  • 50m $pointless to collectors of daily art nft’s on lens
  • 50m $pointless to followers of papajams, Sydney & dydymoon
  • 50m $pointless to good vibes art, writing, dev etc posts
  • 50m $pointless to art/music/writing collectors of papajams’
  • 50m $pointless for product/app reviews in the lens ecosystem

Good Vibes

1M $pointless to @lilithpiercink in appreciation of foodies, fry gang specially.

1M $pointless to @blakefinucane and her deep dive into the origins of the meme "rare pepe" and how it inspired the creation of the NFTs we use now.

1M $pointless to @0xlauti for blessing our feed with beautiful photography. It's simple and wonderful, reminding me of all the chewing gum under student desks.

1M $pointless to surrealist artist @kapibara who shared some of their rgeometric shapes and tribal art. Very spiritual and bold.

Collectors

1m Pointless to each of these legends for collecting some of the previous pointless experiment articles and other Papa collectibles on Lens: @Yoyoking, @enescu, and DJinz.

Followers

1M $pointless to each of the following:

DyDy Followers

Musician @yunice came through with some jams.

Sydney_bro Followers

@kontak is doing some wonderful work enlightening us on the plight of the manatees. A beautiful oceanic creature that mankind is putting in danger via dwindling it's seagrass supply through pollution and climate change.

Papa Followers

1m $pointless to singer songwriters @karmavioletta released quite the banger with a really cool 90s edm vibe to it and a vocal that just takes you places.

Reviews

1M $pointless to @invalid, who via the lens page @review_on, did a really in depth review of the web3 game pirate nation. It's a lovely looking game that's got strategy, adventure and community interaction. Aside from your basic game play, the game lets you tokenize your in game assets (i.e. pirate ship, treasure chests, resources) into profitable NFTs.

Loved this guide to creating a club on Orb as well by visualartist, much deserving of 1m $pointless and hugs and pats on the back and gratitude for being helpful.

This article is a pointless part of the t2 x Kiwi Writing Contest.

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