Blockchain will return power over data to social media users

The media are actively discussing what impression the recent upgrade of the Facebook news feed will have on users and companies whose business is built on its platform. According to Facebook executives, the changes were introduced in response to growing criticism and a survey conducted last year to prevent abuse of the platform.

Facebook's struggle to find the right balance between managing its multibillion-dollar advertising business and making the platform safer and more useful for its two billion users underscores the depth of the problem plaguing social media. After all, like most online services, they have become too centralized, concentrating power in the hands of a few people.

The way centralized social networks work looks like this:

Facebook collects a huge amount of information about users, which is stored on servers, and remains the exclusive owner of profits and information about users. The latter cannot directly work with their data. They only have access to a limited set of profile settings. If the network disables the account, they will not be able to obtain the information. 

And if the platform provides their data to government agencies or sells it to other companies, users will not be able to do anything about it. The more users interact with Facebook, the more information it collects and the more ads it displays. 

Today we can only hope that Facebook will not turn into universal evil and will use content for good. The company has already been caught with several accounts trying to monetize user data in questionable ways, tarnishing its reputation.                                                            

How does Blockchain solve the problem?

Blockchain replaces centralized servers with a special network of independent computers that store and maintain a common database. Computers review and approve each new entry before it is added to the ledger and published online. This model prevents parties from manipulating Blockchain data to their advantage.

“Instead of regular social media platforms, where users get a free service with their data, these platforms will force you to pay for their use,” says Yonatan Ben Shimon, chief executive of Blockchain startup Matchpool, “but users recoup the value of network costs through peer-to-peer payments.”.. 

Matchpool offers a decentralized matching protocol that allows for the creation of “pools” of users who have common interests and goals, similar to Facebook groups. The platform allows pool creators to monetize communities in a variety of ways, including one-time subscriptions or content fees. The platform uses its own cryptocurrency - Guppy (GUP). Users earn and spend it by interacting with the platform. 

Blockchain applications encrypt data with secret keys and store it on decentralized networks to ensure that only users can access it. This prevents unwanted parties from accessing or processing information without the user's consent. 

The advantages of decentralized social networks are obvious to everyone. The companies that create them get much more.  They no longer have to worry about contending with the patchwork of laws that apply to maintaining and storing user data across different geographic regions. They also save billions of dollars in cloud storage costs and bypass blocks and censorship in countries that impose restrictions on social media use. 

Will giant social networks work on Blockchain?

Telegram recently announced the Telegram Open Network, moreover, its platform will be transferred to its own Blockchain. Telegram does not rely on advertising or monetizing user data to maintain its network, making the move to Blockchain beneficial. 

It is unclear why the company needs more than a billion dollars to develop the platform. Telegram already has more than 180 million users, which could make its token the most used cryptocurrency once the network launches.

Of all the data-hungry companies that use social media advertising platforms, only Facebook has hinted at decentralization.  

According to http://www.ibtimes.co.uk