Decentralized Social Media Platforms Gain Traction Amid Traditional Platform Changes

According to Cointelegraph, the Web3 industry is targeting social media as it aims to disrupt the World Wide Web. Ryan Li, co-founder of CyberConnect, discussed the concept of decentralized social media in an interview on Cointelegraph’s Hashing It Out podcast. Li explained that Web3 social media platforms provide content creators with confidence that they won't be abandoned when the platform grows or shifts its focus to ad revenue, unlike traditional platforms. This feature is built on a decentralized financial system, and the speculative nature of the space creates a strong case for SocialFi.Recent updates have brought attention to decentralized social media applications, such as the addition of account abstraction by CyberConnect and new gamified ways to increase engagement on SocialFi platforms. One decentralized social media platform making waves is Friend.tech, which became the most used decentralized application on Coinbase’s Base network after recording revenue of 10,663 Ether (ETH) and a total value locked of over 30,000 ETH in less than two months. Despite its growth, the platform has faced criticism, with Li describing it as a security.The interview also touched on how recent changes at major platforms like Meta and X (formerly Twitter) could affect adoption. Li believes that X's new monetization strategy and Meta's seemingly unsuccessful experiment with Threads may catalyze Web3 social media adoption. According to Li, users are likely to switch platforms due to a single feature they love and stay because of the infrastructure they find.