A brief discussion on the web3 social track

Source: Daoshuo Blockchain

Friend Tech is a social application that has been very popular since this bear market. When the project was launched, it attracted a large number of users with the support of heavyweight venture capital Paradigm and the entry of many KOLs.

The main gameplay of this project is to tokenize the personal value of KOLs and allow users to interact with KOLs by paying to join the group. In this interactive process, users gain the value of KOLs, and KOLs gain corresponding returns.

For this project, I remember that I once expressed the following view in articles or online exchanges:

Similar ideas were once implemented in projects during the ICO boom in 2017, but they failed in the end. The main reason is that KOLs whose personal value has been tokenized cannot rigidly fulfill their promises and find it difficult to provide real services and value to users who pay the price.

In addition, the realization of KOL value has already had a very mature model in mobile Internet applications. Although the platform's commission is very high under the Internet model, I always feel that this does not seem to be the reason for using blockchain technology.

Based on these reasons, I have never participated in Friend Tech.

When Friend Tech was first launched, there were many articles that discussed the economic model of the project in detail, and liked to study how users could profit from the trading of tokens of this project from the perspective of the economic model.

This is a trend in many crypto projects nowadays, but I always feel that a truly popular crypto project certainly needs a good economic model, but it must not be the most core part. The most core part must meet certain rigid needs in the ecosystem or solve certain chronic diseases in the ecosystem.

Over-emphasis on economic models mostly leads to speculative demand rather than real user demand. And speculative demand in the crypto ecosystem is generally closely related to the price of project tokens. Most of the tokens in the current crypto ecosystem are not profitable, so their prices are often driven by emotions. Emotions come and go quickly, and once they cannot be maintained, they may collapse in an instant.

I think this is also an important reason why many projects (including Friend Tech) ultimately fail to go on.

Since the social field where Friend Tech is located has always been a track that everyone pays close attention to, the changes in Friend Tech have also triggered everyone's reflection on the social track.

I also shared some views on Web 3 social networking in the online exchange last weekend:

I still have some doubts about whether the Web 3 social networking we expect is a false demand? Or is the real Web 3 social networking not the model we can imagine now?

Following this line of thought, the reason why Facaster, which was very popular in the past few months, was actually popular was not because of its special model, but because a small group of celebrities in the crypto ecosystem gathered together to form a circle effect.

If this small group of celebrities did not use Facaster, but used a traditional mobile Internet APP, I guess that APP would also become popular in the crypto ecosystem.

So does Facaster really need blockchain?

I hope my idea is wrong.

According to relevant information, the Friend Tech team made a total profit of about 40 million US dollars in this project. I don't know the actual number of people in the team and how much it costs each month. But according to the status assessment of general crypto projects, starting from the launch last year, if it is not a waste of money, 40 million US dollars can be enough to support the project.

If a team is really committed to building in this ecosystem, I think the team can try another chance and try other paths.

Some time ago, there was news that the project team was preparing to build a social chain. Although I am cautious about this idea, at least it is also an attempt and effort, which is better than giving up and leaving.

No matter how you calculate it, this project has only been online for about a year. There are many projects in the crypto ecosystem that are in a more difficult situation and have been in a longer time, but they are still persisting and struggling.

In many cases, as long as the project can survive to the end, the hope of victory and the grasp of success will be much greater.

From the past glory to the current desolation of Friend Tech, there are many things worth observing and reflecting on. Although this process is regrettable, it is also an indispensable and normal phenomenon in the development of the ecosystem.

We don’t need to be pessimistic about the future of ecology.