The newest platform that seeks to merge social media and blockchain technology is here! The project is called DMUNITY, a decentralized social media platform built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. The concept is very similar to what exists on platforms like Reddit today, in which users are able to post content on virtually any topic they deem relevant. Other users then vote and/or comment on the topic. The amount of up or down votes will determine the relevancy of the topic.
However, in the case of DMUNITY, these votes could potentially earn users DMUNITY tokens. Ultimately, the main idea is that active users will have a higher say in the community, depending on the number of tokens they currently hold. Also, the platform contemplates launching a token exchange where these can be sold for Ether.
DMUNITY Business Model vs Reddit
Reddit, like all centralized social media platforms, makes money from ads. In a July article published by CNBC, it was reported that Reddit was looking to increase the number of ads on the site. Despite its great active user base of more than 330 million, around the same as Twitter, it only pulled in around 100 million dollars in revenue last year, while the bluebird boasted a $655-million revenue.
With those numbers in mind and seeing how a similar platform is underperforming, DMUNITY seeks to implement an entirely different business model. Obviously, DMUNITY will seek to build a platform large enough to charge small amounts per transaction on Ethereum. The DMUNITY website has this to say about the current way it processes transactions and how it can be withdrawn:
“This is an early Proof of Concept of the platform where all transactions are processed off-chain. Our primary goal for this early Beta version is to provide the best user experience for this new social economy experiment.”
DMUNITY is counting on the fact that the potential of earning Ether while using its platform will bring forth more users. It could also seek ad revenue further down the line if the platform grows in active users, but it would have to split the profits among the users.
Benefits of Decentralization in Social Media
In theory, a decentralized social media platform isn’t exactly something people had been begging for. That being said, there are a couple of advantages that could come from it. The first of them is the total power of the people. While Reddit does give considerable freedom for users to monitor the content on the platform themselves through “Redditors,” they are still a centralized business. So if the bosses want to add more ads to the site, they will do so.
The increasing amount of ads on social media in the last few years has been widely criticized by users of these platforms. That could also be a benefit that DMUNITY will seek to exploit. Although the token system is still in its beta phase, it could potentially become a form of extra income for active users. It’s going to be interesting to see how DMUNITY can handle this so that the balance of coins is just right. Otherwise, top token holders could control everything that happens on the site. The project is in beta, so it’s going to take some time to really figure out how everything is going to work.
