Can Decentralized Social Media Redefine Online Community Engagement?

cryptonews.com:

Decentralized social media (DeSo) is a concept that is looking to stir up the digital landscape and promises to redefine how we connect online.

Meanwhile, traditional social media as we know it today is a vibrant hub of community engagement. It is a space where ideas flourish and voices are heard. But as we scroll through our feeds, a question lingers: Is there a better way to do this?

We now stand at the cusp of a revolution that promises to hand the reins back to the users.

The push towards DeSo arises from a growing discontent with how major companies manage privacy, political bias, user autonomy, and harmful content on their platforms.

What is this decentralization about? Unlike centralized platforms, they use independent servers or blockchain, giving users more control and transparency. This leads to better ownership and management of personal data and content.

Users often overlook the fact that they don’t really own their social media content, noted Arie Trouw, CEO at XY Labs.

“Instagram photos, tweets, and Facebook posts all live on centralized servers owned by private companies – companies that could choose to pull the plug at any time,” he said.

“Decentralized social media projects upend these absurd norms and grant users sovereignty over the content they create. Users are typically able to store their posts on their own private servers, protecting them from data collection and preserving them from deletion.”

Mastodon, a federated social network, and Steem, operating on a social blockchain, serve as notable examples. And just this week, Jack Dorsey-backed Bluesky opened its doors to all users by lifting invite-only restrictions.

The buzz surrounding decentralized social media is certainly palpable. Still, these