Since Tim Berners-Lee created the Internet in the 1990s some 30 years ago and democratized its use (because it was restricted to scientific, academic, and government purposes); it has since evolved significantly in the last three decades.
From a decentralized Web 1.0 to a user-friendly and centralized Web 2.0 where "social" emerges as one of the fundamental pillars with the arrival of the 21st century, a long way has been traveled.
Although the user is now able to create content and not only consume it as happened in the early days of the World Wide Web, the social web has also shown that the user must once again be the main actor in the network of networks, a principle that aligns with the Berners-Lee vision.
Web 3.0, this new network based on decentralization and empowered by blockchain technology, gives the user control over their data while rewarding them for their contributions to the platforms where they browse, is today perhaps the most disruptive upgrade we have had in many years since the birth of the Internet.
Torum, the market leading SocialFi Metaverse, wants to take Web 3.0 by storm to show that blockchain technology can transform social media, just as it similarly has happened with gaming (GameFi) and finance (DeFi).
But what is SocialFi?
SocialFi, short for social finance, is basically the combination of social media and decentralized finance (DeFi) on the blockchain. In other simpler terms, SocialFi is social media on the blockchain.
Under the concept of the "traditional internet" + "blockchain" as the foundation of Web 3.0, SocialFi is establishing the foundations to generate added value to social networks and social forms of interaction through decentralized platforms, tokenizing achievements, engagement, and of course the management of the key decisions for the improvement of these platforms under a decentralized governance scheme represented as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO).
Why is SocialFi important?
The personal (and private) data market is a multi-billion dollar market, with a compound average annual growth rate of 11%; therefore, this sector is very juicy for many traditional social media platforms, since the amount of USD 160,000 billion that the Big Data Market represents may multiply in the coming years, and the large technology companies in the sector such as Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok are largely responsible for this continued growth.
How? Simple, much of this market is within the social networks themselves. For this reason, users are the main manufacturers of data for these large corporations, many of which sell data without the consent of the common user.
If you don't believe it, see the case of Facebook and its Cambridge Analytica scandal, or the fact that Tik Tok is capable of collecting the biometric data of our faces and our voices for unclear uses, as well as the data from SIM cards, network usage, devices used, addresses and GPS data; among other critical data that should be private and under the exclusive control of the user.
Therefore, logic indicates that these social networks have powerful control, and even a monopoly on the sale of private data in an environment of absolute surveillance for users that has ended in worrying derivations about indiscriminate management for commercial purposes without consent (in most cases) of the data users interacting on its platforms.
As a result, users are exposed to rogue social networks that only seek to seize an ever-increasing share of the $160 billion Big Data Market, regardless of respect for the common user's privacy.
More interestingly, these users do not receive anything in return from these platforms that sell this private data on the market “on their behalf”.
Within this context, the concept of decentralized social networks takes on special relevance when it comes to managing privacy, data and user rewards for their engagement, in a decentralized economy under the premise of "Write to Earn" or "Social to Earn", similar to "Play to Earn".
With SocialFi, user-generated content (UGC) takes on special importance in these ecosystems, where a decentralized Internet allows each of the actors involved to solve the pain point of the poor transmission of value caused by the "centralization of social networks" of Web 2.0.
However, with the construction of Web 3.0 and the metaverse, we have collectively seen the explosive growth of DeFi and NFTs, which have reached into the social media ecosystem to create this powerful movement called SocialFi.
Torum: A key player in SocialFi
Within this context of decentralized solutions to empower the common user and especially to revolutionize the traditional practices of centralized social networks, Torum emerges as an important benchmark in the market.
By pioneering the construction of a SocialFi Metaverse, Torum allows users on its platform to control the creative content generated by them, and manage it through a token economy in which all participants benefit from the decentralization of the transmission of value on the platform.
In addition, Torum allows users to earn income not only by creating content, but also by participating in minting NFTs and interacting with other users.
Unlike the centralized social platforms we are used to based on Web 2.0, Torum provides a higher level of privacy and security for users' personal data, while distributing revenues fairly and offering the user a better and more valuable experience.
One of the trendsetting features users can take advantage of in the Torum SocialFi metaverse are the NFT Avatars. While avatars have long been used in the social media space to represent a user's identity online, Torum applies this same concept but with added value beyond a simple pixel of a digital figure.
In the Torum ecosystem, an NFT avatar can represent the identity of the owner both in the crypto world and in the futuristic metaverse. This has served as an example for other traditional social platforms such as Twitter Blue, which now allows you to use your NFT as a profile picture.
More decentralization, more SocialFi
But Torum doesn't just bring the NFT Avatar to the social media ecosystem. Aware of the growth and importance of NFTs in the industry and in the real world, Torum aligns the needs of its community with its own marketplace so users can enrich the content options related to this important sector.
By having an NFT Marketplace within its own environment, Torum allows users to create a secondary market around these unique and rare pieces, often used as avatars or simply as passes to unlock other goodies in the Torum-powered metaverse. Everything in one place without the need to create tedious steps or separate accounts.
More interestingly, Web 3.0 has proven to be the ideal path to personal financial empowerment for the millions of users who believe in decentralization.
To meet their financial services needs, Torum Finance is a decentralized financial application introduced into the Torum SocialFi metaverse to offer users a new generation DeFi experience in which they will be able to send payments, pay tips, exchange tokens, participate in public offerings and much more, all this on a social networking platform.
Security before everything
One of the biggest problems with cryptocurrencies is the number of scams that occur. Newcomers to the space feel threatened and insecure, a problem that has largely stifled progress toward mass adoption.
Without sufficient knowledge of the industry, which can be cumbersome and dense, many fall victim to the overwhelming number of scam artists that plague the industry. Even with platforms like Reddit and Telegram providing additional information to help users invest, there is still a high risk of fraudulent activity.
Torum advocates for crypto users of all experience levels by creating different communities within its SocialFi ecosystem to help promote mass adoption. By bridging the gap between users and projects, the platform lowers the barrier to entry for new users by promoting a secure entry point into the space.
Thanks to the fact that the Torum community is largely made up of users of the crypto ecosystem, projects find in Torum an ideal place and target audience for their promotion and commercialization in the NFT, DeFi and crypto sectors in general.
Even more interesting is the fact that the creation of communities exclusively related to blockchain projects within its ecosystem is an ideal marketing tool at low cost and without entry barriers that both users and companies can exploit, in a more secure environment.
SocialFi will continue to grow
The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has continued to demonstrate its exponential growth over the past two years. With more and more innovations within the sector, the recognition of SocialFi along with other DeFi elements such as GameFi are appearing on the radar of investors.
Although the idea of SocialFi is relatively new and still in its early stages, it has the potential to greatly impact cryptocurrency trading volumes and the adoption of blockchain technology in general, as well as the attitudes of regular users toward social networks and participating in them.
Ya Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, predicted that SocialFi will be one of the main drivers in 2022, and as such we have seen a number of options emerge in this regard.
As traditional companies like Meta and Twitter push NFTs forward and find new ways to showcase their use cases, content creators are increasingly aware that SocialFi platforms like Torum are the natural evolution from the centralized platform status quo.
Torum has proven to be a clear example of what SocialFi can do for the benefit of the crypto community, and especially users who love social networks.
Torum can solve copyright issues and enable content creators and users to earn money through social interaction, protecting their own interests in the virtual space. And judging by its promising growth in the Web 3.0 era, it won't be surprising to see Torum SocialFi take off in the near future.