Announced by Aave at the beginning of 2020, the ambitious Web 3.0 decentralized social media ecosystem project, Lens, officially debuts this Tuesday, February 8. We explain everything you need to know about it.
Lens, the future of social media?
The information has been confirmed via a press release published this Monday, February 7th. Called Lens Protocol, the project is described as “a permissionless, composable and decentralized social graph that facilitates the construction of Web 3.0 social platforms”. Very well, but more concretely?
Initially described as the new Twitter on the Ethereum blockchain, the project now seems to have expanded its scope of applications. Lens is a true decentralized ecosystem, a fertile ground built to host future Web 3.0 social media applications.
Being completely open source, any developer can come and build his application on the protocol. Social networks, data analysis platforms, solutions for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO), or any other social application that can benefit the ecosystem.
Voluntarily scalable, it gives developers the opportunity to imagine, build and bring to life the future social media of Web 3.0. Every application implemented on Lens feeds this social graph and benefits the whole ecosystem:
“Every application using Lens benefits the whole ecosystem, turning the zero-sum game into a collaborative one. Developers can focus on building a great experience for their users and let the protocol take care of the growth!” reads their website.
NFTs for data ownership
Lens Protocol will have the classic features of today’s social networks: having a profile, sharing content, commenting on posts, interacting with other users, etc. The only difference is that Lens uses non-fungible token technology (NFT).
“Unlike social media platforms of the past, Lens Protocol is powered by NFTs, giving the power and control of content directly to users, also allowing for monetization of native content” reads their website.
To put it simply, when you create your profile, an NFT is minted and associated with it. A single address can create multiple profiles, each generating an NFT that will be stored on the individual’s wallet. Furthermore, in the case of a company or group profile, it is possible to share it between several addresses via the multi-sig principle.
In general, all interaction with the ecosystem is written into the blockchain: when you create a profile, follow others, create and share publications, including messages and comments. In other words, users regain control over the content they share and their personal data.
According to the project’s official Twitter account, Lens is now up and running on Mumbai, the Polygon test and sidechain. Despite plans to launch a mainnet, the date is still unknown.
