The decentralized finance (defi) lending platform Aave has revealed the launch of a Web3 social media platform called the Lens Protocol. According to the team, Lens is a “Web3, smart contracts-based social graph” that is built using the Polygon blockchain.
Defi Aave project drops Lens protocol, platform’s intention is to “empower creators to take ownership of the connections between themselves and their community”
For some time now, decentralized social media has been a holy grail for many cryptocurrency advocates. While it’s obvious that social media platforms could leverage crypto assets so contributors can use micropayments, blockchain can also be used for a decentralized version of censorship-resistant social media ownership. On February 8, challenge lending project Aave revealed the launch of Lens Protocol, a Web3 social media platform that uses the Polygon proof-of-stake (PoS) network.
Aave details in a recently published blog post about the subject, that the Web3 Lens Protocol is “designed to empower creators to own the links between themselves and their community, forming a fully composable, user-owned social graph.” The developers say the protocol is “built from the ground up with modularity in mind, allowing new features to be added while ensuring immutable user-owned content and social relationships.”
Aave’s goal protocol introductory message adds:
Since users own their data, they can bring it to any application built on the Lens protocol. As true owners of their content, creators no longer have to worry about losing their content, audiences, and livelihoods to the whims of an individual platform’s algorithms and policies. In addition, each application using the Lens protocol benefits the entire ecosystem, transforming the zero-sum game into a collaborative game.
Lens Protocol to Feature Profile NFTs, IPFS Support, Social-Based Verification
Over the last few years, there have been numerous attempts to meld blockchain tech and micro-payments into the world of social media. Many platforms still exist like Memo.cash, Hive, Steemit, Mediachain, Fluz Fluz, Peepeth, Minds, Society2, and Civil. Aave’s Lens Protocol will use a number of different features including non-fungible token (NFT) technology. The main primitive of the Lens Protocol will be Profile NFTs and NFT profiles can be followed.
In terms of publishing, Aave says the platform will support Interplanetary File System (IPFS) and various media types. Lens Protocol users will also be able to collect posts and re-share items with a mirror feature. “By amplifying content, you can earn a share from anyone who collects original content through your share,” Aave’s blog details. Aave further states that the Lens Protocol will deploy “fair launch mechanisms” and that the Lens Protocol will feature social media-based verification.
At the time of writing, Aave’s Lens Protocol is running on Polygon’s Mumbai testnet and the platform has been audited by Peckshield. Lens Protocol is open source and Aave is looking for developers to contribute and it has also launched a bug bounty for the platform as well.
