The value generated by users is given back to the users who created that value!
If we start assessing dApps by presuming that the ultimate success of each dApp stems from the utilization of its elements/features, and the improvement comes from evaluating their parameters thus concluding which aspects need attention, we will be able to easily generate an “equation” all dApp can follow and thereby prosper from.
Let’s take into consideration social dApps as they are the most widespread and used. Let’s start at the top of the food chain. Facebook, contrastingly being a centralized application, has been operating for many years now and is investing a lot of money into GDPR and their user’s protection, however the goal is not yet achieved as many malicious attacks keep occurring.
In terms of features, Facebook seems great at first sight; it has all one social media needs, posting, comments, chat, likes, shares, etc. But let’s stop there for a second and rewind. So as a user, you can go to Facebook, post content of all sorts free-of-charge, and literally boost their website together with countless other users and don’t get literally anything in return (besides a few comments, shares and likes) whilst being vulnerable to getting your private messages read by some hacker in god knows where — no thanks!
Solution, you ask? Social dApps
This sense of not being in control over your own accounts whilst not getting enough out of it must stop now. For that reason we have decided to explore social dApps, see how they operate and investigate their features and functionalities.
1Ramp — Social Media that pays you
Industry: Social; Blockchain: Steem; Tokens used: Steem Dollars (SBD) and Steem Power (SP)
The tagline says it all. If one feels creative and understands that the quality content he/she produces is not well appreciated nor it yields any profit, 1Ramp is a perfect tool. Being an open-sourced platform and backed up by Steem blockchain, it enables its users to upvote their favorite content and donate/giveaway certain amount for the content (art, literature, photography, fashion, travel, etc) they like the best. Content creators can easily monetize the engagement and access analytics which will show them various parameters necessary for upgrading their performance.
Sign-up
Registering on the platform is as easy as it gets. The registration can happen either through Steemit or SteemConnect, so if the user already has a username and password on either one of these platforms, he can use them and log-in on 1Ramp.
Functionality
– By joining various communities, you will be able to connect with your audience and collaborate with them — community engagement;
– You get certain amount of Steem tokens once another user upvotes your post — rewards;
– Engaging tournaments and competition enable the best content to be addition praised and rewarded — contest;
– Get the best out of the effort you put into things you love
In addition to being constantly updated in terms of security (check GitHub), 1Ramp pays a great deal of attention towards user protection. They do not collect user’s personal information at any given point, and all the procedure is being conducted via Steemconnect, a standardized user authentication service on Steem blockchain.
Utilizing rewards
– Withdraw. Direct withdraw of the donated Steem into the bank accounts
– Transfer. Use Steem wallet to send and receive Steem dollars
– Compete. Participate in the competitions by paying certain amount of funds and enjoy beneficial prizes.
– Hapstore. Use remaining Steem dollars to buy specially designed products
Tweaking points
There are a couple of tweaking points (drawbacks being too powerful of a word) that should be taken into account whilst doing the next updates of the platform. Limiting the number of post and comments users can submit on a daily basis can be pretty exhausting and repulsive.
The dApp is currently available on Windows and Android operating systems; however iOS has been left out. Even though Android version seems flawless, Windows dApp is having some troubles running and the loading time is very long.
Cent — Earn cryptocurrency sharing your wisdom and creativity
Cent is definitely the fastest growing community on the market at the present moment. Even though that the platform is still in beta version, the community reacted tremendously to the efforts people behind the platform have inputted into the project.
Being run on Ethereum made their users dub it as the “constellation of contracts” which enables you to profit by sharing your magic and imagination.
Sign-up
In order to join the platform, user needs a legitimate email address and an Ethereum wallet. Their advice for the novices is to use Toshi on smartphones and MetaMask on desktop versions. Wallets are automatically connected to your account and once you are being rewarded for any action taken via the website, the funds are received in your wallet.
Functionality
“On Cent, the value generated by users is given to the users who created that value.” — this sentence basically sums up the idea and vision of the dApp. Despite the fact that the dApp is still in its early beta phase, the application of the website is widely adopted and understood. Once you have your ETH wallet connected with your account, you will be able to post, comment, and share your own or other user’s content. At any point you will be able to see how many days are left until post’s expiry, how many funds the post managed to yield, and how many recipients engaged with the post.
Utilizing Rewards
– Sharing (or as natively described as “Seed”) is a form of rewarding system in which you share your favorite content so that other people can see it. If other people re-seed (re-share) your links you will be rewarded as well.
– Creating content is perhaps the most beneficial. The post does not necessarily need to be neither in-depth nor well-written, however if they are informative and instructive enough so that other people find it useful, it will get appreciated certainly.
Tweaking points
Needing to immediately add ETH wallet before even posting anything can be regarded as quite unconventional to a certain extent. The solution to this would be to move this step a bit ahead, so that the registration and posting steps can go easily, however if a user wants to donate/withdraw funds, the step can be included then. Announcing iOS and Android versions would definitely attract more users.
Murmur — Micro-blogging, reimagined!
Industry: Social; Blockchain: EOS; Tokens used: Native MUR token
Murmur is a micro-blogging enterprise aimed at keeping the minimum amount of user’s data on the server. Being based on EOS allowed them to attract various users, despite still being in beta, as their social platform is very user action-intensive and each time you interact with a network the transaction fees are free-of-charge, and block confirmations happen in less than no time. Protocol integration with APIs and SDKs enabled Murmur to assist their partners with ad networks which pay the user and the signing into third-party apps with Murmur.
C-level executives have been stating from the start that the platform has the potential to eradicate the fake news that are meandering the industry for quite a while now.
Transferring crypto from and to the platform is as easy as a pie. The platform is very user-friendly, and it seems that the dev team worked also on creating an easy-going environment with which you can effortlessly interact with.
Sign-up
As the platform is EOS-based, you will need to have an EOS account or create one. Creating an EOS account is very simple as you only need to insert a 12 characters username and make sure to save public and private keys safely. The platform even allows you to create an account for free; however you need to wait 24h before you can use it.
Functionality
Operation and functionality of the platform feels very natural and notification and posts flow is on par with other social networks. Average user enjoys the privileges of the following options:
– Murmur. Public message consisted of 256 characters maximum, fully broadcasted on the EOS blockchain
– Yell. Sharing other user’s Murmur turns into a “Yell”.
– Snoop. A synonym for liking or upvoting quality content is also known as Snooping. The only difference that Murmur offers is that every Snoop is anonymous, and the creator can never know who “snooped”.
– Whisper. Encrypted private messages between you and your peers.
Utilizing rewards
The tokenomics of the project vividly elaborates on the different metrics related to the rewards, its types, and applications, but also pinpoints on their pool split-up.
These 4 actions (post, share, comment, and like) are the methods through users obtain different MUR rewards. As soon as you have stockpiled enough MUR tokens, you will be able to exchange them other services on Murmur such as Ads, Polls and Games.
Tweaking points
There are currently only iOS and Android versions of the platform, whilst desktop version is not even planned for future release. Social Networks are indeed mostly accessed phone-wise; however desktop users are still there.
The sign-up process requires private key for successful registration. (private key being a username substitution) Changing this step into a normal EOS signup, and push this step further down the road just before a user attempts to make an action, thus allowing users to check the platform beforehand, would attract more people and secure them that the private key they provided is not in vain.
Coda
If 2017 and the first quarter of 2018 has been a period of ICO boom, than 2018 and 2019 are, and going to be, periods of great dApp expansion. The social dApps that we observed and analyzed are still in their beta phases, and are yet to capture the attention of their future users. Utilizing different functions, blockchains, and strategies, they aim to reward the quality content that is abundant in the industry. Content creators and influencers can connect with their audience very easily and finally get the attention in addition to the appreciation.
If you had some other Social dApp in mind, please let us know and we will make sure to take a look at them and check their platform. On the other hand, if you’d like us to take a look at the other industries other than Social sphere, get back to us, and we will join forces.
About CoinPoint:
CoinPoint is a premium marketing agency, founded in 2013, working with all scale businesses — from startups, presenting their businesses on a global level, to multinational companies looking for digital transformation & blockchain adoption. The agency stays on top by providing the best services and solutions to its clients around the world.
For interviews or other media inquiries: media@coinpoint.net
Website: https://www.coinpoint.net/
Telegram: https://t.me/CoinPoint_Agency
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coinpoint/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/coinpointnet
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coinpoint/
