Not a Replacement for Web2 Products, Nor Social to Earn: Where Lies the Opportunity for Web3 Social?
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Not a Replacement for Web2 Products, Nor Social to Earn: Where Lies the Opportunity for Web3 Social?
Discussion on Web3 social赛道 regarding scenarios, token mechanisms, and product forms.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Mtyl
I. Overview of the Current State of Web3 Social Development
1.1 What is Web3 Social?
The Web3 social sector can be broadly understood as an umbrella term for all Web3 products related to social interaction—a broad yet intuitive concept. In technical terms, these products operate on public blockchains and exhibit stronger decentralization in data storage and operational management compared to their Web2 counterparts; they often issue tokens or NFTs. From a "social" perspective, any application featuring social interaction falls within this category, which is why many creator economy-related products are also included.
At this point, it's worth mentioning another closely related concept: "SocialFi." Originating alongside the rise of DeFi and GameFi, SocialFi initially described projects with strong financialization features and a focus on token mechanism design. However, over time, the term has been broadened and is now often used interchangeably with Web3 social projects — after all, Web3 social projects inherently possess advantages in financialization due to their on-chain user data, user relationships, and integrated token economies.
Web3 social remains a nascent field. While numerous projects continue to emerge across the landscape, by June 2022, the sector still had not produced a clear market leader with over a million monthly active users (MAU), such as Axie Infinity or StepN during their peaks. This is deeply telling — especially considering that whenever crypto markets enter a bull run, related concepts resurface and gain temporary popularity; let alone achieving widespread adoption among Web3 users. Projects like Bibao (BiHu), Steemit from the last cycle, or more recently Bitclout and Monaco, have all proven to be short-lived phenomena.
Due to the lack of dominant players, the early developmental stage of most projects, and the broad definition of "social," the Web3 social space is highly fragmented. Therefore, rather than attempting a systematic overview of the entire sector, this article focuses on discussing key issues: use cases, token mechanisms, and product models.
Web3 social is frequently discussed yet remains in its infancy — a fact that warrants deeper reflection:
II. Use Cases: What User Needs Can Web3 Social Actually Fulfill?
Web3 social emerged from dissatisfaction with Web2 social platforms. Common criticisms of Web2 social products include:
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Data Ownership Issues: User data and creator content are treated as part of a company’s “data assets” or “data moats,” infringing on user rights and leaving users powerless against platform moderation decisions. For example, if Weibo, Zhihu, or Twitter bans your account, you not only lose access to your content and followers but may also have no effective appeal process — creating significant insecurity for users.
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Data Privacy Concerns: All data is stored in centralized databases managed by company employees, posing risks of data breaches and unauthorized data sales — incidents that have become all too common.
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Revenue Distribution Imbalance: Platforms typically take high cuts from user payments and tips to creators. Moreover, while platforms monetize creator-generated traffic through ads, only a small fraction of that revenue reaches the creators themselves.
Indeed, these problems are real. But more importantly, addressing them does not directly translate into improved user experience. Data ownership and privacy concerns matter to users; revenue distribution matters to creators. Yet if users join a new platform and find its features incomplete or uninnovative, with few other users (a common early-stage challenge), retention becomes extremely difficult.
In practice, Web3 social applications have not delivered revolutionary improvements in actual user experience compared to existing Web2 solutions. As a result, the “Web3” label alone cannot drive the critical early growth or network effects essential for social products. Considering the additional cognitive and operational barriers Web3 presents to mainstream users, initial adoption is limited to active Web3 participants — further complicating product traction.
From this perspective, simply replicating mature Web2 social products in the Web3 world — especially those already widely used by Web3 audiences — is unlikely to succeed. Take Bitclout, popular in early 2021 as a so-called “Web3 Twitter.” Mature social platforms benefit from powerful network effects: not only are they hard to displace, but even if users temporarily migrate, they quickly return once they realize the new platform fails to meet their needs — making re-engagement nearly impossible. Relying solely on Web3 buzzwords and critiques of Web2 shortcomings may attract some Web3 users initially, but cannot sustain long-term success. In fact, almost every Web3 social project aiming to replace or replicate established Web2 platforms has ultimately failed.
This analysis applies not just to Web3 social, but to nearly all Web3 application-layer sectors characterized by strong network effects. Many readers might wonder: despite years of development, why is the Web3 application layer still so primitive, with few non-financial hits? The above reasoning aims to shed light on this puzzle.
So where might opportunities exist for Web3 social?
Even in Web2, launching a successful new social product requires identifying a novel use case to differentiate from incumbents. The same holds true for Web3. Below are two potential directions worth exploring:
2.1 Community Chat Tools for DAOs/Communities (Discord Alternatives)
What social media do Web3 users currently rely on? The big three: Twitter, Telegram, and Discord. Among them, Discord occupies a unique position. Originally designed for gamers, Discord had far less penetration and recognition in the broader Web2 landscape compared to Twitter or Telegram. However, amid the pandemic and the rise of Web3, its user base surged, with countless Web3 interest groups forming servers. Over time, this became standard practice — new Web3 projects followed precedent and adopted Discord as their primary community management and communication tool due to habit and the absence of better alternatives.
Yet widespread usage doesn’t mean Discord is well-suited for Web3. It is fundamentally a Web2 product — centralized in both data storage and moderation. Security incidents occur regularly; notably, on June 5, BAYC’s Discord server was hacked, resulting in the theft of NFTs worth 200 ETH. Co-founder Gordon Goner tweeted, "Discord isn't suitable for Web3 communities — we need a better platform that prioritizes security." Furthermore, while Discord offers solid functionality, there remains considerable room for improvement specifically tailored to Web3 users’ needs.
When viewed narrowly as a community chat tool, Discord exhibits weaker network effects compared to Twitter’s microblogging network or Telegram’s group messaging. Users don’t build friend graphs or follow networks on Discord — engagement is largely driven by following project teams or core community members. If these leaders move to a new platform, most users will follow. Thus, developing a Web3-native community chat tool to replace Discord’s current role appears feasible, and several early-stage projects in this space have already emerged in the primary market.
2.2 Small, Niche New Social Use Cases
Since launching new social products in large, mature categories is extremely challenging, Web3 social could instead explore niche areas lacking effective Web2 solutions. Ideally, these should be native Web3 use cases. Even when competing with Web2 alternatives, Web3 social apps can differentiate themselves early on through unique economic models and greater respect for user data ownership.
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For example, Chiliz focuses on fan economies in sports. $CHZ is the native token of Socios, a blockchain-based fan engagement platform. Socios has partnered with 48 clubs and organizations, including AC Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona, PSG, and Juventus, issuing fan tokens. Users purchase club-specific fan tokens using CHZ. Holding these tokens grants voting rights on club matters such as jersey designs, stadium music, logos, friendly matches, charity lineups, and entrance songs — decisions that are binding and enhance fan participation.
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$CHZ currently has a circulating market cap exceeding $500 million, ranking #65 on CoinMarketCap — one of the more successful projects in the Web3 social space to date.
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Another example is Showme, a Web3-based NFT-powered subscription social platform focused on sharing and subscribing to Web3-related content — similar in scope to “Knowledge Planet.” Creators can attract and grow followers via flexible subscription models: free, paid, NFT-holding, or token-based access. Core features include subscriptions and PONA (Proof of NFT Achievements).
Building a Web3 version of “Knowledge Planet” is a viable direction, particularly because it involves relatively weak network effects and centers around creators rather than platforms. This path may yield promising projects worth watching.
III. Token Mechanisms: Social Use Cases Are Unsuitable for X-to-Earn; More Exploration Is Needed
With the rise of the SocialFi narrative, the role of tokens in social applications has sparked debate. Faced with the challenge of early user growth, some suggest importing DeFi and GameFi mechanics like mining and “To Earn” models into social contexts — after all, Axie and later StepN achieved breakout success through such methods. Consequently, numerous projects promoting “Social to Earn,” “Create to Earn,” “social mining,” or “content mining” have appeared.
However, without exception, these projects have all declined. The root cause lies in the fact that social interactions are poorly suited as the “X” in “X-to-Earn”: evaluation relies heavily on peer feedback, leading to limited early incentives and difficulty designing anti-cheating systems. Even if initial traction is achieved, an influx of profit-driven “gold farmers” damages the authentic social atmosphere and degrades user experience.
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