Produce：@Buidler DAO
Author：@Jane
Editor：@createpjf
Note: The article represents personal opinions and does not constitute any investment advice.
Table of Contents
1.0/ Introduction
2.0/ Background of DeSoc
3.0/ Protocol Design of CyberConnect
3.1/ Social Graph Design
3.2/ The Potential Focus Areas for the Future of the Protocol
4.0/ Protocol Growth Strategy
4.1/ First-Party Products
4.2/ Ecosystem Building
5.0/ Summary
6.0/ In Comparison With Other Protocols
7.0/ Future Development of CyberConnect
8.0/ Looking Ahead At The Web3 Social Landscape With CyberConnect
Introduction
CyberConnect was founded in 2021 with the aim of exploring the various possibilities of Web3 social interactions. Its main development focuses on the protocol layer and the application layer. As the first decentralized multi-chain deployed social graph protocol, it has built a core account system centered around CyberProfile, which serves as a passport for users in the Web3 world. CyberProfile records users' multidimensional data, including assets, content, social relationships, on-chain activities, and stores them in a decentralized manner. With the multidimensional data it possesses, CyberConnect can provide users with native Web3 friend and content recommendations, enabling the discovery of new social relationships. Its self-built product, Link3, serves as a verifiable identity social platform and community network, attracting a large number of Web3 native users and helping the protocol user base grow to nearly a million. Additionally, its upcoming account-based wallet, CyberWallet, aims to enhance the usability of Web3 social interactions and is the key focus.
At the ecosystem level, CyberConnect has already formed a preliminary ecosystem consisting of over 50 applications spanning various categories such as social, metaverse, NFTs, games, content, and tools. It attracts developers through ecosystem empowerment and other means to collectively build and improve the protocol, exploring new social experiences.
Currently, CyberProfile has over 900,000+ minted profiles. In March 2023, the protocol achieved its highest monthly active users, exceeding 730,000, with 94% of them being CyberProfile holders. CyberConnect is currently the largest Web3 social network globally.
Link3 has gathered over 2,100 organizations, including BNB Chain, CoinMarketCap, Zerion, Galxe, 1inch, Messari, and over 7,800 events have been held on the platform. Regarding users, in March, Link3 had approximately 670,000 monthly active users and around 67,000 daily active users, with a DAU/MAU ratio of approximately 10%.
The founding team of CyberConnect consists of serial entrepreneurs who previously founded DLive, a decentralized blockchain-based live-streaming company, and Lino, a blockchain project. In 2019, they were fully acquired by BitTorrent. In the past, CyberConnect has raised a total of $25 million in funding through two rounds, with investments from notable institutions such as Multicoin Capital, Sky9 Capital, and Animoca Brands.
This article explores the team's approach to Web3 Social interactions from various aspects, including the architecture design of the CyberConnect protocol, strategies for advancing the protocol, and its future development. By comparing it with other social protocol design approaches, we can gain insights into the differences in design philosophies among different teams. Furthermore, we have gained a deeper understanding of the composability brought by data sovereignty and the various novel forms of social interactions derived from it. CyberConnect has envisioned "Connecting Everyone in Web3" and has recently further iterated its vision to "On-Chain Friends Last Forever.CyberConnect envisions a world where users have ultimate control over their digital lives and identities, and meaningful, long-lasting connections aren’t decided by centralized or biased tech.”The underlying essence conveyed is that we collectively anticipate Web3 solutions that make connections more free, efficient, and meaningful, and bring new social experiences.
Background of DeSoc:
In Web2, social products were regarded as the jewels in the crown of the Internet due to their network effects and the enormous value they derived. However, due to the closed nature of the networks, the market landscape was often dominated by monopolies. Leading products tightly controlled the flow of traffic and distribution rights, constantly optimizing their recommendation engines based on exclusive data, effectively "locking" users within their platform islands. Due to their dominant position, the companies behind these leading products were able to capture a significant portion of the profits.
A significant difference in Web3 is the decoupling of the data layer from the application layer, allowing for separate construction of these layers. When these two critical elements of the value chain are separated, the economic benefits are redistributed, leading to substantial impacts on business choices and judgments.
The changes in the data layer come from two aspects. First, data is owned by users, enabling them to transcend platform restrictions and carry their data assets with them, to some extent, referred to as user-portable data assets. Second, a large amount of public data has been generated, breaking down the data silos, and anyone can use this data for historical retrieval and interpretation. Once this data is unleashed, it opens up infinite possibilities for combinations and gives rise to new social opportunities, such as cross-platform identity systems like DID (Decentralized Identifiers), and dedicated data aggregation, processing, and applications to explore the relationships between identity, content, and data. The protocols behind identity and content systems can theoretically connect with an infinite number of terminal dApps and share in the reasonable profits within the value chain.
At the application layer, how do we define the stage DeSoc (Decentralized Social) is currently in? The answer may vary depending on our goals. If we define it based on the adoption of NFTs or wallets, it may happen relatively quickly. For example, Twitter has already incorporated NFT blue checkmarks into its product, which is also a representation of Web2 platforms attempting to integrate and embrace Web3. However, to truly achieve the envisioned native Web3 large-scale social platform, there may still be a long way to go. One of the current realities is the inadequate and immature infrastructure, resulting in friction in processes such as user login (wallet) and usage (gas fees), making it challenging to attract a significant user base. The TPS (Transactions Per Second) that the blockchain itself can handle is also challenged in social scenarios. These issues are being addressed and improved over time.
Privacy is particularly noteworthy. With the development of technologies such as ZK (Zero-Knowledge), Web3 social interactions allow users to protect their privacy and assert ownership over their social data and identities while effectively verifying their identity. Based on this, new social gameplay possibilities may even emerge. Additionally, due to the decoupling of the data layer and the application layer, social interactions are no longer limited to social applications. Social relationships can be invoked by any frontend product and applied in multiple scenarios, becoming a kind of infrastructure—the social layer of the entire Internet. From this perspective, social interactions define the sociability of individuals, not just a portion of social behaviour, as Karl Marx said, "Man is the sum of all social relations." As a result, we can break free from the social media-centric scenes emphasized by Web2 and reconstruct experiences based on social relationships in multi-scenario environments. These are the beautiful aspects of Web3 Social.
Considering the current situation and the ultimate vision, what can be done now to gradually accumulate a profound understanding of DeSoc while gaining real feedback to continuously calibrate our direction of action? We believe that CyberConnect has proposed an elegant solution. In the following sections, we will analyze the growth logic of CyberConnect from two main perspectives: protocol architecture and ecosystem development. The protocol lowers the barriers for application launches and assists applications within the ecosystem in achieving initial growth, while the applications, in turn, contribute to the iterative development of the protocol, resulting in a good synergy between the two.
Protocol Design of CyberConnect
The following diagram illustrates the architecture design of CyberConnect. In its identity system and adopted data storage solutions, we can perceive the team's balance between ideology and pragmatism in the context of social scenarios.
Social Graph Design
Identity, Subscription, and Content Relationships
CyberConnect has built an identity system based on the ERC-721 standard, with CyberProfile at its core. CyberProfile not only stores users' basic information but also associates their content and social relationships, accumulating a rich understanding of users from multiple dimensions. It serves as the foundation of users' identity in Web3. Applications within the ecosystem that integrate with CyberConnect can directly use CyberProfile as their account system. The advantage of having a unified identity system is that the friend relationships accumulated by users across different applications can be interconnected, allowing developers to effectively leverage these social connections during cold starts. For users, their friend relationships become their own assets, eliminating the need to rebuild connections, which is particularly beneficial for creators.
To construct a complete social graph and interest graph, in addition to identity NFTs, CyberConnect's design also includes SubscribeNFT (representing one-way relationships between wallet addresses and CyberProfiles) and EssenceNFT (which can represent any type of content created by CyberProfiles, such as social media posts, videos, etc.), representing subscription relationships between people and people, and relationships between people and entities. With the help of middleware, developers can create more customized NFT designs for specific scenarios:
Although smart contracts offer programmability and interoperability advantages, they may not always be the optimal solution for specialized social scenarios. When a large number of high-frequency social interactions occur, there are challenges both in terms of blockchain performance and user experience. If users need to repeatedly sign and pay gas fees, their experience will be greatly compromised. Considering user experience and scalability, CyberConnect adopts a hybrid approach: in addition to smart contract interactions, it also provides a scalable storage component called Scalable Storage Modules (SSM) for developers to choose from. In the SSM, actions such as following/liking, and posting/commenting are not presented in the form of NFTs and do not require on-chain interactions, significantly reducing user friction.
Storage, Multi-Chain Deployment, and Indexing
Once a large amount of social data is generated, the next question is how to store it in a way that ensures data sovereignty and scalability. In the current design of CyberConnect, the Arweave + Bundlr solution is used. It provides relay services to package and upload user actions to decentralized storage. Arweave is currently capable of processing over 2 million transactions per day, and the Bundlr packaging and upload solution has increased transaction throughput by nearly a hundredfold. Furthermore, compared to on-chain storage, these solutions significantly reduce costs. For example, storing 1 million relationship data on Arweave costs only 16 AR (~$160). These two aspects provide excellent infrastructure groundwork for the large-scale adoption of social applications.
However, simply uploading data to decentralized servers is not enough. To prevent centralized servers from behaving maliciously and truly achieve data sovereignty and censorship resistance, the SSM design requires users to sign in with their private keys when interacting with products within the CyberConnect ecosystem for the first time (ensuring that only the user can write data). Additionally, to ensure the security of frequent writes and updates to the SSM, the team has designed a mechanism where the SSM creates a new hash-linked list called "operation logs" for each part of the proof data during the first transaction. Each operation on the state appends new states to the end of the operation logs. The newly generated states are temporarily stored on centralized servers until the tail of the operation logs is packaged and uploaded to Arweave. Anyone else can access the latest state and verify the integrity of the data.
On the public chain side, CyberConnect adopts a multi-chain deployment strategy and is currently deployed on BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum. Although multi-chain deployment increases complexity, it maximizes the aggregation of user communities and ecosystem resources from different chains, thus expanding the breadth of protocol data sources. At the same time, CyberConnect has not chosen to build its own L1 (Layer 1) solution, likely considering the necessity and the level of user and developer friendliness. The BNB public chain, with which CyberConnect has a deep strategic partnership, has relative advantages in terms of scalability. The upcoming BNB Greenfield is also expected to bring more scalable storage solutions, aligning well with CyberConnect's focus on social scenarios. Meanwhile, CyberConnect is also working on upgrading its protocol to expand to other public chain ecosystems.
Based on the collected data, indexing and recommendation play a crucial role in achieving composability and developer usability. Currently, CyberConnect provides on-chain indexing of NFTs and tokens for developers, and it is expected that in the future, it may collaborate with third parties to build a comprehensive indexing system. In terms of recommendations, CyberConnect has shared some of its thoughts. After all, to truly give meaning and value to the data, making good recommendations is a way to interpret the data. CyberConnect's exploration of recommendations aims to build Web3-native social relationships rather than simply migrating existing social relationships.
Taking an article about NFT recommendation mechanisms provided by the official as an example, the main logic is to recommend other addresses (people) based on similar NFT transaction histories and recommend similar ERC-721 tokens based on the NFT transaction records in the user's address. When calculating similarity, the trading place of the NFT can also be considered to increase the weighting for more refined recommendations. With the richness of existing data, if we can imagine new ways to establish connections between data, completely different recommendations can also be derived. For users, new and effective recommendations mean new experiences and connections.
We are still at the beginning of the transition from a centralized closed network to a decentralized user-centric network. In order to continuously move towards this north star, whether it's the technical architecture itself, decentralized and scalable storage, or the discovery and recommendation mechanisms for content and relationships, all aspects are in need of innovative exploration. However, through continuous experimentation and honest consideration of the feasibility of existing tools based on user needs, we should be able to find more optimal solutions for this phase and continuously create new possibilities.
The Potential Focus Areas for the Future of the Protocol
In the exploration of social protocols, CyberConnect has accumulated valuable experience. To further achieve reliability, usability, and the ultimate success of the protocol, there are some important milestones that need to be reached, such as:
1) Promoting widespread adoption of the account system
Given the network effects of the protocol, a protocol that can achieve widespread adoption will unleash infinite possibilities for value creation. To achieve this goal, reducing the entry barriers and addressing the usability of Web3 social interactions take the forefront. The core element for new users entering the Web3 space is the construction of an account system. In the following sections, we will mention CyberConnect's plan to launch CyberWallet, a product based on account abstraction. With CyberWallet, users can log in to their wallets using familiar methods from Web2, such as email or phone numbers. The wallet integrates with CyberProfile, ensuring that all user actions on the CyberConnect protocol are associated with their account. Furthermore, users who have a CyberConnect account can choose to settle gas fees incurred from operations in different networks using the CYBER token. This provides solid utility value for the token and promotes the healthy development of the entire ecosystem.
2) Accumulating Data of Depth, Breadth, and Diversity and Developing a Robust Indexing Ecosystem
CyberConnect has already accumulated a significant amount of data. However, to achieve the breadth and depth of data (at least in localized areas with sufficient density), it is crucial to establish linkages with a wide variety of real-world scenarios, including those with sufficient volume and frequency. Additionally, efforts should be made to enable data writing back to the application scenarios. This is essential to achieve comprehensive, timely, and highly relevant data at the data source level. Furthermore, improving the handling of social data and designing efficient data structures to enhance usability are ongoing requirements to increase the adoption of the protocol by developers. On another level, the more users there are, the more likely their established data standards will be widely adopted. This creates a cyclical breakthrough point.
In addition, the improvement of indexing and recommendation ecosystems is also a focus area to provide developers with a better experience. With the openness of the data layer, all developers can participate in indexing, which opens up possibilities for more data mining and the potential for new recommendations. The feasibility of establishing new, previously hidden social relationships is one of the crucial values in Web3 social interactions. New connections, as well as the intersections with existing connections, can generate unexpected incremental value. It's somewhat like the opening of a new road, where the circulation between points becomes smoother, thus stimulating the generation of new energy (wealth).
3) Enhancing Data Privacy
Privacy is a matter that directly affects the interests of users, and ensuring users can use the platform securely and confidently is an essential aspect of the overall experience. Ideally, there should be a permission management system where users can manage their privacy-related permissions and selectively grant authorization to applications as needed. Currently, CyberConnect has not publicly disclosed its specific plans in this area but has mentioned that there is a distinction in data sensitivity, and the focus is currently on supporting non-sensitive data as a pragmatic choice to prioritize development. With the maturity of technologies like Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZK) and the further development of the CyberConnect protocol itself, it is expected that privacy solutions aligned with its specific use cases will be proposed.
In addition to privacy protection, if users can engage in meaningful interactions while maintaining their personal privacy, it may lead to new social gameplay based on incomplete information games (as seen in on-chain games like "The Dark Forest"). Users' social experiences may become more multidimensional and subtle. If personal information is completely transparent and publicly available, overly explicit social interactions may lose a certain aesthetic appeal and immersive experience.
Privacy and permission management are foundational elements in Web3 social interactions. Having these features embedded at a lower level within the social protocol layer helps avoid reinventing the wheel. The protocol should continue to enhance its privacy framework in line with the development stages of the ecosystem. As mentioned earlier, this may provide possibilities for new social experiences. However, the privacy experience also depends on the user-friendliness of the product design, which means dApp builders can creatively explore various scenarios to enhance the user experience.
Protocol Growth Strategy
A protocol serves as the backbone, and having a well-designed protocol architecture is just the first step. The true opening of the protocol's ecosystem and driving its iteration only happens when real-world data efficiently circulate within it. How to achieve broader adoption of the protocol is a question that every protocol designer needs to consider. While the protocol itself can be copied and referenced, the understanding accumulated through interactions with real-world scenarios, the handling of the relationship between the protocol and dApps, and the trade-offs in protocol architecture design — are the sources of the protocol's true vitality. To unlock the supply side, it is not enough to focus solely on protocol design; it is also crucial to identify sufficient points of value creation from the demand-side scenarios.
CyberConnect understands this well and continuously refines real-world use cases. Its main strategies for advancement can be divided into two parts: developing first-party products to gauge user feedback and building an ecosystem to connect with more developers in exploring the protocol together.
First-Party Products
CyberConnect serves as both the builder of the protocol and the developer of applications using the protocol. Being part of over 50 ecosystem projects allows CyberConnect to explore and iterate on the protocol more quickly, while also attracting other developers to join.
In May 2022, CyberConnect's team launched Link3, a Web3 social product based on verifiable identities. It received very positive feedback upon its release and directly contributed to the increase in CyberConnect's protocol users from hundreds of thousands to nearly millions. This explosive growth is a testament to the product finding a certain product-market fit. Subsequently, through iterative enhancements, Link3 further strengthened its stickiness for both users on the B-side and C-side. Link3 is currently the largest AMA platform in the Web3 space.
Specifically, Link3 starts with identity construction and establishes connections between parties based on high-frequency community and user interaction scenarios, such as AMA events. Since the organizing party is verified, and the interaction takes place within a specific context, the social relationships developed have a strong sense of authenticity. Additionally, the organizing party can distribute SBT (Social Bonds Token) to users according to certain rules. Besides serving as authentication for user behaviour, this also represents a transfer of trust from the project to the individual. The clever aspect is that if a user with SBT certifies the trustworthiness of other users, this process can be repeated indefinitely, allowing trust, an intangible concept, to quickly spread throughout the entire social network. Through the establishment of meaningful social relationships in specific contexts, Link3 builds a layer of trust networks.
Furthermore, CyberConnect recently announced its plan to launch the CyberWallet, a smart contract wallet. The wallet reduces the entry barriers for new users and further expands the touchpoints for the protocol to onboard mainstream users. For users, this means they can easily have an identity account to enter the Web3 world and engage in daily high-frequency interactions, freely navigating the Web3 realm. It is expected that CyberConnect will make further developments in identity and traffic entry points through various means, exploring novel Web3 native experiences based on the feasibility provided by the protocol.
First-party products play an important role in the cold start of the protocol and its continuous improvement, setting a good example for developers interested in joining the ecosystem. The underlying idea is that for the CyberProfile identity system and the underlying protocol to be adopted by more users, the best approach is to find useful exits for this identity. Users are not specifically drawn to register an identity but rather are attracted by the experiences they can gain from having this identity. With this level of appeal, the difficulties and obstacles in establishing identity are minimized at a psychological level. Combined with the iterative improvements of the wallet, the friction of login is reduced, resulting in a smoother overall experience. As users accumulate more experiences under this identity, the identity will carry more genuine meaning, trusted relationships, and greater expansibility.
Product Feature Timeline of Link3
1) Verifiable Identity (Profiles)
The first feature of Link3 is the establishment of verifiable identities. Organizations and individuals can create their all-in-one link homepage, showcasing their relationships, content, assets, qualifications, and other on-chain activities. When other users click on their links, they can ensure that they are harmless and official links. Considering the significant presence of fake links on platforms like Twitter and Discord and the potential asset and identity theft they can cause, trust and security are genuine pain points for Web3 users. Therefore, Link3 is not just a simple counterpart to Linktree, but it has practical significance within the Web3 space. The establishment of identity can also be seen as an important step in the development of Web3 social interactions.
In terms of operational strategy, Link3 initially adopted an invitation system for individual users, primarily providing whitelist access to reputable organizations and KOLs (currently open to all individuals). The choice to start with prominent nodes may be based on leveraging existing social relationships to build initial trust. Prominent nodes often carry the most extensive social reach, and their high potential can help increase the trust of ordinary users and motivate them to establish their identity on Link3, thus gradually transmitting trust within the network. Trust is fragile, and building it requires ongoing effort and is scarce. It can be anticipated that this approach will help address many practical security risks, such as phishing prevention and protecting users' asset security. The value generated by the strong connections between trusted nodes holds even more promise for network effects. (Note: KOL stands for Key Opinion Leader, referring to influential individuals in certain communities or industries.)
2) Event Calendar (Events)
The event calendar is the second important product feature launched on Link3. For project owners, it allows them to organize events, analyze data, reward users, and distribute SBT (Web3 Status Token) on the platform, thereby promoting community engagement and facilitating smooth communication with the community, leading to better mutual understanding. Ordinary users, they can explore and interact with projects they are interested in on the platform. When users meet certain interaction conditions (such as participation time), they can receive W3ST (Web3 Status Token) granted by the organization. W3ST has a wide range of applications, such as indicating user roles, qualifications certification, providing proof of event participation, etc. Moreover, since it is linked to CyberProfile and not limited to a single platform, it means that in addition to general information, user interests and behavioural information are further collected, enriching the user profile dimensions. This also helps CyberConnect's recommendation engine to make better suggestions.
With the help of the event calendar, Link3 directly taps into the native high-frequency Web3 scene of AMA (Ask Me Anything), which greatly contributes to building user habits and stickiness. This interactive tool also strengthens the cohesion with the business side (B-side). A new feature can activate both the B-side and the C-side, and as a two-sided platform, the accumulated B-side and C-side can mutually enhance their attractiveness to each other. It must be said that this is a brilliant move.
3) Posts
Posts is a feature newly launched on Link3 in March, allowing users to explore different users, events, and content in a complete manner. It is a natural extension and an important step for Link3 to further enhance its community interaction and communication functions. Currently, posts are mainly in the form of long articles, but it can be imagined that Link3 may support different forms of content and provide recommendation distribution in the future.
In addition, based on the protocol design of CyberConnect, users can collect published articles in the form of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). Due to the flexible design of the middleware, the poster can make further designs during the collection process. For example, in an article published by Link3 in March, it required a small test to be conducted before collecting the article. The number of NFTs is usually limited, which can serve as clear proof of user engagement in the future. Compared to some long-form tools in the market, Link3 Posts, based on the CyberConnect protocol, also has native social features such as commenting, liking, and following.
4) FanClub
Another major feature launched in March is the FanClub functionality. Similar to airline loyalty programs, users can accumulate FanPoints (FP) through different actions.
Currently, the most important way to earn points is by participating in protocol interactions, including engaging in social media interactions and directing traffic to applications within the ecosystem. The design of the points system is aimed at establishing a set of long-term interaction rules that, if designed appropriately, are expected to be beneficial for user retention and engagement. This feature is currently only being used by the official CyberConnect, but it is expected to gradually open up to more organizations and individuals once the feature details and point system design become more mature.
When we look at W3ST and the FanClub together, both are value systems constructed by the organizers, rewarding behaviours they consider valuable (in terms of reputation/economy), and guiding the community's efforts in the desired direction. The difference lies in that W3ST is currently limited to participating in specific events, with a relatively limited scope and significance, while the rules and design of the FanClub are very standard and quantifiable, making it more universal and long-term oriented. It also guides users to have continuous interactions with the protocol, emphasizing a long-term perspective. In the process of co-building with users, the relationship between the organization and the user deepens. Users' roles in the community can be defined through their participation behaviours, giving their identities a vivid meaning.
Extension of The Link3 Discussion
1) Future Development of Link3
Looking at the iterative development of Link3's product features, it can be seen that it has been progressing steadily, and its positioning has gradually become more comprehensive (identity, traffic, content, interaction). Based on its current foundation, there are many potential possibilities for its future development, such as:
a) The introduction of the Posts feature has integrated content into the ecosystem, and the next step could be further development towards social media. Recently, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of articles on the Link3 platform.
b) By combining existing organizations and verified identities, content-based discussions can be used to build forums, and on this basis, DAOs can be established.
c) The essence of the FanClub is an attempt to build a loyalty system. By considering the comprehensive on-chain and off-chain behaviours, it aims to reward users who have made genuine contributions. The relationship between the B-side (organizations/creators) and the C-side is no longer a one-way output, but a community where both sides interact through rules and share benefits. The key element here is how to use the design of the economic system to truly facilitate the building of relationships. Different organizations will eventually adapt to different incentive systems to attract different audiences. The audience will also reshape the community's atmosphere and influence reward rules, resulting in dynamic interaction and collaboration between both sides.
d) By combining the existing identity, calendar, and post features, for organizations or creators, content, interaction, and monetization can all take place on the same platform. Compared to simply distributing social tokens, the fan experience will be more seamless and integrated. Based on this, Link3 can further develop and refine its community management and operational tools, such as fan data dashboards, user segmentation systems, etc. This will make its value to the B-side more comprehensive and is expected to consolidate the core value and data of the community.
From this, it can be seen that there is still a lot of unexplored space for Link3. In the medium to short term, Link3 is expected to be a crucial focal point for CyberConnect. Moreover, if a particular feature receives unexpectedly positive feedback, it may also be spun off as an independent entity.
2) Inspiration from Link3 for Web3 Social
Unlike many Twitter-like products, Link3 has chosen to enter high-frequency scenarios in Web3 that have real demand and has found its value proposition by providing incremental value through tools. This raises a discussion about whether posting and being able to permanently store content on the blockchain, as well as the censorship-resistant advantages of Web3 Twitter, are truly pain points for ordinary users. The tendency is to believe that, given that the interaction format remains unchanged, it is difficult to make positive breakthroughs in places where the Web2 experience is already good. If decentralized elements like blockchain are forcibly added to areas where the experience is already good, it may only bring partial value to a niche audience in the long term. On the contrary, finding the points that users have no choice but to use, points that cannot be achieved by products in the previous Web2 design system, can potentially lead to real incremental value through localized scenarios or advantages.
Link3 has established a native and trusted social relationship in Web3 by exploring specific scenarios. By combining gameplay with NFTs, such as paid collections, distinctions can be made in the depth of social relationships, and it may also change the existing creator economy's chain of interests. Although its exploration and practice are less than a year old, to some extent, it gives us confidence - at least in certain scenarios, Web3 social has the potential to create meaningful usage beyond ideological differences.
CyberWallet
In the recently published Litepaper, CyberConnect introduced the CyberWallet, an intelligent wallet based on account abstraction that has made improvements in login experience and gas cost savings. Particularly noteworthy is the integration of the wallet with CyberProfile, allowing wallet users to engage in social behaviours such as distributing SBT and sending end-to-end encrypted messages. However, considering that wallets are a prime target for attacks, CyberWallet incorporates security screening tools that issue warnings when users interact with external fraudulent protocols.
To cater to the different needs of users, CyberConnect has proposed two versions of the wallet:
Social Edition: The Social Edition wallet focuses on usability and lowers the barrier to entry for users, meeting the needs of the majority of Web2 users. Through multi-signature calculations, users can log into the wallet using Web2 login methods such as email, phone, or Twitter, and quickly recover their social connections.
Pro Edition: The Pro Edition wallet emphasizes security and is suitable for experienced Web3 users who want to manage their wallets in a fully non-custodial manner. It supports users in migrating their existing MetaMask-like wallets to the CyberConnect wallet with a single click. Owners of the Social Edition wallet can choose to upgrade to the Pro Edition. Additionally, the wallet integrates with DeFi protocols and provides embedded strategies to assist users in managing their positions, supporting complex accounts and asset management.
From the design of the wallet, we can see CyberConnect's ambition to onboard more users into Web3 and serve as an entry point. The more convenient account creation methods and universal identity system may open up a journey of large-scale user adoption. Furthermore, drawing on the success of WeChat Pay in penetrating the majority of internet users in 2014 and 2015 through red envelope promotions, asset integration with social features could give rise to application scenarios beyond our imagination. For example, simplified login methods and social scenarios like friend-to-friend red envelope campaigns could be realized with shorter chains, greatly improving user acquisition efficiency. Throughout the entire usage process, gas fees can be paid with CyberConnect tokens.
However, as wallets serve as crucial entry points for user traffic, they have always been fiercely competitive. It is worth looking forward to how CyberConnect will leverage its social ecosystem to implement differentiated wallet user acquisition and retention strategies, and continuously deliver new users to the ecosystem after a certain stage.
Ecosystem Building
Currently, CyberConnect has over 50 products in its ecosystem, distributed across multiple categories such as metaverse, content, community tools, games, and more. Here are some selected projects:
By integrating with CyberProfile, developers can focus on building their expertise in front-end scenarios and explore new content products and social experiences without the need to duplicate the construction and storage of social relationships. At the same time, the specific demands of developers in different scenarios can provide iterative ideas for the protocol, which currently prioritizes addressing general needs. This division of labour and collaboration between the two parties is a new possibility unlocked after decoupling the data layer from the application layer. Separating the scenarios and data layer also means that the data layer can leverage the richer understanding of users accumulated by multiple dApps to empower all other scenarios. This can significantly reduce the cold start difficulty for a new dApp. Moreover, if an application can fully utilize the hidden social relationships unearthed by the protocol, new relationships combined with new and old scenarios can potentially provide users with a completely new experience, as people are paramount in social interactions. There are many new possibilities worth exploring.
From the existing applications within the ecosystem, we have seen some interesting integrations with the CyberConnect protocol, such as:
Oasis: Oasis is a metaverse social product with over tens of millions of registered users, supporting a wide range of social activities (watching sports events, concerts, board games, etc.). After integrating with CyberProfile in its on-chain version, Oasis automatically integrates users' on-chain friend relationships and airdrops them to a space called "Link3 Space." In this space, users can showcase their on-chain assets and the content of other Link Pages, and their friends can visit and engage in token and NFT transactions.
By placing asset owners and transaction participants within a social space, CyberProfile injects real meaning into the interactions, and the space begins to take on vitality defined by the people and behaviours it attracts. The possibilities of new interactions, transaction behaviours, and social relationships are the essence of Oasis in its on-chain version.
In the future, Oasis plans to introduce AI-powered NFTs, integrate the latest GPT API, and support the creation of exclusive AI personalities. Users who own NFTs can engage in richer social activities. The combination of on-chain identity, NFTs, and AI may unlock entirely new experiences, which is an exciting landscape to anticipate. Additionally, interacting with AI may change the way data is collected and the dimensions of the data, which will also impact the graph layer.
Plato: Plato is built around offline dining scenarios, rewarding users who create and share dining experiences with tokens and badges. Both tokens and badges are tradable, and users share the marketing expenses paid by restaurants. By integrating with CyberConnect, users can create a CyberProfile and use the follow and like features. Although the functionalities used are very simple, there is significant potential to explore within the dining scene. Good food naturally fosters connections between people, and if combined with token distribution and profit sharing, it may create new connections and incentives. For example, restaurants can selectively airdrop to targeted users they desire, issue POAPs, and reshape their marketing strategies. The integration of offline scenarios with on-chain identities presents an opportunity to address pain points in existing scenarios. Exploring points such as leveraging users' on-chain consumption behaviour to provide new recommendations for offline consumption (beyond relying on dining records or user relationships) and how the fungible nature of tokens can promote consumption are worth considering.
Dopamine: Regulatory compliance has always been a challenge in the financial sector. Dopamine App tackles this problem by leveraging blockchain technology, providing millions of users with decentralized and non-custodial wallets that comply with global anti-money laundering standards. By integrating the social graph from CyberConnect and Dopamine's anti-money laundering score, users can forge their Web3 identities and obtain badges through CyberConnect's Essences NFTs to authenticate their compliance level (A+ being excellent, C- being very poor). This means that any other Web3 projects can gain further insights into their users and communities by connecting with the wallet, enabling more effective identification of potential risks and enhancing the security of financial transactions within the ecosystem. The combination of social and anti-money laundering scenarios provides a novel and effective solution for financial compliance. One of the insights we gain is that combining social elements with different scenarios may unlock many new possibilities. We can freely envision potential collaborations on the front end and judge them based on whether they bring new effective solutions and incremental value.
Trend Exploration in Applications:
1) Social Relationships Emerging From Specific Scenarios:
The aforementioned examples, although in different fields, share a commonality of exploring genuine social needs within their respective contexts and creating new experiences based on the functionalities provided by the CyberConnect protocol. Similar to the Link3 concept, social relationships need to be established within specific scenarios, where interactions occur between people, and between people and objects, forming concrete relationships. Some exploration directions include the possibilities brought by unified identity and the liquidity of social assets, as well as how to integrate AI to create new experiences. However, despite having a growing toolbox at our disposal, it is crucial not to cling to outdated approaches but to start from first principles, truly considering the needs of users and utilizing these new tools to fulfil them.
2) From Individual-Centric to Social Modes:
In the past, most of the user interaction experiences in Web3 were individual-centric. For example, in the most common DeFi transactions or quest tasks, users simply followed steps and primarily interacted with their wallets. Unless driven by potential gains, the process itself had limited enjoyment. Considering that social interaction is inherent to human nature, it is possible to integrate social experiences more organically into specific scenarios, transforming individual tasks into multiplayer interactions. This trend is already emerging in the content creation field, where tools or applications facilitating multi-person collaboration are present throughout the entire content production, collaboration, value distribution, and post-release interaction process. Socialization does not necessarily equate to social media or social networks. More often, social relationships act as underlying veins, the foundation of human sociability, helping users make better connections and bringing more enjoyable experiences within specific contexts. Interactions create tension and the potential for viral growth.
Furthermore, the separation of the scene layer from the data layer implies that social data is not bound to traditional social media contexts. The abundance of interaction data accumulated through social scenarios can empower all other scenarios. This is where the unique value of a social protocol lies. It also means that the protocol, like an octopus, can theoretically extend its tentacles to an infinite number of touchpoints. Effectively leveraging this data for feedback and recommendations, as well as constructing user profiles, is an ongoing process of holistic optimization. If the social element can be utilized effectively, it may help Web3 and decentralized technologies attract a larger user base.
3) Unlocking New Possibilities Through Tokenization:
Tokenization is a significant differentiating factor in Web3 social interactions. Previous Web3 social platforms were often referred to as "SocialFi," where the focus was more on the financial attributes of "fi." As the industry evolves, developers are gradually realizing that "fi" can be a valuable lever, but it requires a solid foundation worth amplifying.
If we understand the token system as a design of incentive rules, there are important questions to explore in the context of human interactions. How can incentives be set within the environment of individuals and groups? How can fairness be achieved? How can fair rewards be given to those who contribute to the network, motivating them to continuously empower the platform? These are worthwhile topics to consider. Unlike other scenarios, social interactions often involve more dynamic and lively engagements, including incentive problems beyond individual dimensions and extending to group dynamics. Such incentive designs can spark innovation in business models and the reconstruction of value chains.
Thoughtfully designed token mechanisms combined with growth strategies can generate significant momentum, assisting project teams in achieving a successful launch. Token distribution strategies themselves imply growth strategies. Exploring optimal token models that align with specific scenarios and ensure alignment of interests between project teams and users is a task for all teams.
Another direction worth exploring is the interoperability and mutual valuation of different applications within the ecosystem using tokens. Due to interoperability and shared identity and data layers, various applications within the ecosystem can freely interact in novel ways. For example, they can reward critical actions occurring in each other's products, cross-promote, and acquire users precisely. There are numerous possibilities to be explored in practice to achieve true ecosystem synergy.
Additionally, there is considerable room for imagination in establishing reputation systems such as SBT. Reputation systems can have a significant impact not only in credit lending scenarios but also in mitigating the spread of AI robots with unlimited infiltration and false information. A well-designed reputation system becomes indispensable. For example, in Link3, a credit scoring system has been introduced to differentiate between real users and robots, with a focus on rewarding genuine users.
Strategies To Attract Developers:
To turn the discussed possibilities into reality, the efforts of the CyberConnect team alone are not enough. Exploring unknown paths requires the collective efforts of a large number of developers, who can create and collaborate with low friction. To achieve this, CyberConnect adopts a combination of strategies, including:
1) Hosting Hackathons:
Hackathons are a common method for ecosystem development in Web3. Taking the example of Connected2023, a collaboration between CyberConnect and BNB Chain that concluded in 2023, it attracted participation from over 2,000 projects, eventually selecting 23 winning teams. Hackathons serve as both a means of brand promotion for developers and a way to capture the attention of users. Users participate by voting to support projects they appreciate. During the hackathon, the protocol's daily active users (DAU) reached a peak of 210,000, and 330,000 CyberProfiles were minted (free of charge during the hackathon).
2) Providing More Resource Support At The Ecosystem Level, Including Cold Starts:
Having explored Web3 social interactions for several years, CyberConnect has accumulated various ecosystem resources and knowledge that can empower applications within the ecosystem, helping newcomers avoid common pitfalls. One area where assistance is provided is in cold starts, which is likely one of the most pressing demands for project teams. One approach currently taken is to drive traffic through the Link3 fan club feature. When users complete key interactions defined by the project team that involves the protocol, they can receive FP rewards. At the same time, this enhances the richness of fan club interactions, increases user stickiness, and contributes more data and users to the protocol, benefiting CyberConnect itself as well. It is a win-win situation. Project teams can also receive organic traffic support through Link3 features such as Posts and Events.
3) Providing A Better User Experience With APIs and Protocol Usage:
Providing better APIs is undoubtedly a practical and developer-friendly approach. Looking at it from this perspective, CyberConnect's decision to build its own product instead of relying heavily on a third party might provide deeper insights. As the builders of the protocol, CyberConnect has the deepest understanding of its advantages and feasibility. When they choose to build their own product, they can excel at it, provide templates for other developers, receive feedback quickly to improve the protocol and leverage the meaningful data accumulated by Link3 in specific scenarios, which will be openly available to everyone in the ecosystem. The traffic generated can also support the cold starts of other projects. This is one of the unique aspects of the CyberConnect ecosystem.
4) Investment:
Investment is also a powerful way to establish deep connections and build and improve the ecosystem. According to Crunchbase, CyberConnect has invested in projects closely related to the ecosystem, such as Aspecta, TwitterScan, ReadOn, Project Twelve, and Metaforo. It is expected that they will continue to focus on core elements of Web3 social interactions, such as identity, creator economies, DAOs, and strategically build around them.
By building their own product, CyberConnect is able to align better with developers. For developers, the accumulated user base within the ecosystem and the usability of the protocol are attractive factors. As developers and users develop certain behavioural habits, the brand momentum of the protocol gradually builds up, resulting in increased attraction and stickiness for developers.
Summary
1) Exploring Opportunities By Being Close To Users and Real-World Scenarios:
In the past, exploration of Web3 social networks was often limited to existing Web2 scenarios and functions, with attempts to integrate crypto, making it difficult to answer the question of whether crypto is necessary. However, just as new modes of transportation are likely to achieve speed improvements and open up new routes, we should examine whether Web3 can create incremental value or derive new scenarios based on real user needs. Instead of directly competing with the strong presence of traditional Web2 social networks, it is pragmatic to find ways to get things moving. Link3, starting from user needs, seeks to find unique value propositions in new scenarios, which is a valuable exploration. Once there is momentum in a specific area, there is vitality and the possibility of iteration, which can influence the overall landscape.
2) Continuous Protocol Improvement Through Usage:
Protocol design is abstract, while user experience is concrete. The iterative path of going from abstraction to concretion through real-world scenarios and returning to abstraction to make better designs at the protocol level is a highly effective approach. Designing the abstract layer is complex, and even the best architects may struggle to cover all aspects initially. However, through several iterations, the protocol becomes like a living organic entity, entering a process of continuous iteration and growth, constantly improving its practicality and usability. This is also the significance of CyberConnect team building their own product - accelerating the protocol's iteration.
3) Dual Focus On Developing Their Own Product and Building A Three-Party Ecosystem:
CyberConnect's ecosystem structure is taking shape, with Link3 being high-frequency enough to penetrate most Web3 users, serving as a dynamic traffic pool to empower other applications within the ecosystem, particularly in terms of attracting users and assisting with cold starts. As Link3 continues to expand its boundaries, such as the recently added articles and fan club features, it may become an important distribution channel for projects, individuals, and content in the future. Third-party applications actively explore new possibilities of integrating CyberProfile, contributing back to the ecosystem by expanding the protocol's user base, providing more data, and offering new feedback for protocol iteration.
4) Path To Mainstream Adoption:
Looking at CyberConnect's overall design, it is evident that everything serves a unified goal: attracting and accommodating a sufficient number of users into Web3. In their technical architecture design, the hybrid on-chain and off-chain model has considered the feasibility of future scalability. Link3, as their product, enters Web3 high-frequency scenarios, capturing users' real needs and gradually building a user reservoir. Their upcoming wallet plans aim to lower the entry barrier and provide a more convenient login experience. In the process of developing the ecosystem, CyberConnect guides new applications through their product and empowers them through investments and other means. In addition to native Web3 projects, CyberConnect also collaborates with projects in various fields to support their social functions, silently bringing more users into Web3.
These insights reflect a deep understanding that onboarding is not solely the responsibility of a single company, but requires collaboration among various parties, leveraging their wisdom and abilities to enhance the attractiveness of Web3 and reduce friction in user adoption. An effective approach is combining real-world scenarios with clever token economic design to create new business models. Ultimately, this path leads not only to the popularization of Web3 social networks but also the popularization of Web3 itself, with social experiences being the best point of connection for the masses.
In Comparison With Other Protocols
In the previous discussion, we elaborated on the principles and strategies behind the design of the CyberConnect protocol. Throughout the process, there were many trade-offs, such as the challenge of achieving scalability while potentially sacrificing complete decentralization, and the consideration of whether developing a standalone product was necessary to foster wider protocol adoption. These trade-offs ultimately reflect the values and beliefs of the protocol designers. By contrast the design of CyberConnect with that of the prominent protocols in the current market, namely Lens, Farcaster, and Deso, we can gain a deeper understanding of CyberConnect's design from another perspective.
Design Comparison
When it comes to protocol design, the deployment and storage of data on a public blockchain are crucial aspects to consider. Deso has chosen to build its own Layer 1 blockchain, as it believes that general-purpose blockchains cannot meet the demands of social scenarios. Additionally, Deso anticipates that different categories of applications may require different chains. On the other hand, the remaining protocols have mostly opted to rely on existing public blockchains. This approach minimizes barriers as developers don't need to adapt to a new blockchain, and users don't need to recreate their assets on a new chain. For example, Lens has chosen to deploy on Polygon and stores identity, relationships, and content on-chain. CyberConnect and Farcaster have adopted a hybrid on-chain/off-chain design, although the degree of hybridization differs. Farcaster only stores identity on Ethereum L1, while CyberConnect provides more flexibility. Developers can choose to store identity, relationships, and content on-chain or store high-frequency actions like following and liking off-chain.
Another point to consider is whether complete decentralization is always necessary. It's important to differentiate between vision and challenges. While decentralization is an admirable vision, solving user pain points is crucial to making breakthroughs in Web3 social experiences. This is the exploration that Link3 (CyberConnect) and Farcaster Web (Farcaster) are actively undertaking: the possibility of creating new social experiences. By developing their own applications, they can gain firsthand experience of the feasibility and, in turn, contribute to the protocol's iteration**. Identifying the needs of the protocol is the true starting point for its vitality.**
Promoting the protocol to developers is as important as building the protocol itself, as it drives iteration and data accumulation. How to effectively attract developers depends on individual perspectives. As mentioned earlier, CyberConnect's approach involves both building Link3 and attracting developers through hackathons, creating a dual mechanism that can also support the cold start of other products. Lens primarily organizes hackathons while maintaining a relatively neutral stance, without a specific focus on a dedicated standalone product. Some developers may be concerned about potential conflicts between the protocol and applications, thus favouring more neutral protocols. Sometimes, doing nothing is actually doing something. Farcaster shares similarities with CyberConnect, with a strong focus on developing its standalone product Farcaster Web. The founder believes that creating attractive features and accumulating a user base are key factors, as developers are unlikely to invest effort in an ecosystem without users. For a considerable period, their main focus will be on the standalone product. This approach aligns with their specific target audience (creators, investors, developers, etc.), making it one of the most efficient ways to attract users.
Regarding business and economic models, Deso has already issued its native token. CyberConnect recently launched its token, CYBER, and completed its public sale on Coinlist. Lens and Farcaster have not yet defined explicit economic models. Given that these protocols are still in the expansion phase, attracting more projects and users is of utmost importance. Commercialization is likely not the current focus of the protocols.
Common Challenges
In terms of scale, all the protocols are still in relatively early stages and have yet to reach millions of users (Metamask has tens of millions of monthly active users). CyberConnect is currently experiencing the fastest user growth among the protocols, approaching the million-user mark (account count ~930k). Considering that the majority of existing Web3 users are primarily interested in DeFi-related activities and driven by financial incentives, attracting more mainstream users is a challenge for all social protocols. Key elements in addressing this challenge include creating Web3 social experiences that have independent value and providing users with motivation to join and stay.
At the same time, Web3 native applications also face the challenge of transitioning and iterating from Web2 products. Web2 products often have a large existing user base, and it remains to be seen whether they can successfully transition through iteration. Two points are worth considering in this regard. First, as mentioned earlier, Web3 products are better off entering new scenarios before directly competing with Web2 giants, once they have become more resilient. Second, if Web2 products want to integrate with Web3, such as integrating on-chain actions into content recommendations or seamlessly incorporating NFTs into their experiences, they may need to redesign their architectural systems. They may even find that integrating with Web3 affects their business model monetization efficiency. Overcoming these challenges can be difficult, as large ships are not easily manoeuvred, which may buy more time for Web3 products.
Furthermore, there are some infrastructure-related issues that need to be gradually overcome, such as improving TPS (transactions per second) and enhancing the mobile and login experiences. Account abstraction, for example, could bring significant changes to the login experience. These incremental improvements are necessary to achieve a smooth and seamless user experience. The number of users that can be leveraged and the capacity to accommodate them may grow in a spiral-like manner.
From these perspectives, the protocols are actually in a collaborative exploration phase where the focus is on exploration rather than competition. They are moving in the same direction, competing positively in a cooperative game. Each protocol focuses on different scenarios and slightly different user groups, with their own design choices and complementarity. Together, they are building the Web3 social ecosystem and actively working towards the vision of Web3 being widely adopted. Due to its openness, this ecosystem may experience faster iteration, which also demands higher learning and adaptability from the teams involved.
Future Development of CyberConnect
Protocol Moat
For a protocol, what can be considered as a milestone in its development? If we take into account the accumulation of sufficient data quantity and depth, covering a significant proportion of users, where is the critical point? Is it at 20% or 50%? It may be difficult to determine the specific numbers in advance, but qualitatively, the winning protocol must achieve a sufficient level of developer and user-friendly perception.
Just as DeFi protocols compete for liquidity, social protocols compete for user liquidity - the ability to establish high-frequency connections with a sufficient number of users. To achieve this, a protocol needs to deeply cultivate specific scenarios and engage in continuous iteration and accumulation. In addition to the stock (existing user base and data), competition for circulation (new users and interaction intensity and depth) is also crucial. This means providing the most up-to-date and timely information and recommendations, as well as the most comprehensive user network. Considering that protocols that iterate quickly often have a stronger appeal to developers, they also have advantages in terms of brand and reputation, which leads to the protocol having some first-mover and network effects.
However, in more niche fields, there may be specialized demand, which implies the existence of highly tailored graph protocols that adapt to specific contexts. Although their overall market share may not be high, they can establish a strong foothold in specific areas with dense data. Speculatively, the market landscape may involve the coexistence of several protocols, with 1-2 protocols enjoying widespread adoption in the mass market, while other protocols gain favour due to their specialization in niche domains.
Another interesting point here is that, unlike in Web2 where network effects are primarily focused on the user side, Web3 introduces collaborative networks between protocols. If a protocol wants to be adopted by more protocols and become a more foundational layer, it needs to be well-designed in terms of permissionless, trustlessness, and other aspects. This requires the team to embrace a genuinely open mindset. This kind of reputation and consensus may serve as an implicit barrier that makes it difficult for a protocol to be easily surpassed or replicated.
Value Attribution between Protocols and Application Layer
While protocols have a horizontal relationship with each other, we should not overlook the vertical relationship and value attribution mechanism between protocols and the application layer. Here are some points worth discussing:
1） Applications Adopting A Multi-Protocol Strategy
Taking Phaver as an example, it is one of the largest applications on Lens and announced its integration with CyberConnect in March. Considering that all protocols are in the early stages of development and targeting different user groups for customer acquisition, a multi-protocol strategy is expected to become a common growth approach for applications at this stage. The CyberConnect protocol can benefit from the efforts made by Lens within the ecosystem, as Phaver serves as an intermediary. This can be compared to the existence of a shared user pool where each party expands its user base in its own way and exchanges users in different ways.
2) Risks of Application Attempts To Achieve Closed-Loop Systems
At a certain stage, there may be a large-scale consumer-facing application that contributes the majority of user interactions and data writing. In this scenario, a natural question arises as to whether the application will attempt to build its own index and recommendation system based on its own data, potentially posing a risk for protocols that may no longer receive data writes from the application side. If we consider the value chain perspective, there exists a dynamic relationship between protocols and applications regarding their positioning on the value chain and who holds more bargaining power.
However, if we further contemplate this, there might be a fundamental difference: in the Web2 era, closed systems undeniably brought about maximization of interests, but in Web3, is it possible to have a model of shared prosperity and mutual promotion? Whether such a collaborative creation of positive value instead of a zero-sum game will emerge remains to be seen.
Commercialization and Token Models
Achieving positive revenue is crucial for the long-term healthy operation of a protocol. In CyberConnect's current monetization approach, it charges a fee for short accounts (less than 12 characters). Approximately 40,000 accounts are paid accounts, accounting for around 4% of the total. Charging for short accounts is more like paying for scarcity, indicating a certain level of asset value. If CyberConnect wishes to have a more scalable monetization potential in the future, it may need to strengthen the social asset attributes, similar to QQ Show, which can serve as an identity symbol for social interactions. Additionally, considering that CyberConnect provides APIs to applications, it may charge based on the number of API calls. Similarly, products like Link3 also have the potential to generate revenue on their own.
It is worth contemplating what the mainstream business model of Web3 social networks will be and whether it can explore scalable sources of revenue similar to advertising. Considering the alignment of the business model with the nature of the business, even if it remains an advertising model, it may not be solely dependent on traffic. Moreover, Web3 social networks naturally involve transactional behaviour, such as collecting NFTs. Therefore, deeper connections may lead to higher individual user value. These are interesting points worth exploring.
On the economic model front, CyberConnect recently introduced a token scheme. Its token, CYBER, has a total supply of 100 million and will be allocated to the team, community, investors, treasury, and ecosystem development, among others. The specific distribution ratios are shown in the accompanying figure. CYBER token holders can use it for governance participation, purchasing short accounts, and paying gas fees in CybeWallet. The use of the treasury and significant protocol infrastructure upgrades will be decided through voting by CyberDAO.
Considering that a well-designed token model can effectively amplify the attractiveness of a protocol and product, token model design is an essential aspect of Web3 products. In the context of CyberConnect, tokens can provide incentives to applications within the community and ecosystem, creating a binding effect for ecosystem benefits. Community rewards and ecosystem development together account for nearly half of the token allocation (46%), demonstrating CyberConnect's emphasis on providing appropriate incentives to participants through tokens. Although the specific allocation details are yet to be determined, for regular users, the presence of Fan Points (FP) throughout the ecosystem can be observed from how CyberConnect directs traffic to products like w3space, ReadOn, Atticc, etc. FP can quantify users' contributions to some extent, indicating a potential token allocation in the future. Other ecosystem partners can participate in the improvement of the protocol ecosystem and obtain other ecosystem rewards, such as grants, through their respective means. It can be anticipated that after the token issuance, CyberConnect will have more freedom to explore various possibilities for ecosystem collaboration. The efficient flow of these incentives to high-yield areas will be crucial for the protocol's subsequent success.
The establishment of a token model essentially quantifies the team's original intentions and goals. It determines who will gather in the community, why they come, why they stay, whether they can cooperate with each other, or if they engage in competitive relationships. It also reflects the CyberConnect team's underlying openness, treating both internal and external applications equally and empowering the ecosystem from a neutral standpoint. However, it can be believed that a fully developed social protocol's token model must strike a good balance in these aspects.
Looking Ahead At The Web3 Social Landscape With CyberConnect
Connection and Collaboration
Social interaction fundamentally involves building meaningful connections. In Web3, the decoupling of the application layer and data layer enables us to construct a unified, open social graph, opening up new possibilities for connection:
When the ways of connection become more freely determined, shifting away from the algorithms of closed platforms, previously hidden connections can emerge. This may give rise to different, more user-centric network structures, where class attributes are weakened, potentially leading to a more equal and fully connected relationship. The challenge lies in how to uncover these implicit social connections and find suitable scenarios to foster the natural generation of relationships.
However, a connection is just the first step. Collaborative construction after a connection is one of the important ways in which value is generated from connections. Smart contracts have the potential to minimize friction, reduce trust barriers, and automatically distribute benefits based on contributions. This also means that the ultimate outcome of social interaction may not necessarily be a social network but rather the construction of a distributed collaborative framework to accomplish certain tasks or build shared visions. Social interaction can be pervasive, like the underlying current empowering various experiences built upon it. In this process, we can effectively leverage the leverage of economic models to incentivize all parties involved. If this approach proves to be more efficient than fully centralized solutions, it holds value and commercial significance. DAOs are exploring this possibility of collaboration. It is likely that new collaborative theories will emerge, and previously advertising-driven business models will be disrupted.
The Second-Order Effects of Data Sovereignty
The subsequent impact of users owning their data may be more profound than we imagine. For example, when data ownership belongs to users, creators can maximize the protection of their accumulated fan assets, and regular users can engage in free trading and collaboration as curators. The emergence of a free market can greatly enhance monetization efficiency, thereby promoting individual productivity maximization.
Another interesting point is whether the accumulation of cross-platform reputation will reshape people's behaviour. In Web2 social platforms, such as Soul App, the concept of A/B testing was once highlighted as a compelling feature. A/B testing refers to the ability for users to shed their armour from the real world in Soul App and unleash their true selves. In Web3, if all the data accumulated under a username can be indexed by anyone, users become almost transparent, which is likely not aligned with a good user experience. On the other hand, if data permissions are completely closed off, users are essentially anonymous, granting them more freedom in their behaviour but potentially sacrificing opportunities to build deep connections. Thus, a well-thought-out privacy management system (programmable privacy) is crucial, with permissions being selectively opened or restricted based on the context. Furthermore, even for partially non-sensitive data, if users are aware that this data will be publicly displayed and could serve as a form of social currency or a pass card, it may still influence their social behaviour. For example, even if a user is not a die-hard fan of BAYC, they may still choose to own BAYC considering the potential wealth effect (across multiple platforms) it may showcase or the community they might enter. The asset attribute of data becomes stronger.
For developers who want to build their own recommendation systems, as the options for data increase, it may become increasingly important to construct their own filtering criteria based on the social graph. It's crucial to strive for precision without being overwhelmed, selecting the essential elements within their respective contexts. Different projects may interpret user needs and provide different solutions based on the same data. Consensus will gradually be reached through the experimentation process. An important new data source is the Social Bonding Token (SBT) owned by users. SBT may serve as a good carrier to represent the depth of relationships between users and organizations.
The Power of Real Scenarios
When we question the necessity of Web3 social networks, we are less likely to think about the need for a replacement for Twitter. When we have better discovery and interaction tools in scenarios like Ask Me Anything (AMA), we don't consider whether it's a Web2 or Web3 product, nor do we favour it solely because of data sovereignty. We naturally participate, gain SBT, and in the process, learn more about the project. This effortless engagement and meaningful feedback are the power of real scenarios. By participating in more of these scenarios, our identity profiles become richer, we accumulate a unified friends list, and consequently receive better recommendations, resulting in a smoother experience. For developers, this means they can design from a bottom-up approach, considering which scenarios can create valuable connections rather than starting from the idea of building a social network.
This aligns with the ideas of Christopher Alexander, a renowned architect and urban planner. He proposed that the form should fit the context. When constructing a space, we need to identify and combine different patterns, generating them from the bottom up. Similarly, in social scenarios, we should define real problems from real scenarios, continually calibrate them, and gradually find optimal solutions. Data sovereignty and decentralization are means available to us. If we have a clear understanding of the problems we are solving, and we set up the interactive environment, social behaviours will naturally emerge. Social behaviour cannot be predetermined or planned; it relies on the natural interaction and flow of energy between individuals. Alexander poetically describes it as, "Just as a flower cannot be made, but only grow from a seed, all you have to do is to design the purpose and the environment and let it happen by itself."
During the growth of a flower, we gain a deeper understanding of its attributes, allowing us to adjust the environment we shape. Through observing real scenarios, we can iterate and refine protocol designs. Feedback from reality and details continuously guide the protocol towards better directions. Just like plants, protocol growth and improvement unfold gradually. While the protocol layer strives towards modularity and order, real scenarios are filled with randomness and contingency. It is at the intersection of order and disorder that vitality thrives. To iterate consistently with real scenarios, a team needs great patience, avoiding the pursuit of relatively abstract concepts dictated by trends. However, over time, they will reap the rewards by respecting the laws of reality.
The vision proposed by CyberConnect, connecting everyone in Web3 and lasting on-chain friendships, is a beautiful picture. To truly achieve it, we need to keep our minds open to many possibilities and continue iterating and reflecting based on new inputs. Creating large-scale, meaningful connections is not easy, but Web3 provides us with new means to do so. It requires the joint efforts and exploration of all developers in the field to form new consensus, break new boundaries, elevate perspectives, and build more meaningful connections. Throughout the process, the constant criterion is whether we are creating tangible value for users. However, users are no longer mere recipients; they are also an essential part of value creation. Their genuine feedback guides the iteration of protocols and applications, and they contribute their time and money to participate in the construction. The protocol creators, developers, and users are an indispensable community, with roles that can freely interchange. Finding suitable domains, maximizing user participation in the construction, and establishing appropriate rules and incentive mechanisms may be the key to realizing this vision. Finally, let me end with Alexander's words: "Most of the wonderful places in the world were not made by architects but by the people."
Reference
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https://link3.to/cyberconnect/post/83cb456a2bf426c6029b3a8cf6fd1c7cbe1acff5e9b87f34a0db14560c5e069d
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https://lookerstudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/a7e5e152-84ce-4b44-befc-5ffb35ae3be4/page/p_xu5i8jbs6c
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Alexander, C. (1977). A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press.
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