Are you curious about the latest developments in the world of decentralized social media platforms? Look no further. A sister project to Aave, the lending protocol, Lens Protocol has rolled out its Version 2 (V2) upgrade on Polygon’s main network. This upgrade brings a plethora of new features, including multisig-managed profiles and the ability to tip on “smart posts.”
Stepping Up the Decentralized Social Media Game
Lens Protocol is part of a select group of blockchain-focused startups that are leveraging the perceived shortcomings of traditional “Web2” social media platforms. These platforms are typically managed by large centralized corporations such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), the brainchild of Elon Musk. The term “Web3” is commonly used to describe the decentralization of these platforms using blockchain technology.
According to Stani Kulechov, the founder of Aave and CEO of Lens Protocol, the initial aim of Lens V1 was to lay the groundwork for early Web3 social networks. This resulted in a surge of creativity, experimentation, and the development of new discovery tools that have positively impacted the Lens ecosystem.
The Evolution of Lens Protocol
With Lens V2, Kulechov explains that the platform is gradually moving towards a more modular design. This shift offers users increased autonomy and flexibility in their social media interactions. It could potentially lead to features that allow users to shift their “social graph” (a term used to describe your followers and those you follow) between various interactive platforms.
Lens Protocol, which was launched in February 2022, has secured $15 million in funding from investors such as IDEO CoLab Ventures, General Catalyst, Blockchain Capital, and Palm Tree. It also received individual contributions from Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams, OpenSea co-founder Alex Atallah, entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan, and Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.
What’s New in Lens V2?
The Lens V2 upgrade has introduced several innovative features. One of these is the Profile Manager, which enables profiles to be managed by one or multiple people, multisigs, and DAOs. The Handles feature has been added to create an additional identity layer that differentiates “profiles” from “handles” on the platform.
Another interesting feature is the “Pay to read the rest” option. This allows developers to post previews of their content and set payment options for users to read the full post. This feature seems to draw inspiration from the paid “subscriber” feature on X/Twitter. Furthermore, Lens “smart posts” offer another avenue for content monetization through the protocol, supporting tipping, voting, subscribing, and donating.
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