The management at Block.one, a firm focused on the development of open-source, blockchain-based software including EOS, revealed on June 1, 2019 that it’s creating a new social media platform.
Facebook Is “Designed to Use the Users”
Brendan Blumer, the 32-year-old Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Block.one, delivered a presentation in Washington D.C. in which he explained that Voice would be developed on the EOS network. Blumer, who began creating virtual assets for video games as a teenager, argued that current social media networks like Facebook have been “designed to use their users.”
Blumer further noted that users’ personal data, the content they produce, and the time and attention they give to a social media network are highly valuable. He added that existing social media platforms have been developed to mainly benefit their creators and/or owner(s).
Flooding User Feeds with “Hidden Agendas Dictated By Highest Bidder”
Blumer also mentioned that the end user, who’s actually devoting his/her time and making contributions to the platform, usually does not receive adequate rewards and compensation for their input.
Blumer, the former CEO of ii5, a firm that extends support to property dealers based in India, stated during his presentation that social media firms like Facebook have been auctioning user information to advertising firms.
He also alleged that large social networking services make huge profits by “flooding” user feeds with “hidden agendas dictated by the highest bidder.” In order to resolve these issues and create a platform where the users have more control over their personal data, Block.one’s management is launching Voice.
Developed on EOS’ Delegated Proof of Stake Blockchain
By having control over the content they produce, Voice’s users will have the opportunity to receive fair compensation for their contributions to the social network. The Voice platform will be deployed on EOS’ public delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS)-based blockchain network.
Based on the EOSIO protocol, all transactions made on Voice will be “public”, meaning that all users will be aware of the type of activity that takes place on the social network - which may promote greater transparency.
Only Real Users May Participate in Voice’s Self-Sustaining Economy
Emphasizing that transparency and providing an intuitive user experience (UI) are a “core part” of what Voice aims to offer, Block.one’s official website also mentions that all users on the social network will be treated equally and fairly.
By giving every Voice user the same opportunities, Block.one intends to encourage and support the creation, sharing, promotion, and “discovery” of quality content through its globally accessible platform. Unlike current social networks such as Twitter which are plagued with bots and fake accounts, only real users will be able to participate in Voice’s “self-sustaining” economy.
“No Hidden Algorithms, No Invisible Interests”
Explaining how Voice’s social network will support a fair system, Block.one’s blog post notes that everyone - including the users, contributors, and the platform itself - will be required to follow the same set of rules. Moreover, there will be “no hidden algorithms, no invisible interests”, Voice’s creators claim.
According to its official website, Voice’s developers believe existing social networking platforms are “due for a major rework.” They claim that current social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook may “not have been a good friend to us” - as they’ve been accused of unfairly profiting from users’ personal data.
Requesting Beta Access to Voice Network
Users may request beta access to the social network, however availability and certain “feature restrictions” may apply. For instance, there may be geographic restrictions placed on investors looking to purchase Voice tokens.
$50-$100 Million in Potential Annual Revenue for Top Social Media Influencers
On June 10, 2019, a screenshot of what seemed to be an announcement from Blumer revealed that he has estimated that prominent social media influencers could potentially earn between $50 to $100 million in annual revenue through Voice.
The crypto entrepreneur appeared to suggest that influencers who are able to engage a large number of users could potentially attract millions of new users to Voice. This would give the influencers the opportunity to generate tens of millions of dollars through the blockchain-powered social media network.
According to Block.one’s management, attracting high-profile influencers will be one of the main focus areas of Voice’s ongoing marketing campaign. Block.one’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Daniel Larimer had also hinted a few months back that an upcoming EOS-based project (presumably Voice) would have a marketing plan that “goes beyond anything seen in crypto.”
Voice Will Be Managed Through a Tokenized Economy
Built on EOS, all content published to Voice will be publicly registered on the network’s blockchain. The native Voice token will be used to compensate content producers and the platform’s users will also be able to promote their content by transacting with the social network’s crypto token.
In order to reduce or eliminate spam messages from the Voice platform, all its users will be required to verify their identity through standard procedures - which will require submitting a government-issued ID. Notably, Voice’s ID verification requirements are mandatory if users want to acquire Voice tokens.
Larimer Claims Voice Token Will Have “Fairest Distribution in the World”
The tokens may not be earned through mining and they cannot be purchased directly from any exchange. Instead, Voice’s users will reportedly be airdropped the platform’s native token each day. According to Larimer, “everyone deserves a voice” which is why the blockchain-based social network has “the fairest distribution in the world.”
In addition to providing users an equal opportunity to earn Voice tokens, the quality of user interaction on the social platform will be arguably better than existing networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Only Real Users or “Humans” May Create Accounts
According to Voice’s website, only real humans will be able to make a profile on the platform. This, as each time a new account request is generated, Voice’s proprietary authentication system will be used to ensure that every new potential user is a real person. Catfish, “robo-mobs”, and “burner” accounts will not be able to register on Voice - as the network’s verification procedures will reject these types of accounts.
How Does Voice Work?
After an account has been successfully created, Voice’s users can start creating and posting content in a manner that is similar to other social media sites. Once a user’s post has been published and other users begin to like it and engage with the new content, Voice tokens are rewarded to the post’s author.
When Voice’s users begin to increasingly engage with a particular post, the author of that post and the content itself starts to “gain visibility” on the social network. As explained on Voice’s website, the more engaging or popular a post becomes, the more users can expect to earn from publishing it.
“Raising Your Voice’
Notably, it’s possible to “raise your voice” on the Voice social network by commenting on other people’s posts. However, commenting requires that a user pay a certain amount of Voice tokens.
Also, if another user “raises their voice above” all other users (meaning pays more tokens to comment), then those with “lower” voices get their tokens back and also a few extra bonus tokens.