Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of crypto.news editorial.
The direct-to-consumer era has arrived in every aspect of gaming, and the $250 billion creator economy is not immune to this shift.
For too long, traditional social media platforms have acted as gatekeepers to revenue streams, restricting the ways in which creators, their followers, and modest advertisers can engage with one another.
After multiple Web2-based iterations failed to balance these three pillars, it seems logical that the future will be one towards Web3 to democratize social media.
Supporting creators, users and advertisers
According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the impact of blockchain in the media, advertising, and entertainment market is expected to grow to $27.29 billion by 2029, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 78.49%. This transformation we are witnessing in practice has been made possible by the advent of DeFi integration, which has eliminated middlemen and laid the foundation for a new era of creativity, engagement, and trust.
From providing solutions to outdated problems like digital piracy, uneven copyright fees, and monopolizing user data, blockchain technology is now rapidly being used to redefine human interaction, and it starts with empowering creators, without whom these platforms would be nothing more than community chat centers.
By thinking beyond brand engagement, the SocialFi platform is helping to build a model where a loyal, spending community sustains creative livelihoods. While existing solutions focus solely on creators, the other two pillars of the system can no longer be ignored: users and advertisers.
This is where a tokenized ecosystem comes in: the next phase of SocialFi will enable creators to earn revenue directly through audience engagement and reward all users for their digital footprint, creating a mutually beneficial process for all involved. This approach not only democratizes revenue and ensures creators are fairly compensated, but also increases user engagement by blending the interests of creators and viewers.
Additionally, advertisers participating in this ecosystem have greater control over their spend, allowing them to more effectively engage with their entire audience and increase their return on investment.
NFTs for Digital Ownership
NFTs debuted with a bang a few years ago, but quickly died down as the hype overshadowed real-world applications of tokenizing digital assets. That said, the space continues to see healthy fundraising as investors bet on applications in industries like art, real estate, photography, music, and social content, which is essentially the nexus with RWAs.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that simply decentralizing content isn’t enough – you need a way to give that content IP and monetize it in perpetuity. In this respect, NFTs allow creators to have true ownership, with the added potential for merchandising and ongoing revenue.
Another thing to consider is the emergence of short-form visual content as the most popular content format on the internet today. Despite its popularity, copyright infringement and lack of creator credit disregard the efforts of digital participants. By providing true scope for the instant conversion of visual content into NFTs, the SocialFi platform can add a layer of transparency and monetization that has not been leveraged before.
Despite this inherent potential, integrating blockchain into the media industry is not without challenges. Issues such as scalability and interoperability are not new and rely heavily on emerging low-code solutions that enable developers to build more efficient, lower-cost, and scalable L2.
For example, some networks like Sui offer a robust on-chain development environment and equip the platform with high throughput, which is a key factor for media applications that demand high transaction speeds for an optimal user experience.
Building on-chain allows decentralized and mainstream fintech tools to be integrated into a common ecosystem. Not to mention, managing such platforms on-chain helps protect intellectual property and thwart cyber attacks. All these factors are especially useful for seamless real-time payments, including micropayments that traditional fiat-based transfers cannot support due to their high transaction costs.
For now, the complexity of Web3 interfaces may be the biggest obstacle, but with new platforms incorporating the familiarity of Web2 and the flexibility of DeFi, the opportunity to connect two different worlds is now more feasible than ever before.
Anoir Fum
Anoir Fumou is the Founder and CEO of RECRD, a pioneering video engagement platform backed by Sui Foundation, transforming content creation and monetization with blockchain technology. With over 14 years of experience in marketing and advertising, Anoir blends technology with creativity, enabling RECRD to garner over 500,000 users prior to launch. Anoir has raised over $4 million from leading venture capitalists and investors, including co-founder and executives of Netflix and leading entertainment and sports personalities. Anoir’s vision for RECRD is focused on empowering content creators, driving interactive engagement, and ensuring secure transactions through AI and blockchain technology. With major launches in India and Africa, and an upcoming token launch, Anoir is poised to lead RECRD to transformational growth and global recognition.
