Allen Taylor - Cryptosocial: How Cryptocurrencies Are Changing Social Media

Cryptosocial

Cryptosocial

How Cryptocurrencies Are Changing Social Media

Allen Taylor

Cryptosocial: How Cryptocurrencies Are Changing Social Media

Copyright Business Expert Press, LLC, 2022.

Cover design by Divya Pidaparti

Interior design by Exeter Premedia Services Private Ltd., Chennai, India

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations, not to exceed 400 words, without the prior permission of the publisher.

First published in 2022 by

Business Expert Press, LLC

222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017

www.businessexpertpress.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-63742-183-3 (paperback)

ISBN-13: 978-1-63742-184-0 (e-book)

Business Expert Press Digital and Social Media Marketing and Advertising Collection

First edition: 2022

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

I dedicate this book to my parents who worked hard all their lives and got to see their son live his dream.

Description

The year 2020 could go down in history as the social media tipping point. Facebook and Twitter came under fire for censoring alleged misinformation related to COVID-19 and presidential election results. Fake news, fake social media accounts, and data breaches have compromised the personal information of millions of users worldwide. Facebook is fighting an antitrust lawsuit while YouTube is losing top creators over its demonetization policies.

To save the world from the evil empires of social media, a hero is rising up from the digital soil. Its superpower is a new technology called blockchain.

Until recently, cryptocurrencies were of interest primarily to a few digital nerds, a handful of financial renegades, and libertarian idealists with a lot of time on their hands. Cryptosocial: How Cryptocurrencies Are Changing Social Media deconstructs the ideas and ideologies that underlie the hype and keep bitcoin trending. It shows how the strengths and weaknesses of the new platforms and protocols are embedded in the features of the technology itself. Far from being a glossy-eyed evangelist or hostile critic, author Allen Taylor objectively offers a realistic view of the benefits and drawbacks of cryptosocial media for the average user.

Will cryptosocial media displace current social media or remain a niche product serving but a tiny fragment of a much larger audience? This is the ultimate question addressed in this book.

Keywords

decentralized social media; decentralization; blockchain technology; cryptography; cryptoeconomics; cryptosocial media; crypto; tokens; centralization; centralized media; tokenization; tokenomics; tokenized economies; social networking; distributed ledger

Contents

For the last 15 years, social media platforms have disrupted life as we know italmost every industry has been touched by this new concept that didnt exist two decades ago. As two billion new people find themselves on the Internet, social media platforms are a big part of that introduction but can the disruptors be disrupted? Allen Taylors new book, Cryptosocial: How Cryptocurrencies Are Changing Social Media, is a detailed yet fun look into the new decentralized platforms popping up to challenge traditional social media and which offer a more fair, more equitable Internet. If you had no idea this was even a thing, this book is for you. Or, if youre like me and know quite a lot about this new wave of exciting and enthusiastic challengers, this book offers insights into areas Im excited to try out for myself. The world is changing quickly and this book is a fantastic guide to decentralized social media.Adam from gFam.live

In times like this, its hard to envision that anything could become decentralized. There is a huge opportunity for major shifts in social media, Internet, and cyberspace. Blockchain technology is a rising star to help decentralize and protect our personal information. This book explains in great detail the past, present, and future of the Internet and social media. If you do not know what blockchain technology is, this is a must-read book. The book explains how cryptocurrency has made blockchain technology a valuable security mechanism. Since security is a high priority in the finance industry, the book caught my eye as a definite book of interest. It provides a refresher on what is happening in social media and what is possible for everyone in a decentralized world.Tina Pittman, CPA, MBA, CGMA, tax accountant and former controller

Social media has changed the world. Cryptocurrencies are changing it. Where the two intersect there will be chaosand great opportunity for those who can seize it. The ups and downs and long way rounds, Allen Taylor explores how we got to where we are and where, from here, we might be going. While he doesnt have all the answers, he has a great many insights. Whether a newbie or a veteran of the wars, Cryptosocial: How Cryptocurrencies Are Changing Social Media, is informative, thought-provoking and well worth the read.Paul Savage, former hedge fund manager

The information in this book is not intended to be financial advice. Neither the author nor publisher are financial advisors. The information is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Before investing in cryptocurrency, consult your own financial advisor.

Im grateful for the assistance of several important people who have helped to bring this book to see the light of day.

My wife Theresa has been patient and supportive of my work for almost 20 years. Were it not for this support, I could not have started this project or completed it.

Id also like to express my gratitude to my parents for instilling within me a strong work ethic and for tolerating me as I chase rainbows.

Adam the AussieNinja, Thomas Dylan Daniel, M.A., and Paul Savage (aka @Quillfire) provided great insight and feedback on this manuscript, helping to improve it beyond my own capabilities.

Id also like to thank readers at Publish0x, Voice, and Trybe (before it rebranded as Loop Markets) for their encouragement and engagement while sharing my ideas on the concepts and projects discussed in this book. The Cryptowriter team was immensely helpful in allowing me to test my material on their audience. Thomas Wolf, in particular, was very encouraging and supportive. Thanks for sending me that Voice invite and introducing me to Cryptowriter.

Also, a great big thanks to George Popescu for asking me to edit Blockchain Times, an opportunity that introduced me to the vast world of cryptocurrencies and which kickstarted my cryptosocial adventure.

The year 2020 rode in on a dark horse.

From a lab in Wuhan, China, a virus spread out across the globe like an imperial sword. Social and political tensions were such a force not experienced in recent memory. But this book is not about politics or pandemics. Its about social media.

Unfortunately, even our social media has us polarized. We cant agree on a definition of fake news and Facebook news feeds serve as personal diaries for proud and doting mothers, wall-to-wall cat memes, and soap boxes for millions of amateur political analysts who make no attempt to hide their biases. The previous years brouhaha spilled over into 2021 and led to several legacy social media platforms banishing a sitting president and locking him out of his own accounts. Twitter and Facebook had already been fact-checking his posts and flagging them as potential misinformation.