Pi Network Unveils Token-Based Social Media Platform To Promote Being Nice

Crypto startup Pi Network is developing a novel social media application designed to encourage positivity and discourage unsavory interactions.

Pi Network's new platform, named "Fireside Forum," presents a unique model where users can use tokens to reward posts they enjoy, or conversely, disapprove of content they find inappropriate or distasteful.

By implementing this token-based system, the company hopes to curb unwanted content such as spam, misinformation, or any form of online abuse.

"Web3 has the potential to rectify many issues plaguing the current state of social media, such as information overload, trolling, and online aggression," The Block quoted Chengdiao Fan, a co-founder of Pi Network, as saying.

Fan, who also holds a Ph.D. in social computing, believes the powerful tools of web3 — blockchain and cryptocurrency — can create an equilibrium between incentives and disincentives, thus moderating behavior.

The platform not only allows users to endorse others' posts, but also to earn rewards when their content gains popularity.

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This approach has been a long-term vision for the company, founded in 2018, with a goal to create an online space free from the problems commonly associated with platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Pi Network's other co-founder, Nicolas Kokkalis, says that when economic incentives or disincentives are introduced into people's actions, they often behave more rationally.

Over the years, Pi Network has amassed an active user base of 45 million individuals, who have downloaded the app and mined its Layer 1 token.

The company views itself as a mobile-centric, low-cost ecosystem for third-party apps, where tokens are exclusively used within the platform and not traded externally.

Currently, Pi Network is undergoing a phase known as the 'enclosed mainnet,' where users are transitioning from the mobile app to the blockchain, engaging in a decentralized Know Your Customer (KYC) process created by the company.

The KYC procedure primarily ensures users are genuine, aiming to eliminate the annoyance of bot-generated fake accounts that plague platforms like Twitter.

The new Fireside Forum platform will initially be available to the company's three million users who have passed Pi Network's KYC process and migrated to the blockchain.

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