On Sept. 22, 2021, Follow, the first decentralized social protocol designed for Web 3.0, was officially released. At the same time, Follow.top, which focuses on nonfungible token social networks and is based on the Follow protocol, was officially launched.
“The current internet is an oligopoly market. The existing social media giants not only make huge profits by monopolizing users’ social identities and social data but can also change the rules of the game, losing the open spirit that the internet was originally aimed at,” said Carl Huang, a member of Follow decentralized autonomous organization, adding, “Openness and sharing are the core principles of the internet. Whether it is building Web 3.0 or developing a large-scale creator economy in the metaverse, new social infrastructures that embody the core demands of the internet are needed. The creation of the Follow protocol is an attempt based on this appeal.”
Follow is a decentralized social protocol based on blockchain technology. By providing complete basic development tools and a standard smart contract interface, any individual or organization can build applications based on the protocol. In any application built on Follow, users not only have full control over their own social identity and data but can also interconnect and combine various applications, such as building decentralized finance Lego to form a decentralized, hybrid and hierarchical SocialFi network with an autonomous economic system. The Follow protocol has the following characteristics:
- Open-source decentralized social protocol.
- Free to use with free access.
- Unified identity authentication system.
- Built by users and governed by DAO.
- A user has full control over their own data.
- Complete economic system.
NFT technical standards have let digital art become more prosperous but still, the value of digital art needs to be realized through common aesthetic perception and deep social interactions. Creators need exclusive scenes to maintain relations with the community as well as have greater control over the benefits. In the existing centralized social platforms, it is difficult for creators to establish strong connections with customers and for fans to gain any benefits in the community.
Follow.top is a decentralized social platform focused on NFTs and the first social product based on the Follow protocol. Users can freely access the platform, collect and enjoy NFTs, support creators, share personal opinions with creators, and thus participate in community building and finally form an exclusive community with fast-growing economic activities.
“In the next step, Follow.top will build a complete value system that integrates minting and trading functions of NFTs and encourages creators to launch social tokens so that every user can gain benefits by demonstrating their social value. In the future, Follow.top will become the most revolutionary and expanding digital art creation and social sharing platform in the metaverse,” said Annie, community developer of Follow.top.
The Follow protocol is currently built on the Ethereum network and will be gradually deployed to Ethereum layer two in the next step. Follow DAO is composed of professionals who worked for Tencent, Alibaba Group and Huobi. The long-term plan of the Follow protocol includes developing Follow Protocol v2.0, establishing an artist alliance, releasing a variety of NFT collectibles and expanding DAO, among others, as well as announcing long-term community-led governance rules.
As an innovative social protocol, Follow is not only one of the key driving forces for the large-scale Web 3.0 applications but also a solid cornerstone for building a more dynamic and robust digital art ecosystem.