Social media app MeWe will bring Frequency Blockchain’s self-sovereign identity to its 20 million users
AUSTIN, Texas – Social networking app MeWe is leveraging the Frequency blockchain, built on Polkadot, to bring self-fulfilling blockchain-based identities to its 20 million users, the MeWe team announced at Consensus 2023 here on Wednesday.
Social networks create the so-called social graph to map the connection between relationships between people, things and interests. This key information remains largely in the hands of large technology companies and is often used to deliver advertising to specific users. Consider how Spotify lets you see what your friends are listening to and suggest music for you.
Speaking on a panel at Consesus 2023, Braxton Woodham, president of Amplica Labs, a major contributor to the Frequency blockchain, said “we need to pull that power back” from these private entities, and teams are currently focused on making the entire web social conscious.
The frequency blockchain creates a “social identity” that enables a user to be on the social graph, and that people can use across applications that log into this vision of Web3. This work is envisioned as a layer that permeates the web as key infrastructure. Users own their identity and control the privacy settings on different applications, Frequency said.
Frequency is a parachain of the Polkadot blockchain, meaning it sets its own rules and follows its own logic, but is compatible with the main Polkadot chain as well as other parachains. Parachains pay an extensive lease to Polkadot, often with funds raised from their communities, rather than a fee for each block. This increases the system’s scalability and stability, according to Frequency. As such, the Frequency blockchain can handle a lot of throughput, necessary for social media applications.
MeWe users will be able to sign up for Frequency blockchain adoption. The social media app was founded in 2012 as a social network with a focus on privacy.
Frequency blockchain evolved from work on DSNP (Decentralized Social Networking Protocol), another technology that enables applications to deliver Web3 functions to users. DSNP was backed by Project Liberty, a nonprofit funded by real estate billionaire Frank McCourt to disrupt social media.
In September 2022, McCourt Global, the billionaire’s investment company, also led a $27 million investment round into MeWe. Amplica Labs, the principal frequency contributor and DSNP creator, is part of McCourt Global.
