myMessage: A Decentralized Social Media and Data Storage Protocol
Web3 promises to break us free from the centralized mega-corporation dominance of the Web2 generation, opening up a plethora of decentralized, peer-to-peer use cases that leverage the potential of the internet of value. While Web3 adoption has so far centered around DeFi, NFTs, and more recently GameFi, social media and data storage are also ripe for decentralization as SocialFi sets up to potentially become the next big thing. Building a Decentralized Reddit and Data Portal for Web3 Applications myMessage is the world’s first-ever decentralized Reddit-like social media and data storage platform, supporting evolving Web3 applications including a thread-reply bulletin board, messaging dApp, developer tools, SDKs, and encrypted data portal. The myMessage data storage and messaging dApp solutions are initially being built on the Zilliqa blockchain, taking advantage of its speed, throughput, and low-fee decentralized network to meet requirements. Further interoperable multi-chain integration across Avalanche and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) will then follow. The decentralized messaging dApp as well as a Reddit-like thread-reply bulletin board will be built on Polygon’s scalable layer 2 blockchain technology, after being awarded a Polygon Development Grant. Overcoming the Problems of Centralized Social Media and Data Storage The centralization of mainstream data storage and social media is a significant pain point, leading to censorship, privacy abuses, and security breaches, with an economic imbalance that strongly favors the platforms. myMessage’s solution is to use decentralized social media, storing AES256 encrypted data and content permanently on a blockchain with quantum-attack-resistant security. Data stored on a blockchain is immutable, transparent, timestamped, and void of risks to hacking, tampering, or loss due to its decentralized nature. The tokenization of value on blockchain also provides a medium for incentives that return proprietary rights and profits to the users. Data Storage and Messaging dApp In contrast to centralized cloud storage solutions with hefty costs on annual contracts, myMessage only costs approximately $0.10 per message, depending on its size. This works via a smart contract on one of the myMessage supported networks and a front-end app that interacts with it. Users type a message or attach a file, encrypt it if necessary, and send it to the network, paying the corresponding fee in native MESA tokens. They can then view or retrieve their information at any time for free. As almost anything digital can be securely stored on a blockchain, myMessage opens up several use cases including encrypted messages for private information, verifiable legal documents, NFT artwork and other intellectual property, crypto, patents, or digital asset storage. Reddit-like Bulletin Board and Social Farming The Reddit-like thread-reply bulletin board will be a bridge for users to communicate, encrypt threads, and transfer data in a decentralized way, recovering the rights to, control over, and value of their data produced by socializing online. All users can connect their Web3 wallets to access the myMessage bulletin board. It is privacy-preserving in that all users can access data without risk of being exposed or traced. Users will also be able to enjoy farming rewards simply by socializing on the platform, and can pay in native MESA tokens to start private threads, post replies, comment, or like. They can also tip other users in MESA tokens when they see good replies and comments. MESA Token Utility Beyond its use as a payment medium for fees, tips, and social farming rewards, MESA is also used for governance, staking, and deflationary buy-backs, with a total capped supply of 5 trillion tokens. Holders of MESA can participate in DAO proposals and vote on the future direction of the platform. Stakers are offered staking rewards for providing liquidity and platform revenue will also partially be used for MESA buy-back and burns. What’s Next? The MESA public sale, token launch, and DEX listing is expected to take place by the end of the year, alongside staking services, a top-tier CEX listing, and Avalanche integration. The 2022 roadmap is then set to deliver multi-chain integration with BSC and Polygon, a mobile app release, and developer tools in the run-up to full mainnet launch.
