Understanding Decentralized Social Media1. How many servers do centralized social medias have?
| Company name | Servers | Users(billion) |
| Facebook | 30K | 2.37 |
| weibo | 20K | 0.5 |
| twitter | 4K | 0.126 |
2. Summary of decentralized social media nowadays
| Software name | Servers | Users(million) | Technology | Initial release |
| Steemit | ? | 1.24 | PoS blockchain | March 2016 |
| mastodon.social | ? | 0.459 | ActivityPub protocol | March 2016 |
| minds | ? | 1.25 | ActivityPub protocol? | June 2015 |
3. ActivityPub protocol
https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/Abstract
The ActivityPub protocol is a decentralized social networking protocol based upon the [ActivityStreams] 2.0 data format. It provides a client to server API for creating, updating and deleting content, as well as a federated server to server API for delivering notifications and content.
All servers are connected as a federated social network, this means all data are stored on servers.
4. Problem of federated social network
(1)data is too big for a user to set a server
Let see what’s problem will happen if it has 2 billion users.
If every user upload a 1K message(include picture)
2 billion * 1k = 2*10^9*10^3 = 2*10^12 = 2T
(2)where is my password?
All users register information are stored in these federated social network. For the source code is open source, there is also a root server controlled by a supervisor.
5. Next generation of decentralized social media(NDSM) MUST
(1) no password
A user doesn’t have a password, but a private key and a public key. He/She signs every message with the private key.
(2) Data on users’ PC or cloud server
Because data is too big, user only store useful data on local pc or rented cloud server.
Useful data: His/her tweets, followed users’ tweets, liked tweets and replied tweets.
(3) Public nodes
A Public node only stores users’ important information, like: public key, user name, IP/domain name, timestamp of newest tweets etc.
All information is under 100-150 bytes.
Let’s calculate how many disk for 2 billion users
2 billion * 0.1k = 2*10^9*10^2 = 2*10^11 = 200G
6. Commercial chance
(1)Because it is a bit difficult for normal users to set up their server, they can use traditional social medias which have implemented the protocol. A users’ private key maps to its password and login name.
The disadvantage is the user has to watch advertisement for using the APP, doesn’t have control of the account.
The advantage is fast and easy and free.
(2)If many users have the need for the servers, can select cloud server company like Amazon which may develop a easy cloud server for NDSM. A user only pays 10-100 dollars for it, and get easy and fast connection.
(3)many developers will set their servers. Actually if a user only gets followed users’ new message, local PC can do this very nice. Only when searching information or looking for new followed users will cost a bit more time.
(4)don’t worry, Google will do the search.
7. Q&A
(1) If I delete a tweet of mine, how do my followers delete it too?
All your tweets are your copyright. Followers only can quote them. For followers easy using, these tweets are stored in followers’ computers or cloud servers.
After you delete a tweet, the deletion will be added to the tweets stream, so all followers will receive the deletion, then delete quotation of the tweet. In then end, the tweet and the quotations of it will all disappear from the whole social network.
(2) If someone upload a porn video, how to prevent the video spread?
All followers of the account can see the tweet.
But if some of them use client with filtering porn function, they will not see it. The others do see the porn tweet, but they cannot re-tweet or relay it, because it violates the law.
(3)Can it serve to be a neighborhood social network?
Actually, if users fill their site information with a city, a town, or a street, these users with same site may develop some kinds of neighborhood relationship.
Sorry for my poor English, if you find some error , plz PM me, thanks.
