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Hm so Steemit scrapes Facebook so your friends are there? Why wouldn't Facebook just cut them off? In general I don't think it is possible to create new inter

by chubot 8y ago

Hm so Steemit scrapes Facebook so your friends are there? Why wouldn't Facebook just cut them off? In general I don't think it is possible to create new interfaces to social media sites without the owners consent. It is too easy for them to break you on purpose, and that has happened many times in the past. Maybe I'm misunderstanding how it works. Decentralization also seems orthogonal to this issue. If someone could gain users by creating a new UI on top of Facebook, it would have already been done in a centralized fashion.

dumbfoundded 8y ago
Steemit is completely separate from Facebook and you have to create an account there. In terms of interface, it's a lot like reddit. The thing that makes Steemit unique is that to create your own version of Steemit, you just build an interface on the blockchain. You and every other developer has unlimited access to Steemit users, followers and other data. This allowed projects like DTube (a decentralized Youtube) to immediately have millions of users. If the Steemit website starts placing ads everywhere for example, someone can create a different better interface. The point of this decentralization is exactly what the author mentions. You decouple user data from the interface enabling companies to compete on interfaces instead of network effects.