The Strategic Imperative and Feasibility of a Peer-to-Peer Distributed Social Network

We evaluate the strategic and technical feasibility of a decentralized social network where users control their data, focusing on user ownership, privacy, and an ad-free model. The concept relies on personal data storage (like home "black boxes" or secure cloud instances) and user-defined smart contracts for data sharing. While addressing issues with centralized platforms, the sources acknowledge major hurdles like overcoming network effects, ensuring ease of use, establishing effective governance and content moderation without centralization, and securing sustainable funding for the core technology. The discussion explores existing decentralized technologies and suggests a phased development approach to navigate these challenges and build a more user-centric digital future.