The Internet has revolutionized the world, providing a vast playground for communication. Social media platforms, in particular, have become popular spots for sharing, discussing, and even creating the latest news. Yet, there's a problem: the game isn't always fair. This issue is the focus of a newly patented technology (US11743323B2) aiming to make the online experience more equitable.
At present, the users creating nearly all the content on social media platforms don’t receive any compensation. The platform owners, in contrast, profit handsomely from advertising sales driven by this free content. The imbalance is harming certain industries, most notably the news business. Social media companies rather than news publishers are largely capturing the economic value generated by online news audiences.
A recent patent awarded to Pinx promises a solution. It could level the playing field by returning social media to the foundational idea of the Internet – a decentralized and egalitarian system capable of balancing profit with social good.
The patent details a distributed architecture that brings integrity and civility back to social media networking. But how does it work? Well, think of it as appointing a playground monitor who keeps a record of what happens, ensuring everyone plays fair.
The system verifies all users, eliminating fake accounts and bot activity. It offers freedom from censorship and the so-called 'shadow banning' as the user-directed network is equipped with filters. It successfully curbs the spread of fake news and inappropriate content by maintaining a traceable, public record of all published workflows and content using blockchain technology. Moreover, it ensures data integrity and message authenticity by verifying all transactions.
In this new digital playground, each user has total control over their data, what is seen, shared, and monetized on their social network. Any foul play, such as a hack or denial of service attack impacting a user's network, doesn’t threaten the entire system. The distributed network effectively distributed hot-spotting (a lot of activity in one location), thereby avoiding an overload on the system resources.
The world after US11743323B2 would appear more equitable and respectful, with control returned to users. Consider, for example, an author able to exercise control over their online narrative, or a business choosing what is shared and seen on their network. The distributed architecture, maintaining unavoidable transparency, would allow users to identify fake news from its source, and publishers held accountable for their content.
In sum, the invention shows potential in returning power to the hands of users and publishers who create content. Yet, we should bear in mind that the release of this technology on the market is not guaranteed just because a patent has been granted. Only the future will tell if social media platforms will adopt this promising technology for a fairer Internet playground.
P.S. The patent (US11743323B2) concentrates on constructing a distributed social media network – think of a giant online playground. But remember, a jigsaw puzzle looks wonderful when complete. The same applies here; only time will determine if the pieces come together harmoniously in real-life application.