Lens Protocol: A Composable & Decentralized Social Network

Lens Protocol is a decentralized social network that has a low carbon footprint and an established web3 team behind it. Each user retains ownership over their profile and the content they create. You can set up a DAO account, monetize your content and transfer your data. More web3 tools are to come, as the team believes in constantly working on innovation and serving the community.

What Is Lens Protocol?

Lens Protocol is a composable, decentralized social graph on the Polygon proof of stake (PoS) blockchain that empowers creators and puts them in control of their content and data.

History of Lens Protocol

Aave, a decentralized lending platform, is the mastermind behind Lens Protocol. Stani Kulechov, the founder and CEO of Aave, felt inspired to create Lens Protocol from discussions about the importance of having control over your digital identity. He’s a critic of the way Web 2.0 social media platforms determine what information users get to view and don't view, sell user data and limit their users’ abilities to take their content onto another platform.

Kulechov hinted about the new platform at LisCon in 2021 when he discussed the evolution and revolution of the social media ecosystem. The team later posted an open letter calling out the problem of companies owning and monetizing their users’ content. It describes Web 2.0 social media platforms as antiquated, centralized systems and web3 as the hope for giving users ownership over their own content and profile. Over 10,000 people have signed the letter.

Lens Protocol was first available on Polygon’s Mumbai testnet and transitioned to Polygon Mainnet in May 2022. Before Lens Protocol went live on the Mainnet, the platform received a PeckShield audit. The community was also allowed to investigate and report on the code. You can access the code on GitHub.

What Does Lens Protocol Aim to Achieve?

The team strives to mirror real-life social interactions without confining people to policies and algorithms. They’re giving power back to the users down to the right to monetize their own content as they see fit.

Lens Protocol wants to "create better and more sustainable online social experiences." The social media platform considers its impact on the environment while working on developing its technology.

How Does Lens Protocol Work?

When you create a profile, you're creating a composable NFT. This dynamic NFT stores all your content, comments, likes and reposts. Your profile is tied to a wallet address. If you want to collect someone's publication, you would receive a tradable NFT. As a content creator, you have control over who can collect your publications. Lens Protocol allows for monetization of your social media. You could require others to pay a fee to obtain certain content. Setting up subscriptions is also possible.

Because Lens Protocol is on the Polygon blockchain, applications can be deployed to any chain. Polygon is Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) compatible. Gas fees are also low on Polygon.

Follow NFTs are a core component of the decentralized social graph. They contain built-in governance that allows them to complete several tasks, including power delegation, getting power at a specific block number, and getting total delegated supply at a specific block number.

Three Layers of NFTs

This decentralized social network uses three layers of ERC-721 NFTs. Each layer is composable. A LensHub upgradeable contract functions as the main entry point for most interactions. Almost all interactions begin and function as ERC-721 NFT contracts. When a profile is created, a profile NFT is minted. When the profile gets its first follow, the Follow NFT contract is initiated by minimal proxy cloning. The contract keeps track of follower positions.

Similarly, when a profile gets its first collect, minimal proxy cloning deploys the Collect NFT contract. It records collected publications.

To reduce the gas cost of creating a profile, Lens Protocol was set up to deploy only the Follow NFT and Collect NFT contracts upon the first follow and collect.

All aspects of the code are built in a way that allows for easy development in the future. Modularity is another key component of how Lens Protocol works because it supports an openness for further innovation. Modules are governance-whitelisted contracts that stick to an interface while providing unlimited scope within the interface.

This composable social graph uses three main types of modules: Follow, Collect and Reference. Follow Modules activate when you follow another profile. A Follow Module is linked to each profile. Likewise, a Collect Module is tied to each profile. Collect Modules activate when you save publications. Reference Modules are for handling mirrors.

Features of Lens Protocol

Profile NFTs

Each profile gets its own NFT. Content and interactions with that content are stored on the token. A wallet address can own more than one profile NFT, if you like to manage multiple social media accounts.

To prevent squatters, Lens Protocol allows only governance-whitelisted addresses to create profiles. If you're creating an application that needs to mint multiple user profiles, then contact the team at their Discord for assistance.

Follow NFTs

Following someone gives you a Follow NFT. It includes a rarity ranking and utility. One possible utility is voting rights, if the individual you’re following offers it.

Publication

Publication is the term that Lens Protocol uses to refer to content. You can post videos, photos, music and text onto your Profile NFT. Posting directly to your Profile NFT helps ensure that all content created by you belongs to you. 

Collect

You can collect publications based on the owner's regulations, such as price and time. Once the owner sets a Collect Module, followers can mint NFTs linked to the contentURI of each publication. This enables content curation over the blockchain.

Mirror

The mirror feature reposts content from others onto your feed. It's possible to earn a cut of the original owner's profits.

Built-In Governance

The option for built-in governance is a feature that Lens Protocol offers. You can set up a social media account that allows followers to vote on key decisions.

Community Multisig

Multisig wallets work on this decentralized social graph. A multisig wallet requires more than one signature to confirm transactions and permission requests. With this feature in place, users are assured their content is secure, and the protocol will continue to be developed as a robust and constructive network.

Lens Protocol Grant

Lens Protocol offers grants to people who have a worthy idea for further developing the platform.

Areas the team would like to develop include:

• Analytics

• DAO tooling

• Creator monetization

• Ticketing/events

• Spam moderation

• Content

• Curation

All proposals are welcome even if they fall under a different category.

The team evaluates applications based on seven factors:

• Focus

• Open source

• Unique contribution

• Ability to execute

• Clear-use case

• Public good

• Friendliness

Things to Look Out for When Submitting a Proposal

In your proposal, it’s best to focus on only one specific idea at a time. The team disfavors attempting too many concepts in a single project. If you have more than one idea, first complete one, then submit another proposal for the other.

Lens Protocol has a strict open-source rule. The team will only accept proposals that agree for the code to stay open-source so everyone is able to view and work with it.

It's okay if another platform is doing something similar, but ideally, your idea should be unique. Strive to set your approach apart as much as possible to make it even better than a potential competitor's.

One of the most critical factors is your ability to execute your idea. In your application, prove to the team that you, or your team, has the ability to successfully complete the project. State the skills you have, as well as any past experience.

The Lens Protocol team prefers ideas that clearly benefit the existing ecosystem. It should be easy for you to explain how your concept provides value.

Public good is an important factor that the team keeps in mind when evaluating proposals. Only ideas that are in the best interest of users will be accepted.

Tying into the public good concept, Lens Protocol wants to give grants to those who are kind to others. If you’ve been getting into serious conflicts and fighting aggressively with people, the team will be concerned. They’re more likely to work with someone who goes the extra mile to interact within the Lens Protocol community. You may want to offer support or mentor others in their community.

Lens Protocol doesn't provide grants for marketing or venture funding. Companies with venture capital are welcome to apply for grants, but the money can't be used as venture funding. It must be used in developing the proposed feature for Lens Protocol. The team doesn’t want people misusing their funds, so they’re skeptical of applicants who aren't genuinely interested in web3.

Benefits of Lens Protocol

Freedom From Censorship

You don't need to worry about being censored when you own your own content on a decentralized platform. No one can delete your posts or deplatform you.

Own Your Data

There’s no data harvesting on this social media network. You’re the one who's in full control of your data, including its monetization and where it's displayed, as long as the app is compatible with Lens Protocol.

Low Potential for Centralized Abuse

Because there is no centralized authority overseeing the platform, the risk of people being treated unfairly is low.

Open to Innovation

Because the platform is open source, anyone can contribute to its growth. You may see new features added to the social network that are actually useful and in the best interest of the community. Web 2.0 companies are limited based on the professionals they hire for developing their platforms. They also tend to be more rigid in maintaining structure and a certain trajectory, rather than being open to adding tools that users would find helpful.

Bug Bounty

Developers can win a bug bounty for discovering and reporting vulnerabilities with the platform. Rewards are as high as $250,000. To report a bug, email Lens Protocol at security@lens.xyz.

Lens Protocol Road Map

Lens Protocol currently functions as a multisig web3 platform, but the team plans on transforming it into a DAO to allow users to have a say in decisions. They would be able to vote on proposed new features and modules.

A possible upcoming addition to the ecosystem is a native token. People would be able to buy and sell the token as a way of supporting the project.

Is Lens Protocol Worth Trying?

Lens Protocol is indeed worth trying because it protects you from being deplatformed and discriminated against. You can build an audience without fear of being separated from them via your account being taken down. Taking the time to nurture an audience on the platform can reward you as well. You’re able to monetize your content in the way you want.

Lens Protocol is committed to improving its platform. In addition to a team of developers, it offers grants to other developers who have ideas to expand upon its existing capabilities. An established web3 company is behind Lens Protocol as well. Thus, it’s unlikely you’ll be left with an outdated social media network.

The Future of Web3 Social Media

Web3 is the next phase of the internet, and social media isn't going to be left behind. Decentralization is the name of the game for web3. People have become increasingly unhappy with companies collecting data on them and selling it. Issues surrounding censorship and unfair treatment have also become hot topics. The blockchain and decentralization help resolve these problems.

Just as Web 2.0 social media was once in its early stages, web3 social media is in the beginning stages. You can expect far more innovation to come as developers use their imaginations to come up with creative solutions and platform features.

Web3 social media platforms also plan on bringing metaverse technology into play. Metaverse technology is in its early stages of development. The two technologies will develop side by side over the years. Artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality are components of the metaverse. Some people mistakenly believe that the metaverse is owned by Facebook, but many different companies are creating their own metaverses. Facebook just happens to be a big name that got attention for working on this technology.

DAOs are going to become more popular because people want to have a say in a company's decisions. An increasing number of new platforms are choosing to go the DAO route. You may even have a few surprises in the future with existing businesses changing their structure to incorporate community voting. The blockchain makes voting more secure because of its transparency and inability to be hacked.

Decentralized social media platforms will likely evolve to allow profiles to function like storefronts. Users may want to monetize their profile to earn some extra income. Tools may be released to make it easier for the average person to do this. Ads will be more genuine and targeted, because if a follower doesn't like what they see, they can always unfollow. Aside from ads on a person's profile that they themselves choose, they won't have to see the ads they view on Web 2.0 social media platforms.

The Bottom Line

Lens Protocol is a social platform that strives to bring back the genuine community side of a social network. It values the individual, and doesn't harvest their data. With a trusted team behind it, the app is likely to be sticking around for the long run.