What are social tokens? Social tokens are a type of digital ownership that let businesses and creators use blockchain to pay for experiences or services. You can read this article for more information.
What are social tokens?
Social tokens are virtual currency tokens created by a business or creator (typically under their name) to engage with and grow a community of followers or customers. They are also known as creator tokens or community tokens. Community members can either get them by fulfilling requirements or pay for them directly from the developer in place of receiving exclusive benefits.
The core concepts underpinning social tokens are participation in the community and the belief that this worth will rise exponentially over time. They give the community a chance to vote on the content the creator puts out, building trust and engagement between creators and the community members.
Another long-term goal of these tokens is to replace subscription or advertising-based models for accessing content. At the moment, many social media platforms, like YouTube and TikTok, only pay creators a part of the revenue that the platform makes through their content. By having a social token of your own, eliminates the middleman and increases the creator's income.
Social tokens vs non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
It is also crucial to emphasize that social tokens and NFTs are not the same things. NFTs provide a brand-new tokenized form of ownership, but it's distinct from social tokens. While social tokens are more akin to a form of currency used to sell services or experiences, NFTs are tied to the ownership of digital assets.
You could counter that some NFTs may also grant the owner access to specific services; for example, a Flyfish Club NFT gives you access to Gary Vaynerchuk's members-only, exclusive restaurant Flyfish Club. The distinction is that social tokens can be exchanged for one another, whereas NFTs cannot be, as their name implies. Additionally, the uniqueness or particular benefits that NFTs provide are what gives them their value. However, because a social token's value is directly connected to its creator, purchasing one is comparable to making a direct investment in the inventor.
Conclusion
What Are Social Tokens? Well, I hope now you know what it is. In this new economy of ownership over people's digital presence and digital inventions, social tokens are poised to become a significant asset. Currently, they are more of an experiment than a common practice, but as more publishers, influencers, and online communities join on board and develop social tokens, attracting and gaining sizable followings in the process, this might change soon.
Social tokens carry risks since they are intimately linked to the person or brand they are granted in honor of. On the other hand, they're also an opportunity to re-think content creation and community engagement, resulting in more value being distributed to all those involved.
