In the near future, the devices we use will operate on 100% personalized software. When AI can spontaneously create any application you can think of, there will be no need for app stores or 3rd party marketplaces.
When this happens, these edge devices will need shared data layers and oracles to ground and power their activities in real-time.
What does this mean for social networks?
When users are able to, and get used to customizing their experiences on these future devices across various aspects of their lives, which social network will they want to transport data across devices? When I “post” on this future device, which platform will accept and transmit this post for you to view on your device?
None of them. Not Meta, not X, not TikTok, not Reddit, etc. None of them. These platforms can only exist in a world where “platform-lock in” moats trump the importance of data transmission. When you remove static, shared interfaces, there is no need for them to exist.
There will be no social network platform in the future at all.
Instead, what will happen is that our devices will use open protocols. Content, messaging, and information will be transported over a decentralized network with E2EE. Permissionless systems that edge devices can use without any gatekeepers or walled gardens getting in the way.
We’ll have access to all the things we’re used to: “accounts”, scrollable feeds, serendipitous connections, topic-based threads, likes, etc. The interface will just be personalized to our needs with AI, removing the necessity for the platforms themselves. All we need is a shared, open data/comms layer – that’s what I think Nostr will evolve into.
Additionally, we’ll have access to a suite of cheap products/services that enhance our experience on the edge device (better & custom recommendation systems, creative & posting tools, etc.), similar to what is provided by the platforms themselves, but this time built by developers building on top of these protocols.