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By published 20 May 22
Move aside, Elon.
If you’ve been living under a rock, you may have missed the news that Elon Musk has bought Twitter for over $44 billion. Not everyone is on board with Musk’s social media endeavours, and already users are looking to jump ship to other platforms – and we might have found the best alternative.
Lens Protocol is an NFT run social media app that intends to rival the likes of Twitter. The platform is built off Polygon – a framework for building blockchain made from Ethereum. And if that all sounds like gobbledygook to you, then make sure you check out our guide to what is blockchain.
Bloom into a new era of social 🌿 Lens Protocol is ready for you to build the next gen of social media apps. The garden is open… https://t.co/bhzgxs9JFt pic.twitter.com/m2IqtIfb7PMay 18, 2022
According to the Lens Protocol website, the app is “a Web3 social graph on the Polygon Proof-of-Stake blockchain. It is designed to empower creators to own the links between themselves and their community, forming a fully composable, user-owned social graph”. In other words, Lens Protocol aims to create safe user-run profiles that eliminate the risk of a user losing content and audience because of a social media platform’s policies.
The platform has already gained support from the likes of Lensfrens, Lenster, Phaver, Iris, Clipto and Zilly and is built off of Polygon. I know what you’re thinking – what on earth is Polygon? Well, it’s the first “eco-friendly blockchain,” meaning that whoever signs up for Lens, means that it helps with users’ carbon footprint too. 
You’re probably wondering what that adorable plant logo (see above) has to do with social media, right? Well apparently, the platform is named after the plant Lens Culinaris, which “is a tall, branched plant with pods of lens-shaped, small lentils”. Lens Protocol explains that “it [the platform] lets creators take ownership of their content wherever they go in the digital garden of the decentralized internet” (and that explains the plant logo).
With the rise of NFTs, cryptocurrency and the metaverse, it’s safe to say it’s a changing world. If you’re not well-versed in the weird and wonderful world of it all yet, then don’t worry, why not check out our guides to the metaverse and NFTs? Or if you’re looking to replace Twitter now that Musk has taken the reigns, then make sure you check out our roundup of the best Twitter alternatives for creatives.
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Amelia Bamsey is Creative Bloq’s Staff Writer. After accomplishing a first class honours degree in Popular Music and a Master’s in Song Writing, Amelia began designing posters, logos, album covers and websites for musicians. She now enjoys covering many design topics on Creative Bloq, including posters, gaming and illustration. In her free time, she relishes in the likes of art (especially the Pre-Raphaelites), photography and literature. Amelia prides herself on her unorthodox creative methods, her Animal Crossing island and her extensive music library.
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