7.4 Market Competition: Lens Protocol

Lens Protocol

Lens Protocol is a blockchain-based open-source social graph that allows users to completely own their digital roots and enable them to on the connections between themselves and the communities. It was introduced in early 2022, and its smart contracts-based social graph differs from the centralized social media graphs as the data access is available for the decentralized services.

Lens Protocol's open social graph architecture allows any blockchain-based social media platform or DApp to plug into it, and the flexible design of Lens Protocol is based on modularity concepts, allowing the latest features and fixes to be implemented, securing social relationships and user-owned content.

The Lens Protocol's advantages are permissionless independent network, censorship-resistant environment, energy-efficient and affordable blockchain, and users owning their content and data.

However, there are several disadvantages involved, including limited blockchain on-chain storage capacity, and as a result, not all content and NFTs are stored on this level and require another storage solution.

Weak Points

• Adoption: As a relatively new blockchain-based social media platform, Lens Protocol may struggle to attract a critical mass of users to create a vibrant community.

• Storage: While Lens Protocol leverages the Polygon blockchain to store data, there are still limitations on the amount of on-chain storage capacity available. This means that not all content and NFTs can be stored on-chain, which may impact data availability and security.

• Security: Lens Protocol uses distributed file storage systems such as IPFS, Arweave, or AWS S3 to store users' original content files. However, these storage solutions may not be fully secure, and there is a risk that content could be manipulated.

• Interoperability: While Lens Protocol is compatible with cryptocurrency wallets like MetaMask, Gnosis Safe, and Argent, it may face challenges in achieving interoperability with other blockchain-based social media platforms and DApps.

• User experience: As a decentralized platform, Lens Protocol may present a steeper learning curve for users who are not familiar with the principles and technology behind Web3 and blockchain-based applications. Improving the user experience could be a critical factor in driving adoption and engagement.