Lens V2: A Key Step Towards Pioneering a New Era of Web3 Social Interaction

Recently, Lens Protocol successfully completed the highly anticipated migration to version V2. This new version is centered around the core principles of "openness and composability, shared interests, trust, and security," bringing exciting feature updates for users. Users can not only interact with smart contracts within social media but also perform external smart contract operations in Lens's publications.

As one of the pioneers in the Web3 social networking space, Lens is committed to overcoming the limitations of traditional Web2 platforms. The CEO of Lens Protocol stated that the goal of V1 is to launch a Web3 social network, promote innovation, and test tools that benefit the Lens ecosystem. Meanwhile, V2 aims for a more flexible modular design, with the goal of further increasing user autonomy in the social networking experience. Lens V2 is expected to bring revolutionary changes to Web3 social networks in terms of social capital and user experience.

Challenges and Breakthroughs: The Web3 Social Revolution of Lens Protocol

The development of Web3 social platforms faces some challenges. Traditional social networks find it difficult to establish themselves in a Web3 environment because social activities are much more complex than mere financial transactions. Web3 social networks require more features and functionalities to meet user needs.

One of the main challenges is that social networks built solely on specific content or business models often lack vitality. Users may flock in just to earn rewards, rather than being genuinely interested in Web3 social interactions. This leads to issues of short-lived user engagement and a lack of deep interaction.

Moreover, traditional social media platforms control users' data and social relationships, making it difficult for users to focus on building their own Web3 social networks. They are accustomed to establishing and maintaining social relationships on traditional social media, which presents certain barriers to transitioning to decentralized platforms to build new social networks.

Previous Web3 social platforms attempted to establish social value through the issuance of social tokens, community passes, NFT artworks, and other means. However, these platforms still rely on traditional Web2 social platforms to connect users and disseminate value. This dependency creates vulnerabilities; once the traditional Web2 platforms sever their connections with the Web3 social platforms, the social value built upon them will also disappear.

To overcome these challenges, Lens Protocol emerged as a decentralized social network underlying protocol. Unlike traditional social media, Lens Protocol itself is a social network. It enables third-party developers to easily build their own social media applications based on the protocol by sharing users and user data. The goal of Lens Protocol is not to achieve a Web3 social network through a single application, but to create a shareable social network in the form of a foundational protocol, promoting the development of the Web3 social network by driving the growth of the entire ecosystem.

Lens: Creating a Shareable Social Network in the Form of a Basic Protocol

Lens is an innovative social network based on foundational protocols, standing out with its shareable features. By transforming personal profiles, followers, collectors, and content into NFTs, Lens empowers users with more rights and opportunities. At the same time, the introduction of programmable modules enhances the composability and openness of the social platform.

Personal Homepage NFT: Converts users' personal homepages into non-fungible tokens, containing users' personal information, followers, and content-related data. Users can utilize the Personal Homepage NFT through methods such as selling, leasing, or authorizing to gain economic returns while ensuring the security and privacy of their personal information.

Follower NFT: Associated with a specific personal homepage NFT, it grants followers a unique serial number that represents their order and importance within the social network. The Follower NFT is not only a proof of identity but also represents the social rights of the follower in the social network.

Collector NFT: Enables the realization and sharing of content collections within social networks. Users can convert their favorite content into NFTs and associate them with their personal homepage NFTs. Other users can acquire Collector NFTs through trading or authorization, sharing and showcasing common interests and values.

Content NFT: Allows users to convert their creative works into NFTs and associate them with their personal homepage NFTs. Creators can widely share and circulate their works on social networks and trade them in the NFT market.

Programmable Modules: Provides programmable modules that allow developers to customize various social interaction features according to their needs. Developers can extend functionalities by writing smart contracts, offering users flexibility and a personalized experience.

Through these designs and features, Lens has created a shareable social network in the form of a base protocol. Personal homepage NFTs, follower NFTs, collector NFTs, and content NFTs collectively construct the user's social capital, enabling them to manage and share independently. Programmable modules provide developers with innovative application scenarios, expanding the functionalities and possibilities of the social network.

Lens V2 New Features: Open Operations and Shared Value Sharing

Lens V2 is the latest version of Lens Protocol, released during the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris in July 2023. V2 showcases a range of new features, including "open operations, shared value, personal profile updates, and personal profile management," marking further improvements to modular design and providing users with greater autonomy and flexibility.

Open Operations - Composable Social Network

Lens V2 introduces open operation capabilities, further enhancing the composability of social networks. Open operations provide an open framework that allows developers to integrate external smart contract operations directly into Lens, creating innovative experiences.

By leveraging the composability of open operations, users and developers can select and combine different functionalities on Lens based on their interests and needs, creating unique social experiences. This provides users with greater freedom to engage in areas of interest and share these experiences with other users.

The composability of open operations also provides the possibility for cross-chain operations. Users on Lens can interact with other blockchain networks and participate in different ecosystems. For example, users can purchase land on a certain virtual world platform, join a decentralized autonomous organization, or make donations through Lens. This cross-chain operation expands the user's social network into a broader blockchain world, bringing more opportunities and experiences.

Shared Value

Lens V2 provides an innovative solution to the long-standing issues of content transportation and plagiarism in Web2 social media by constructing a value chain of contributions. It allows everyone who participates in linking to the published content to share in the revenue generated by that content.

In this process, original content creators, content promoters (curators), and the platform can all participate in content revenue. Original users do not need to promote themselves or repost on other platforms to enjoy the revenue from multiple platforms. Curators are responsible for promoting user-generated content to more people or publishing it on other platforms, while also being able to share in the revenue. This creates a layered revenue mechanism.

In addition, Lens V2 also provides intelligent algorithm support to help users and curators promote content more efficiently, allowing more people to see and share the benefits. This approach ensures that every participant in the chain can earn rewards, encouraging the continuous creation of original content and attracting more attention from people, while also promoting the prosperity and development of the community.

Profile Update

Lens V2 introduces new standards and further expands the functionality of personal profiles. Each Lens personal profile can create a smart contract wallet account, possessing all the features of an Ethereum account. This includes holding NFT and token assets, as well as interacting with decentralized applications. This increase in functionality gives personal profiles greater programmability and interoperability, allowing users to manage and utilize digital assets more flexibly.

In Lens V2, the architecture of the attention system has also been improved. Attention relationships have shifted from wallet addresses to personal profiles, and all social operations occur between personal profiles. This improvement enhances the developers' experience with Lens operations. Additionally, personal profiles can now opt for NFT tokenization, where all attention relationships are associated with the personal profile rather than the followers. When a personal profile moves, its social network moves with it, providing users with greater flexibility and convenience.

Additionally, Lens V2 has transformed the paradigm of the social asset system. Personal profiles are no longer just a static entity associated with a wallet address, but have become independent individuals with their own social graphs and following systems. The value of social graph relationships is directly attached to personal profiles, making the profiles themselves valuable social assets.

Personal Profile Management

Lens V2 introduces a new layer of personal profile security, allowing users to delegate social operations to different wallets. Users can switch between multiple wallets as needed, without having to bind all social functions to a single wallet address. This flexibility makes it easier for users to manage their personal profiles and choose the wallet that best suits their needs for operations.

In addition, Lens V2 supports various association modes, allowing users to link one profile to multiple wallet addresses, or one wallet address to manage multiple profiles. This flexibility enables users to choose the most suitable association mode based on their needs and usage scenarios.

The improvements in account management allow users to manage their personal profiles more flexibly. Users can choose to host their personal profiles in a secure cold wallet, while delegating social functions to operate from other wallet addresses. This decoupling of personal profiles from wallet addresses enhances security and also provides users with more choices and convenience.

Summary

Lens Protocol is steadily advancing through continuous version iterations, aiming to become a truly decentralized Web3 social platform with sustainable social value. On Lens Protocol, users have more control and data sovereignty, and they are encouraged to actively participate, contribute, and interoperate with other applications and protocols. Currently, the Lens Protocol ecosystem has developed over 100 applications, covering various fields such as social entertainment, incentive mechanisms, and professional communication, catering to different user needs.

This diverse collection of applications demonstrates the advantages of an open social graph, going beyond the limitations of traditional single social media applications. Users gain more power, as their profiles and relationships no longer exist solely on privately hosted servers, but become assets owned by them. The Lens Protocol, as a protocol-based shared social network, opens up new possibilities for Web3 social by empowering users and allowing them to choose how to develop and monetize social networks.