Pi Network Unveils Web3 Social Platform Fireside Forum to Foster Positive Online Interactions

Sead Fadilpašić
Last updated: | 3 min read
Source: AdobeStock / oatawa

The Web3 app ecosystem, Pi Network, has introduced a “self-moderating” social platform featuring integrated tokenomics designed to promote better content and enhance accountability – a platform where users pay to post.

Founded in 2018, Pi Network is described as a community of Pi miners working on building a Web3 ecosystem. 

On Wednesday, the project revealed the decentralized Fireside Forum – a Web3 social platform that emphasizes authenticity, constructive conversations, and healthier online interactions, according to the press release. 

This platform allows Pi Network members, aka Pioneers, to interact with millions of other people. 

However, the new model dictates that the Pi crypto is used to reward positive and penalize negative interactions and behavior in posts, replies, and channels. 

The press release stated that,

“This latest product offering from the Pi Core Team envisions what a true Web3 social network can be by integrating tokenomics to increase accountability and encourage better content, while tackling spam and online harassment.”

Fireside Forum is available on the Pi Browser, a Pi Network mobile app that can be downloaded on Google Play or the Apple App Store for free. 

Your Words Will Cost You 

The team argues that, unlike traditional social media platforms, cryptocurrency is integrated into the core of Fireside Forum’s social mechanism.

The use of tokens is meant to help moderate behavior online and create a “healthier user experience.” 

Additionally, the users pay for posting.

“Counterintuitively, [Fireside Forum] explores the idea of creating posts at a cost, whereby authors can only recover this cost – via tips from an approving decentralized audience – by providing great content.”

This, the team said, is expected to result in “meaningful interactions,” and it will also give more visibility to the content “the community considers valuable,” based on the engagement level. 

Furthermore, it is meant to address the spam and online harassment issues plaguing the sector. 

This is where the decentralized aspect of the platform comes in, with the Pi Network saying that,

“This gives the community decentralized authority on how content will trend, encouraging not only more authentic interactions but greater accountability.”

Pioneers need to pass a KYC program to interact with other, also KYC-verified, pioneers. 

Once they migrate their mined balance to Pi Mainnet, they can buy in-app tokens with their Pi crypto. They will need these tokens to do anything on the platform, including posting and replying to posts, as well as promoting and demoting any specific content. 

These are also the tokens that creators receive as tips based on community engagement with their content.

“Traditional social networks are struggling with misinformation, trolling and internet violence. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies can facilitate the much-needed change that people are hoping for,” said Nicolas Kokkalis, a Founder and Head of Technology at Pi Network. 

Chengdiao Fan, the other Pi Founder and Head of Product, added that they created the design for Fireside Forum “based on learnings from prior research about online behavior and interactions, and our hypotheses about crypto-fueled solutions to potentially address the flaws of traditional social networks,” adding that “true Web3 social solutions should be more than just moving things onto a blockchain.”

This platform is “just one of the early instantiations” of Pi Network’s work in social networking, they said, and its design will continue to evolve based on the knowledge they gain. 

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