Hey everyone,
This will be covering new platforms not covered in the previous as well as rereview any applications or websites that weren’t quite to par but weren’t awful. I will very briefly double check the awful ones and either add them here if they’ve improved or not include them given, they were in the last one and you don’t need to see the same thing twice.
I’ve also updated the category names and made a few changes to the template. I’ve gone and rereviewed most of the platforms I previously looked at, made tons of updates, as well as looked at some new platforms.
In the video itself, I go through some of the main recommendations I give and platforms that I am currently using. I only go through some brief examples of ones not recommended for sake of time and to give some insight as to how I came to my decisions.
Great Blockchain Resources:
StateofDapps – Massive decentralized app directory - https://www.stateofthedapps.com Dapp.com – Another great dapp directory - https://www.dapp.com/
BitRadio – Listen to radio and earn crypto at - https://bitrad.io
Presearch – Earn crypto for using their search engine - https://www.presearch.org
Brave Browser – Earn crypto for allowing ads to display on your more secure and faster browser https://brave.com
Zeronet - Open, free and uncensorable websites, using Bitcoin cryptography and BitTorrent network https://zeronet.io/
Hilo – Track and talk about different coins - https://app.hilo.io
Storj – A decentralized cloud storage coming out of beta Fall 2019. https://storj.io/
Loom – A network for making blockchain applications on Ethereum - https://loomx.io/
Crowdholding – A collection of sharedrops, earndrops, and different ways to crowdfund with crypto. https://www.crowdholding.com
Blocklancer – Freelance gig economy like Fiverr - https://blocklancer.net
Bounty0x – This is where you can earn, review, or put up bounties that have small tasks to earn rewards like share a tweet about _____ coin to receive 50 BNTY. - https://bounty0x.io/
CMA Marketplace – This is the newer, less organized, less established version of Bounty0x, but worth an include - https://www.cryptomarketads.com
CoinsCalendar – Loads of information on events in the crypto space https://coinscalendar.com/
Experty – A skype alternative on blockchain - https://www.experty.io
Blockstack – A “browser” that enables other plugins and dapps to be built on top of it with some useful business applications. It’s called a browser, but you just need an account and other platforms run off it, but you don’t download anything or actually use a different internet browser. - https://blockstack.org/
Blockusign – a PDF signing solution on the blockchain utilizing Blockstack - https://blockusign.co/
Graphite – Store documents and files on the cloud via Blockstack. Mainly for document collaboration - https://app.graphitedocs.com/
XOR Drive – Encrypted cloud storage - https://xordrive.io/ App.Co – This isn’t something you can take advantage of unless you’re a developer, but I think they deserve a shoutout. They give out money to apps to incentivize them to improve and develop their applications. https://app.co/mining
Gladys Assistant – If you want an AI home assistant like Google home, but don’t trust them, you can try this on a Raspberry PI. - https://gladysassistant.com/en/
XORBrowser – Free blockchain web hosting - https://xorbrowser.com/
Platforms That Are Not Ready Yet (Unrated):
Most of these have been like this so long, I doubt they will ever release a product. Veme may just be behind though and Facebook we have no idea.
Substratum https://substratum.net/ - 7 Months + hasn’t been ready
SocialX https://socialx.network/ - 7 Months + hasn’t been ready
Foresting – https://foresting.io/ - 1 year + hasn’t been ready
Typerium - https://typerium.io/ - 7 Months + hasn’t been ready
Betexcoin - https://betexcoin.io/ - 7 Months + hasn’t been ready
Linix - https://linix.foundation/ - 5 months + hasn’t been ready
Yoyow - https://www.yoyow.org - 5 months + hasn’t been ready
Veme - https://veme.com/beta - Has an IOS app and was supposed to release an Android app in March of 2019 but didn’t. Almost 2 months behind now.
Appics – https://appics.com/ - Like Steepshot, but never released. Been in the works for years.
Publyto - https://publyto.io – An EOS dapp set to release soon
Facebook blockchain - I’m concerned about this one, but it is still yet to be announced
Previously Not Recommended And Still Not:
You’ve seen a lot of these on the previous and they haven’t improved.
Creary – Still too early on, couldn’t update my account (profile picture and info) so I gave up - https://test.creary.net U.Community – Can’t embed links or add video. Also can’t add any media to blog posts so I didn’t continue using it - https://u.community/
Amino Chats and Communities – Amino is interesting, but I really like using the desktop version of applications and given this is mobile only, that’s a unideal for me. Nonetheless I’m not a huge fan of small group chat communities so Amino isn’t my thing. If you like Discord/Telegram groups or have enjoyed using node based social platforms like Mastodon - https://aminoapps.com/ Eos.discussions.app – Couldn’t connect an account via EOS. Allows you to post anonymously though which I feel is problematic and could allow for relentless spam. https://eos.discussions.app
Onz – You had to download their wallet and I wasn’t sure how the social platform was accessed or utilized. The site was also slow - https://www.onzcoin.com/#
Voten – Little to no users and engagement. Top posts had less than 5 likes. - https://voten.co/
Snapzu – You need to be invited to join the platform and there didn’t seem to be a lot of interaction - https://snapzu.com/
Leeroy – Not currently accepting new users - https://leeroy.io/
Obisidan – Facebook messenger replacement but requires a download - https://osm.obsidianplatform.com/
Lisk – Need to download explorer and is still very early in development - https://lisk.io
PeerTube – Look I’d love to recommend this, but the average user would be confused and though I understand that true decentralization requires many networks but separating and keeping users in that network with an extremely limited upload space capacity would lead me to not even bother using the platform. Had I joined an instance, there would be 59 others in it only and I’d have the ability to upload 1 or 2 videos before capping out. Not recommended. https://joinpeertube.org/
CryptoCommunityWorld – Can’t use symbols in your password which is odd – Couldn’t update my picture – way too many tabs (unnecessary and unorganized) – Feels spammy, there are so many memberships and things to join or pay for on top of everything else – couldn’t post a picture and the site is slow. https://cryptocommunityworld.com
Diaspora - Too small of a network currently - https://diasporafoundation.org/
GNUsocial - hard to find, poor UI and confusing join process - https://gnu.io/
Mastodon - not a fan of the small hub like setup where you in these echo chambers like Hubzilla, Diaspora, Gnusocial, and more - https://joinmastodon.org/
Peepeth - great idea, slow network, awkward & cumbersome signing every 15 actions - https://peepeth.com/
Akasha - same issue as peepeth previously (expensive transaction gas fees), it was 0.22$ to follow one person so it’s not viable - https://beta.akasha.world
Peertube - No one is using this - https://joinpeertube.org
Adorin – UI is okay, functionality is decent. It’s essentially Facebook, but there’s little to no users or engagement and it could use some design improvements - https://www.adorin.cc
Social.Ambblox – Essentially a copy of Adorin with a different design https://social.ambbox.com
Bearshares - A replica of Steem, but they have had many issues with their platform staying online lately and it seems not worth it to me. To add to that they went down and came back with everyone’s post and crypto gone. Biggest scam I’ve used yet https://bearshares.com/ Memo.cash – Decent setup – Very similar to Twitter – I don’t see bitcoin cash as a viable method for actions when it costs $0.20 – Same issue as Peepeth, but with the added transactional issues – Used their suggested faucet and got little to no BCH so I didn’t proceed. - https://memo.cash
Bitbin – Very raw UI and only has like 117 posts so I just didn’t bother with this one - https://bitbin.it/
Golos – Almost all non-english users and I wasn’t trying to get into that since they probably won’t read my posts and vice versa - https://golos.io/
SwiftDemand – It’s hardly a social platform, it’s more of a forum and the majority of topics are just about the platform rather than actual social conversations and discussion. It couldn’t verify my identity, so I can’t make money. They want all your information to give you swift which you’re supposed to be able to claim for free not for trading all your privacy like this is an exchange. I gave up after a while. https://www.swiftdemand.com View.ly – Previously this didn’t work at all and I couldn’t get any help, but it’s been improved upon and is working now. Out of all the platforms not recommended, I was the most disappointed with this given they had great potential so now that I can actually post I will give a tertiary recommendation because yes while the publishing is great, the UI is and platform looks better than Bitchute and BitTube, it doesn’t have their community. The last 9 posts go from 5 minutes ago (mine) to 2 weeks ago, so the community isn’t very active. It’s likely because you must spend ETH or VIEW tokens every time you post and you need to buy and hold 100 VIEW tokens to even vote on other posts. The issue here is that you can’t do anything at all without money being invested and the thing is very few platforms succeed with this given the skepticism of the space. You have to be able to earn your share free and then have the option to invest. This is likely why it’s not being used a lot, but I see how it could beat spammers etc., still I don’t see it getting adopted nonetheless. https://view.ly
Not Recommended Anymore:
Buzzshow – Great layout, great video hosting application, but I couldn’t successfully upload a video after a few tries so I gave up. I will come back to this in the future as obviously given other people have uploaded it may just be not working for me. Tried uploading again and it still doesn’t work months later - https://buzzshow.com
Hyperspace – It has approval for posts, so it's like Trybe in that negative sense. You must connect and verify your phone number in order to receive free $AMPS every 24 hours which you can then use to upvote others and “amplify” their content. It’s designed like how SOLA was in its Instagram card like appearance but operates more like Medium or Trybe in terms of the way posting works. The design is clean, but the network is still very beta. You previously couldn't follow other users, but that was updated, profiles are very basic, and topics are very few, but the community is fairly engaged. This could easily be a top performer if it progressed and fixed its current issues. I was disappointed though that Canadians can’t verify their phone and get free Amps. After using it for another month or two, I’ve decided it’s not viable. I had posts not get approved for over 11 days. https://hyperspace.app/
Weku – A Steem alternative that has some potential as a new budding community however their coin has still not reached exchanges as far as a I know, they have one witness, and they have had issues without people illegitimately obtaining Weku via making many fake accounts for the sign in bonus so it has its issues and investing a lot into it would be a mistake. I am trying to get out and no one wants to buy my Weku. I’m pretty sure it’s a scam like bearshares - https://deals.weku.io/
Whaleshares – Another Steem alternative that is safer and more well setup than Weku although they do not use a reputation system like other Steem platforms which is very interesting. They are also tied to BTS, and there have been some issues with witnesses running scams with their own witness coins used on Whaleshares so again be wary, I’m selling off almost everything now and keeping a tiny bit. - https://whaleshares.io/
SOLA – I really liked this platform and did really well on it for a while, but it has shutdown as of April 10th. - https://sola.ai/
Platforms Not Previously Reviewed, But Not Recommended:
SocialChains – So I had a entire interview with the CEO and I was going to post after I found out the site had no users when they claimed 50-100 joined daily. There was no posts at all, it was a 12 hour wait to update your profile picture, there were no personal profiles or at least no way to get to them. Also you had to give you license and many verification pieces which seemed unnecessary. Given it seems like the real platform didn’t live up to the claims being made. I think their vision is interesting that they will solve all the problems on social media by removing anonymity, but I felt that MANY blockchain users go to these places for anonymity, though I think that concept is fading, especially for people trying to build a following. Try it if you like, but I mean even when I did the phone verification it didn’t work so it said I wasn’t allowed to use the platform and had to get even the CEO to help me with getting the staff to fix it. I gave up after trying to speed up the process to change my profile picture with support and they wanted another image of my ID so I gave up. https://go.socialchains.io
Primas – They have a small network, no language filter and it’s mostly not English so I wasn’t impressed. Only for mobile, but mainly for blogging so a bit annoying. Not much to it, wouldn’t recommend. Only has 100 downloads and it’s mobile only so essentially no one is using it. - https://primas.io Cent.co – I like this and I think it could maybe have potential, but the issue is. The minimum deposit is $5 and the minimum tip is $1, so I can only interact with 5 posts and then I’m done. I think the concept is cool that you earn the if you curate good content, but investing a dollar into someone at minimum is too much to ask and people will be reluctant to start off by giving Cent a ton of their money. https://beta.cent.co/ TouchSocial.xyz – This has little to no users at all and looks a little boring (it’s all gray). Nothing super unique about it, just an amateur version of what already exists. Also their token is literally worth $0 so them giving out $1000 TST as a sign up earndrop is a joke. https://touchsocial.xyz
PocketNetwork – Tried signing up and had an issue then came back again and it worked. Tried navigating around but you have to setup your profile first so I try and it doesn’t save it. I shrug it off and go to explore and it says no go and set up your profile so I try again. After 3 tries I gave up and simply do not recommend it - https://pocketnet.app
Narrative – Narrative looks like it could have potential, but it’s mainly geared to reward early adopters. Like for example to start a new “tag” or niche as they call it, you have to bid on it and it could be anywhere from $50-$500. I don’t think it’s realistic that people would pay that, but they have. I’ve only scratched the surface so maybe there is more to the story that is Narrative. https://www.narrative.org
TravelStack – Posts are over a year old, clearly no one uses this at all - https://app.travelstack.club
Sigle – This is essentially the blockchain version of Medium though it has no community or way to interact with others other than direct links at the moment. - https://app.sigle.io/
DebutApp – Blockstack social apps seem to never live up to expectation. You cannot see anything until you follow people and you don’t know who has content to offer. Most people haven’t posted so this is a dead end - https://debutapp.social
Fupio – Either I’m doing something wrong or there are literally no posts on this. https://fupio.com
Tertiary Recommendations:
DLive - This uses the Lino network and it's not an actual blockchain network. I want to include them and give them the chance to improve and build, but as of now they solely hand out points that you redeem through PayPal and there is no blockchain or crypto aspect at all. Yes, you can stake Lino points, but that doesn't make it a blockchain network. It was originally on the Steem blockchain competing with DTube and has since moved off and become more independent. I wouldn't give a primary recommendation because if you were going to live stream and wanted a blockchain alternative, this isn't it however it may be something you'd like to use if you aren't using Steem or want to explore more options. It does have some unique feature that you don't have on Twitch but is currently ultimately very similar. Going through their year-old FAQ they talk about how the blockchain main net was in testing and not launch and that there will be no specific launch date. DLive is a third-party application on Lino so if Lino doesn't follow through, DLive is useless. They also have no white paper or terms of service that I could find on Lino though they do have an overview: https://docsend.com/view/y9qtwb6. The main thing they are pushing is no platform cuts which is good, incentivizing as many actions as possible which is also good, and decentralized ownership which isn't what they are really doing because they can and have banned people for hate speech amongst other things. They claim they aim to prevent centralized decision making. It also goes into the staking process etc. - https://dlive.tv/
SpheroidUniverse – This is essentially Snapchat meets augmented reality, but it’s very basic right now. It’s worth checking out and I’m sure if it grows the right way that it will become popular in the AR and blockchain world. https://www.spheroiduniverse.io
Sapien – Made massive improvements to their design and UI, but still is a bit clunky making posts and the community is still small and unengaged. The top posts on the platform had only between 50-100 engagements and the site was so slow that it timed out at one point. Every time I go on the UI seems better and I’m always impressed with their consistent improvements. That being said, they also had an issue where you had to pay to comment and there was outrage and they said it was a bug, so that’s pretty bad. I’ll give it that it’s in beta, but huge “issues” like these remind me all to well of the scam that was and still is bearshares. If they can keep their platform in decent shape and it continues to grow I think they have a chance. - https://beta.sapien.network/
Scorum – This platform is well set up, but I do not use it because I’m not big on sports or gambling. This is a very niche platform geared for just that. They have their own cryptocurrency and operate similar to Steem, but with a more Minds like blogging style. This is here as a recommendation for those really into the sports niche https://scorum.com
BitTube – I’ve never had functionality issues, but they still could improve their design and it’s really hard to get views and interact with the community here. Their top videos have less than 1,000 views. I previously didn’t realize how small the community was here. It’s been okay, but hasn’t really improved in awhile. https://bit.tube
Trybe – Trybe is lacking community given the last article posted was older than a week, they don’t have many basics in place like cover images etc. People don’t interact with much and only really on blogs. It’s also pretty slow and clunky. Although it’s improved, it was insanely challenging to setup with Trybe. I spent so long trying to get Scatter working so I could use my Trybe and stake it – After more than a week and talking with 4 different support staff at Trybe and EOS, it finally worked. You may have a ridiculous amount of trouble getting started, but after that it’s smooth sailing. Runs on Wordpress, but hopefully they don’t rely on Wordpress. They do have moderators that approve your posts at the moment, but the staff say they will only do this during its early stages and eventually decentralize more. I appreciate wall posts and allowing you to use slideshows etc. like you would find on Linkedin. There can be something to find after overcoming the initial challenge and or you don’t care about earning Trybe and just want to use this as a social platform. Coming back to the platform it does seem like the community is back, but all the issues are otherwise still there. I think everyone is back because there was an update to the UI which looks great, but it’s still slow, awkward, and inconvenient - https://trybe.one
BitChute – Major improvements over time after using it more, but still unimpressed with the functionality. It’s slow and sometimes the loading screen gets stuck when I’m trying to navigate to a comment to reply to and then it never loads and I have to go through my videos to find the video that was commented on which is fairly tedious. Given that you can have it automatically copy YouTube videos over entirely was the key to me using this platform and getting past the other issues. If the functionality issues were fixed and major some slight design improvements, this could be one of my major recommendations on the next review. The comment system has been really annoying to use and I have problems with their comment section all the time, but lately it’s been getting better and I have hope. https://www.bitchute.com/
Indorse - very similar to LinkedIn, with some UI and ease of use improvements it could do well - mentioned later in connection with dock.iohttps://indorse.io
SpringRole – very similar to indorse, but focused on skills – mentioned later in connection with dock.io - https://springrole.com Dock.io + sub dapps - like Indorse it’s a replacement for Linkedin, but needs more people and more work done to it – Connects to Springrole, Remote, soon to Indorse, and many other Linkedin/employee recruiting/professional networks – It may still need more work, but it’s the best Linkedin alternative on the blockchain so far. Not fully functional when I checked it for the video. - https://dock.io/
Secondary Recommendations:
Before I go into these. I cover them more in-depth and list more gripes about them because I’m going deep as to why they aren’t 10/10, but they are still in the top 5 recommendations. I only dive deep into their flaws because I want to stay unbiased as well as because I want to see the flaws fixed and these platforms succeed and rise to prominence.
Publish0x – I think there is a lot of potential here and I think getting in on it early will yield a lot of benefits to those who try it out. Cashing out is no issue since they have crypto tokens on there, adding new ones monthly and you will earn well known tokens that you can easily trade on exchanges. Considering I’ve earned like $10-$15 I’m intrigued and impressed. I’m trying to use it more often. I have been briefly talking with the CEO and they have some really cool ideas and stuff in the works. The only issue I really had was that there was no way for me to see notifications unless using email notifications, but their higher-level staff assured me that was one of their priorities to add given email notifications were just a fix and the platform is still very new. They are crypto agnostic, so they don’t have their own coin, meaning they are open to working with any currency which ensures they won’t become biased. Not only that, but it gives them a huge integrity boost to know that they won’t be able to exit scam or that the platform won’t see a decline if the value went down like we are seeing on Steem. One last gripe though was that they only process withdrawals on Mondays so if you withdraw Tuesday you have to wait 6 full days. It’s not that bad, but worth noting though they did explain to me that it was because they use offline storage and it was for security which makes sense. I know I’ve listed a lot of minor gripes because I want to be unbiased, but this platform is really good, and I am sure by the next review it will be a primary recommendation. Note they are the first platform to let you earn many different cryptocurrencies for your content in one place. - https://www.publish0x.com/?a=gl9avjgaG1
Uptrend – This could have been higher recommended but right now it’s only focused on crypto and not changing for some time so it may not be a great go-to for social unless you are somewhat of a crypto enthusiast. To be fair too, I attempted to sign up originally and it wasn’t working. I even tried using Facebook and didn’t work. Eventually though soon after, I got on via an invite and it worked. They are in beta so I will give them that and they’re trying to grow very steadily so they can prepare and build infrastructure. It’s a cool site that is very similar to Reddit. Their topics and discussion are very focused on crypto and a few other closely related topics, so it’s pretty niche for now. On the more positive side, I see great potential for Uptrennd as the interaction and engagement is amazing. The community is really awesome too. Given they open up the communities and improve on the registration process which I expect they will. I do believe in its potential hence giving them a secondary recommendation and I will still use it. It’s has a fun gamified approach to earning crypto and it’s very unique. I did have the pleasure of speaking with and interviewing the founder and I do believe in his vision and what they’re trying to do. I am sure on my next report this will be a primary recommendation. - https://www.uptrennd.com/signup/MTY1Mg
Primary Recommendations:
Steem - This is my alternative to Medium / Reddit / Facebook – Steem is an innovative blockchain that enables you to earn money for every like you receive from other users. It has a reputation system, invested staking, it’s censorship resistant, and it solves a lot of monetization issues. It’s a great solution for the censored, demonetized and anyone looking to earn some money and explore a new platform. Not much at all has changed and I wouldn’t expect it to, given how long Steem has been around. The link provided is for Steemit, the first interface people usually get on, but there are plenty of other Steem interfaces you can use like DTube, Steepshot, Partiko, and more. It’s still the most viable place to earn money that you can withdraw and get into your hands quickly and easily. Read this article - https://cryptobriefing.com/steem-digital-asset-report-token-review/ - This is extremely insightful and points out the major issues in Steem like they layed off 70% of their team and are reporting losses, 40% of the currency is owned by less than 100 people and many could be duplicate accounts, the active user base has halved since last year, and it's overrun by bots. I still have hope that witnesses could turn this around and if enough people joined it, the power would even out, but we shall see - https://steemit.com/
Partiko - Best mobile Steem application - https://partiko.app/referral/scottcbusiness
There Can Only Be One:
Minds – This is my alternative to Twitter / Facebook, but if there could only be one platform I’d use, it would be Minds. You have less opportunity to earn a huge profit than on Steem, but Minds is much more robust and has a lot features and things to offer. Their blockchain integration currently is just for their boosting (advertising) model where you earn for everything you do, but it’s only real use is for spending on promoting yourself. It’s very useful and a great system, but you’re not likely to make profits from it. Still that being said, it’s one of the best platforms and it has the most hype right now. The CEO and staff are very receptive to the community and improving the platform. There are also many influencers who are on Minds and some like Tim Pool who are even advocating that people use Minds and get off Twitter. Minds has become my favorite and most interactive platform. It’s the platform I have the least gripes about and the biggest issue I see is people complaining about their Nazi propaganda having an explicit tag so they’re doing a pretty good job with being lax on speech restriction, instead they give you the tools for filtering. - https://www.minds.com/register?referrer=scottcbusiness
Conclusion:
The biggest changes were Uptrennd coming up on my radar and it has some potential, publish0x is a hot topic right now, hyperspace couldn’t cut it, SOLA shut down, and Trybe dropped off the radar. Dock.io is still progressing slow, but that network of applications are the only ones really in that space, so they get to take the cake. Also DLive fell off since Lino has been claiming to launch for years and hasn’t and it’s basically a better version of Twitch riding off the popularity and appeal of blockchain technology without actually implementing it.
Otherwise Minds is still my favorite, then Steem, and now I have to follow Publish0x and Uptrennd more closely to see what will replace SOLA. I’ve been appreciating Steem more for how it can generate passive income and have been a very unimpressed with SOLA lately since the issues with their crypto wallet when depositing or withdrawing happen so often and then they just randomly shut down. Minds continues to lead and get better gaining tons of traction and more influencers. I think they may end up being the go-to platform. They are also pushing to integrate more and more with the blockchain and decentralize as much as possible.
If you feel I made a mistake, poorly reviewed something, or missed a key platform to review, please comment below and I will take your feedback in and edit this to include it or edit my post accordingly. I really hope this benefits you as much as I hope it does. This took me a very long time. Please share this with others if you believe they will find use in it too! For some I explained my reasoning more than others. If you’re interested, you can inquire, and I’ll get more in-depth. Also, I will be reviewing the platforms I use more in-depth too. There are great browsers, messengers and other applications I will cover in the future, this was just focused on blockchain social media.
I will do individual reviews on the best platforms as well as one like DLive on how they aren’t what you thought. Let me know what you think about all this in the comments below!
