Open Social Protocols vs Closed Social Networks

Developers should learn Open Social Protocols to build decentralized social applications that prioritize user sovereignty, data portability, and censorship resistance, addressing issues like platform lock-in and centralized moderation meets developers should learn about closed social networks when building applications for secure team collaboration, internal communication tools, or community-driven platforms requiring user authentication and data privacy. Here's our take.

Open Social Protocols

Nice Pick

Developers should learn Open Social Protocols to build decentralized social applications that prioritize user sovereignty, data portability, and censorship resistance, addressing issues like platform lock-in and centralized moderation

Pros

• They are essential for creating interoperable social networks, enabling features like cross-platform messaging and content discovery in a trustless environment
• Related to: activitypub, at-protocol

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Closed Social Networks

Developers should learn about closed social networks when building applications for secure team collaboration, internal communication tools, or community-driven platforms requiring user authentication and data privacy

Pros

• They are essential for creating environments where sensitive information is shared, such as in corporate settings, educational institutions, or exclusive online communities, to ensure compliance with regulations and foster focused interactions
• Related to: authentication-authorization, real-time-communication

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Open Social Protocols is a concept while Closed Social Networks is a platform. We picked Open Social Protocols based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Open Social Protocols wins

Based on overall popularity. Open Social Protocols is more widely used, but Closed Social Networks excels in its own space.