We have seen this story play out time and time again. After growing lightning fast on Facebook and introducing new social mechanics to the platform, Farmville shut down when Facebook revoked access to their Graph API. Tweetbot, Twitteriffic, and Fenix all had to shut down when Twitter abruptly and unilaterally revoked access to its API – even for paying customers! The App Store, meanwhile, has been notoriously strict in reviewing apps that enable users to transact with NFTs.

The users of these products admirably rallied to support the developers. But what if there was another way to access the benefits of social graphs without the ever-looming existential threat of deplatforming?

A completely open, permissionless social graph could solve this problem forever. Instead of blindly trusting platforms to keep their APIs open, we could instead develop on an open protocol that we don’t have to trust. Instead of “don’t be evil”, we’d rather work in a system that “can’t be evil.”

That’s why we’re developing Tapestry – to bring social data onchain and return sovereignty to the developers and users of social graphs. Innovations like DeFi, art NFTs, stablecoins, and liquid staking have disintermediated gatekeepers and rent-seekers and expanded financial opportunity across the globe. We believe it’s time to do the same with our social lives and social data. Only decentralization can save us from the gatekeepers.

If you’re building a product and you’re interested in bringing your social data onchain, please reach out – we’d love to get in touch. Join us on our mission to make a better internet.

TikTok cracked the code with better technology and an innovative content format, but they are the exception and not the rule. Standard social media is already at full saturation, or beyond, but its replacement is likely not another giant, but instead a small army of ephemeral competitors. One way to make this small army greater than the sum of its parts is with an open social graph like Tapestry.

Apps like BeReal, noplace, poparazzi, NGL, Gas, Clubhouse, Houseparty serve niche user needs, get popular quickly, then die down. User tastes are becoming increasingly temperamental; apps can capture lightning in a bottle for a moment, but not sustainably. This is likely the state of affairs for the next generation of social; the incumbency advantage held by the giants is strong. Multiple generations cannot imagine life without Instagram or Facebook. And both platforms have mastered manipulating the endowment effect to secure lock-in on their apps. All of my high school photos are on Facebook; the only thing keeping me on Facebook is my inability to mass download them to my personal computer. And similarly, the network of Instagram makes it hard to leave; I want to know what my friends (and favorite celebrities) are up to.

So, in this era of social in which we have dominant incumbents, perhaps permanence should no longer be the goal. Nikita Bier has become a star by proving his ability to repeatedly make “one-hit wonders.” With an open social graph, the developers who make hit apps can build a following, and when one project starts to dwindle, they will own their audience and be able to port them to the next one. In the next era of social, the developers will be the rockstars.