Lens V2: A New Chapter in the Social Web

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

As one of the pioneers in the Web3 Social Web space, Lens aims to overcome the limitations of traditional Web2 platforms. The CEO of Lens Protocol stated that the goal of V1 is to launch a Web3 Social Web, promote innovation, and test tools that benefit the Lens ecosystem. V2, on the other hand, pursues a more flexible modular design, aiming to further increase user autonomy in the Social Web experience. Lens V2 is expected to bring revolutionary changes to the Web3 Social Web in terms of social capital and user experience.

Challenges and Breakthroughs of Web3 Social Web

Currently, the development of Web3 Social Web platforms faces some difficulties. Traditional Social Webs are challenging to establish in a Web3 environment because social activities are much more complex than simple financial transactions. Social Webs in the Web3 world require more features and characteristics to meet user needs.

One major challenge is that social webs established solely based on specific content or business models often lack vitality. Users may flock in just to obtain rewards, rather than being genuinely interested in Web3 social interactions. This leads to issues of ephemeral user engagement and a lack of deep interaction.

In addition, traditional Social Web platforms control user data and social relationships, making it difficult for users to focus on building their own Web3 Social Web. They are accustomed to establishing and maintaining their social relationships on traditional Social Web, so there are certain barriers to transitioning to decentralized platforms to build new social networks.

Past 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 relied on traditional Web2 social platforms to connect users and disseminate value. This dependency creates vulnerability; once traditional Web2 platforms sever the connection with Web3 social platforms, the social value built upon them will also disappear.

To overcome these challenges, Lens Protocol has emerged as a decentralized Social Web underlying protocol. It allows 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, advancing the development of the Web3 social network by promoting the growth of the entire ecosystem.

Lens: A Shareable Social Web Base Protocol

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

Personal Homepage NFT

Personal homepage NFTs are one of the core concepts of Lens innovation. They transform users' personal homepages into non-fungible tokens, with each token containing the user's personal information, followers, and content-related data. The tokenization mechanism of personal homepage NFTs empowers users to autonomously manage their personal identities and trade them on the NFT market. Users can utilize personal homepage NFTs through methods such as selling, leasing, or authorizing to gain economic returns while ensuring the security and privacy of their personal information. The introduction of personal homepage NFTs facilitates the sharing of social capital and the realization of economic value.

Followers NFT

In order to fairly reflect the position of followers in the Social Web, Lens introduces the concept of follower NFTs. Each follower NFT is associated with a specific personal homepage NFT and grants the follower a unique serial number, representing their order and importance in the Social Web. Follower NFTs are not only a form of identity credential but also represent the social rights of the followers in the Social Web. The serial number and rights granted by follower NFTs ensure that the contributions and status of followers in the Social Web are fairly represented. The existence of follower NFTs promotes interaction and sharing among users, establishing a more balanced and fair social relationship.

Collector NFT

Lens introduces the concept of collector NFTs, enabling content collection and sharing within the Social Web. Users can transform their favorite content into non-fungible collector NFTs, which can be linked to their personal homepage NFTs. Collector NFTs grant users the rights to collect specific content and showcase their interests and tastes on the Social Web. Other users can obtain collector NFTs through trading or authorization, thereby sharing and displaying common interests and values among users. The introduction of collector NFTs enriches the content ecosystem of the Social Web, creating more opportunities for social interaction and sharing.

Content NFT

Lens allows users to convert their creative works into NFTs and link them to their personal homepage NFTs. Content NFTs represent the user's creations, which can take the form of articles, photos, videos, and more. With the introduction of content NFTs, creators can widely share and circulate their works in the Social Web, and trade them on NFT markets. This provides creators with a broader platform for showcasing and trading, promoting the appreciation and protection of their creative outcomes. At the same time, users can also obtain other users' content NFTs through trading or authorization methods, enriching the content choices and experiences on the Social Web.

Programmable Module

As a foundational protocol, Lens offers programmable modules that allow developers to customize various social interaction features according to their needs. These modules include social behaviors such as following, favoriting, commenting, and sharing, which developers can extend by writing smart contracts. The introduction of these modules provides users with flexibility and a personalized experience, opening up innovative application scenarios such as paid subscriptions and advertising incentives, further enriching the functionality and value of the Social Web.

Through the above design and features, Lens has created a shareable Social Web in the form of a foundational protocol. Personal homepage NFT, follower NFT, collector NFT, and content NFT together build the user's social capital, enabling them to manage and share independently. The programmable modules provide developers with innovative application scenarios, expanding the functionality and possibilities of the Social Web.

This design based on tokenized social relationships makes Lens an open, scalable, and customizable Social Web ecosystem that meets the diverse needs of users and promotes the sharing and appreciation of social capital.

Lens V2 New Features: Open Operations and Shared Value

Lens V2 is the latest version of the Lens Protocol, released during the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris in July 2023. At the launch event, Lens V2 showcased a range of exciting new features, including "open operations, shared value, personal profile updates, and personal profile management". The release of Lens V2 marks a further improvement in modular design, providing users with greater autonomy and flexibility.

Open Operations - Composable Social Web

Lens V2 introduces open operation features, further enhancing the composability of the Social Web, providing users and developers with more freedom and creativity. Open operation offers an open framework that allows developers to directly integrate external smart contract operations within Lens, thereby creating innovative experiences in the Social Web.

Through the composability of open operations, users and developers can choose different functions on Lens based on their interests and needs, and combine them to create a unique Social Web experience. This provides users with greater freedom to engage in areas they are interested in and share those experiences with other users.

The composability of open operations also provides the possibility for cross-chain operations. This means that 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 DAO, or make donations through Lens. This cross-chain operation expands users' Social Web into a broader blockchain world, bringing them more opportunities and experiences.

Shared Value

In Web2 social media, there has long been a problem of content appropriation and plagiarism. Although various platforms have taken measures to encourage originality, due to conflicts of interest among the platforms, no effective measures have been established to protect the rights of content creators, leading to ongoing issues of appropriation and plagiarism in Web2 social media.

However, with the release of Lens V2, this problem that has plagued Web2 for many years may be well resolved in Web3. Lens V2 provides an innovative solution by building a value chain of contributions. It allows everyone linked to the content publication to share in the revenue generated by that content.

In this process, content creators, content promoters (curators), and the platform can all participate in the content revenue. Original users can enjoy revenue from multiple platforms without having to promote themselves or repost on other platforms. The role of curators becomes very important, as they are responsible for promoting user-generated content to a wider audience 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 support for intelligent algorithms, helping users and curators to promote content more efficiently, allowing more people to see and share the benefits. This approach ensures that every participant in the chain can receive benefits, incentivizing 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 further expands the functionality of personal profiles by introducing the ERC-6551 standard. Each Lens personal profile can create a smart contract wallet account, equipped with all the features of an Ethereum account. This includes holding NFT and token assets, as well as interacting with decentralized applications. This added 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 follow system has also been improved. The follow relationships have shifted from wallet addresses to personal profiles, with all social operations occurring between personal profiles. This improvement enhances the experience for developers working with Lens. Additionally, personal profiles can now choose to tokenize NFTs, with all follow relationships associated with the personal profile rather than the followers. When a personal profile moves, its Social Web also moves, providing users with greater flexibility and convenience.

Additionally, Lens V2 has changed 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 personal profiles more...