As noted above, DeSo claims to be a tool to take a blockchain-based social network to one billion users. It’s worth noting that DeSo has never actually done that. In fact, no decentralized social media project has yet come near that number. In terms of funding and customer base, none of these startups compare to Twitter, Facebook, or other established brands.
Instead, users and creators see blockchain social networks as the first step toward web3, a safer, less centralized, more user-directed approach to online interaction. For them, blockchain is a vital first step toward users gaining more control over what they create and better protection against online bad actors. By contrast, stakeholders in conventional social networks see blockchain as a fad. Regardless, the possibilities of blockchain as applied to social networking are sufficiently fertile and interesting that people are investing and infrastructure is being built.