Pawoo.net Acquired By Mask Network, A Detailed Analysis

The Social Coop Limited, which is associated with Mask Network, has acquired Pawoo.net, a large Mastodon instance.

The acquisition of Pawoo marks another milestone for the Mask team in building a decentralized social network and a free, open internet. Moreover, the portal lets users send encrypted messages and cryptocurrencies while also accessing decentralized apps (dApps) on both traditional and decentralized social networks.

What is Mask Network?

At present, tech companies are dominating the internet, controlling how users interact with the online world. These companies dictate what users can post, what they can see, and with whom they can communicate. Due to this crypto acquisition, users often lack complete ownership of the content they post since today’s Web 2.0 platforms remove content that does not meet their standards.

The objective of Mask Network is to create features on traditional social media platforms that are compatible with the decentralized social media world, while maintaining a high degree of familiarity to Web 2.0 users. By doing so, more people can access Web 3.0 without leaving Web 2.0 sites.

Mask Network already supports several decentralized applications (dApps), including Uniswap and SushiSwap. Furthermore, it is compatible with various social media platforms, such as X and Facebook.

How Does Mask Network Work

When a user installs the Mask extension or downloads the app and connects their accounts. Users can showcase non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on their social media profiles or bid on an NFT from platforms such as OpenSea or Rarible. Additionally, they can share or donate to a grant on Gitcoin, send cryptocurrency with a social media post, and discover other similar options.

Mask Network 2.0 includes the multi-chain Mask wallet, a MaskID login system that combines users’ social media accounts and Web 3.0 addresses, and a dApp marketplace known as D.Market. In addition to this, users can access Mask Network via Chrome Web Store, Firefox ADD-ONs, and beta on iOS and Android devices. Moreover, Mask Network wants to bring the new, open internet to existing social platforms to allow more people to engage with Web 3.0.

What is Pawoo on Mastodon?

Pawoo has been operating from Japan since 2017 and is the second-largest Mastodon instance. It has attracted users from all over the world, including illustrators, anime fans, novelists, and music enthusiasts since its inception. 

With about 800K users, Pawoo has become a “place to enjoy creative activity and unfettered communication.” The Mask team has achieved another significant step towards creating a decentralized social network and a free, open internet through the acquisition of Pawoo.

There’s a lot of excitement for the emergence of decentralized social networks. Mastodon, which is an open-source and decentralized social network, currently has 1.9 million monthly active users and has become the go-to choice for many users who believe in self-control and autonomy. 

Although it functions like Twitter, Mastodon allows individual users to set up their social networks and determine how it operates and what their users can share. The Mask team has maintained two of the most active instances of Mastodon, mstdn.jp, and mastodon.cloud, and collaborated with Mastodon core builder team and NYC-based design firm Lickability to build the first official app for Mastodon.

How Does Mastodon Function?

Networks like Mastodon operate in a decentralized manner, which provides users with more privacy, security, and control over their data, digital identity, and content. This fosters transparency as anyone can view the data at any time.

Blockchain technology is transparent and cryptographic, which brings trust back to the privacy of social networks. In addition to this, decentralized social networks store data separately between several different independent nodes. As a result, user data such as profile pictures, information, posts, and interactions are stored in a decentralized manner across the network.

Blockchain-based social platforms aim to promote free speech and provide censorship resistance. This is because there is no central authority controlling or manipulating the content. Furthermore, no third party can own, collect, or sell user data. They are also changing the way social media companies make money. 

A person has the ability to create their own social network and establish rules regarding its operation and allowable user behavior. Instead of relying on a company to monitor content, the founder of a federated social network can define the acceptable terms of conduct for the platform.

What is the Future of Decentralized Social Networks

Decentralized social networks make up the fediverse. In addition, this statement defines a collection of servers that are connected to each other for the purpose of social networking, blogging, and web publishing. If the network is autonomous and federated, it has the ability to communicate with other networks within the fediverse.

Web3 social media provides censorship resistance and supports freedom of speech. This makes them a great place for free speech and expression, as no central authority can control or censor content. However, decentralized social media can have an ugly side. This can include political misinformation, cyberbullying, and criminal activity because they are largely unmoderated.

Smart contracts form the foundation of the activities of the DAO. The protocol’s workings are transparent, can be verified, and are open to public audits, ensuring that any interested party can comprehend them at all times. To fund a DAO treasury, tokens are released, granting voting rights to token holders.

Many decentralized social networks adhere to the ethos of economic neutrality. They aim to be independent of intrusive advertising and the privacy risk it poses. As a result, they use new forms of monetization to stay solvent, including digital currency to ensure business resilience and reward users.

Web3 social media benefits create a more secure, transparent, and user-centric social media experience. They offer a more democratic and open alternative structure to traditional centralized social networks.

Both Parties Benefit From This Deal

The Mask team was founded in 2017 by a group of young believers in a truly free and open internet. Its goal is to build an easy-to-use bridge from Web 2.0 to the Web 3.0-era decentralized apps. As early as the end of 2019, the Mask extension supported its users with secure, decentralized social messaging, payment networks, file storage, and sharing upon the current mainstream social media networks.

Mask embraces the ownership economy and aims to help build the next phase of decentralized social networks. It has obtained tens of thousands of users and has raised over$50 million from private and institutional backers. To further its vision of building the Web3 social network ecosystem, Mask announced the launch of a $42 Million Bonfire Union fund in July 2022 to invest in decentralized social network infrastructure and creative content.

With this deal, Pawoo will have ample room for growth. The new operation team hopes to play a crucial role in driving its future growth. The team believes that on the journey to a free and open internet, the decentralized infrastructure and applications are under development at a rapid pace. Decentralized social networks like Pawoo will play an important role in achieving a new and open internet during this process.

Summary

The Social Coop Limited, associated with Mask Network, has acquired Pawoo.net, the second-largest Mastodon instance. Pawoo has attracted around 800,000 users who enjoy expressing their creativity and communicating without restrictions. The acquisition of Pawoo is a significant achievement for the Mask team, who aim to create a decentralized social network and preserve a free and open internet.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions stated by the author or any people named in this article are for informational purposes only. They do not establish financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading in stocks, cryptos, or other related indexes comes with a risk of monetary loss.

Steefan George is a crypto and blockchain enthusiast, with a remarkable grasp on market and technology. Having a graduate degree in computer science and an MBA in BFSI, he is an excellent technology writer at The Coin Republic. He is passionate about getting a billion of the human population onto Web3. His principle is to write like “explaining to a 6-year old”, so that a layman can learn the potential of, and get benefitted from this revolutionary technology.