Introduction to Social Protocols

Social protocols are open coordination layers for identity, relationships, and content — not walled gardens owned by a single company. Instead of one app controlling your account, followers, and posts, protocols like Farcaster and Lens define shared rules that many clients can read and write against.

Web2 social networks monetize attention inside closed graphs: advertisers pay platforms, creators fight algorithms, and users lose accounts when policies change. On-chain and protocol-native social tries to invert that — users hold keys, graphs export cleanly, and builders compete on experience rather than lock-in.

This course walks through major protocols, identity primitives, economic models, messaging, moderation tradeoffs, and adoption barriers. Whether you are a user exploring alternatives or a builder shipping a client, the goal is practical literacy in how decentralized social actually works today.