A New Way to Connect: Building a Tokenized Messaging Platform with UNITT
Kadena
May 15, 2024
No matter if you’re texting in the family group chat or distributing content as a creator, it’s hard to get by in the 21st century without using a messaging app. While apps like iMessage, Meta’s Messenger, or even Discord are convenient and familiar, they have certain limitations around privacy, security, and content monetization. For example, data breaches tripled between 2013 and 2022, with 2.6 billion personal records breached between 2020 and 2022 (MIT via Axios). Another example are the canceled subscription and payment issues faced by Patreon’s content creators and fans.
Despite these issues, we have grown accustomed to using the applications that these breaches occurred on. However, sometimes the comfortable, familiar option isn’t always the one that aligns most with our values.
Kadena Grantee UNITT offers a new Web3 alternative that improves upon these issues while maintaining the same UI/UX that people are familiar with.
Limitations of Web2 Messaging Apps
Messaging apps of today has limited security and most are a product of a centralized platform. Some examples of this include:
- Lack of Monetization Features - Messaging apps in general, lack integrated monetization features. For example, you cannot directly pay for or charge for content within these platforms, limiting opportunities for content creators and businesses to monetize interactions directly.
- Data Integrity - Default settings for messaging apps typically store messages to a cloud, which has been speculated to be the source of photo leaks in the past, calling the security of this method into question.
- User’s Data Privacy - The Patreon platform has provided a valuable way for creators to monetize their content, but it has shortcomings. Like other centralized platforms, Patreon controls user data and transactions. This centralization can lead to privacy concerns, as users have limited control over their information.
- No Guarantee of Content: Patreon’s subscription model isn't flexible enough to cater to different types of content consumption, as users must subscribe for an entire month, regardless of how much content they consume. Subscribers might not always receive consistent content, leading to potential dissatisfaction. The platform's model is also not conducive to a customized consumption experience. Creators often set a monthly fee that groups together several different types of content delivery, often without the option to engage solely with the content users are interested in.
However, Web3’s paradigmatic shift offers a more granular approach to content delivery and intake than the blanked approach ubiquitous in the Web1 and Web2 internet eras.
What is UNITT?
UNITT, or Universal Transaction Token, is a decentralized messaging platform that bridges the functionality you’re used to with Web2 messaging apps while integrating privacy and monetization features. On UNITT, the community fully owns their identity, data, and transactions, ensuring privacy and security. By tokenizing every interaction, you can send and receive direct and secure messages with anyone on the platform.
Because users’ data belongs to them, every interaction on UNITT can be monetized by the user. Imagine WhatsApp with the ability to send and receive tokens for every message or interaction, whether it’s a content exchange or a real-life transaction like paying a friend back for a coffee.
This monetization goes beyond users. UNITT also provides a platform for content creators to monetize their work on a pay-per-view basis, offering a more flexible and fair system compared to traditional subscription models.
"We realized that the current platform model is quite broken. Platforms like Meta monetize other people's content without fair compensation. We envisioned a more equitable and democratic future for the internet, focusing on decentralized technologies and distributed ledger systems,” said Jussi Mäkela, COO of UNITT.
UNITT’s founders wanted to create a system where value could be exchanged fairly and securely, leveraging the power of decentralized technologies to ensure users retain control over their data and identities.
Why Did UNITT Choose to Build On Kadena?
UNITT’s team chose Kadena because Kadena offers several unique advantages that make it an ideal platform for UNITT’s use case:
1. Pact’s human readability and ease for developers
2. Scalability with Low Gas Fees
Pact’s Human Readability and Ease for Developers
Pact is Kadena's smart contract language, known for its human readability and ease of use, making it accessible for developers to learn and implement while ensuring a smooth development process.
"Kadena offers scalability, low and predictable gas fees, and a proven, secure technology. We needed a fast, cost-effective solution for an instant messaging application and micropayments. Kadena's community is also approachable and active, which is a significant bonus." - Mikko Ville-Valiento, CTO of UNITT.
Scalability and Low Gas Fees
Kadena's ability to scale efficiently and maintain low transaction costs is essential for UNITT's model of frequent, small transactions, allowing the platform to remain accessible and affordable for all users.
In Conclusion
UNITT is set to transform how we think about messaging and content monetization. Integrating privacy, security, and fair monetization into one platform offers a compelling alternative to centralized applications like iMessage and Patreon. Built on Kadena’s robust and scalable blockchain, UNITT promises a future where every user has full control over their data and interactions.
Stay tuned for more updates as UNITT continues its journey towards mainstream adoption. Follow UNITT’s next steps: