TRON (TRX)–Earlier this week Twitter, the popular social media platform, joined the growing list of Google and Facebook as digital companies banning the use of cryptocurrency ads. As expected, the market has plummeted over the past several days in response to the troubling news. 

If anything, the social media ban is further demonstrating the need for a project like TRON. We can all agree there are negative ramifications to creating a wild west in terms of publication and distribution. Nobody wants a scenario where TRON becomes a haven for illegal activity and unsolicited, harmful behavior. But it’s also absurd that billions of people around the globe subscribe to a handful of networks that act as gatekeepers for both the content that can be published through their portal and also the discussions that can occur.

Even when YouTube acts to demonetize a video over a controversial issue (meaning the creator will not receive revenue through ads, even though the video remains viewable), the company is enacting censorship. Incentives are everything. Peter Diamandis, Harvard trained physician and founder of the XPrize, includes in his book Bold a personal law that states: You get what you incentivize. When social media platforms take a negative stance towards certain viewpoints and discussion, they are creating the incentives to do the opposite. You may believe in your art, political stance, perspective, etc., but when the threat of being blocked off from social media or having your livelihood taken away is imposed by these companies, it restricts free speech. 

TRON as a Niche Site for Cryptocurrency

Even with the Main Net launch, gaming partnerships and big goals ahead, no one should begin to expect TRON to replace Facebook, Twitter or YouTube as a hallmark of online social media. However, with the growing frustration over company practices, the two largest being Facebook’s user info selling and Twitter’s targeted censorship against cryptocurrency and particular viewpoints, it could have a funneling effect towards the TRON platform. TRON’s best method for becoming a player in the industry of social media is as a niche or haven for disenfranchised users or those looking for a cryptocurrency-centric “hangout” that also embodies the principles of crypto.

It’s not that we are advocating TRON to become the slum of the internet, where trolls too graphic for traditional social media congregate. Instead, TRON can build a following by positioning itself as a more egalitarian, decentralized platform for publication and distribution. The principles of decentralization in crypto as a currency hold strong appeal in content sharing and publication. The market can dictate what is an acceptable form of communication , what viewpoints are tolerated and what can or cannot be advertised. It’s not about creating a lawless portal of degeneracy, but a space where no central gatekeeper holds sway over content creators. Likewise, the market dictates what will be incentivized on the platform, rather than an arbitrary set of social and political values. As of now, YouTube can demonetize videos at will, with little clarity or guideline for what was the offending material. Likewise, the barrier for what is considered “hate speech” or “offensive” is being manipulated to support political and social agendas, rather than as a tool to encourage free speech that does not violate the established laws and morals of society. One person feeling outraged over a particular topic or post should not have the right to censor that viewpoint for eternity: instead, the market should be free to dictate what it finds acceptable.

TRON Media: A Blending of Platforms

In his popular book Sapiens, Yuval Harari argues that the real power of human intelligence and the source of exponential growth throughout humanity has occurred through the process of idea reproduction: a person combines two or more ideas to produce something novel. TRON’s social media platform could function in a similar way. We don’t imagine Justin Sun and the TRON foundation attempting to copy any existing platform outright, but to pull and combine from a variety of sources. This process is going to occur largely on the user end, with the community and market growing the TRON network in the direction they find the most interest and incentive. Instead of just creating a web that is a layer of links and hypertext, publishing on TRON could be a fully immersive experience. There could be a seamless link between streaming videos, gaming and conducting commerce, all within the same encounter. Sun and the TRON Foundation are creating a platform that is linked through the TRX currency and is built upon the principles of cryptocurrency, but from there, users and developers will be the ones to flesh out and grow the industry.

While it is a blow to cryptocurrency that Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites have decided to ban outright cryptocurrency, rather than targeting fake and manipulative ads, the end result is again drawing more attention and more interest to crypto. Throughout history, any time a society has been denied a source of technology or improvement, it only serves to further their interest in subversion. Banning crypto is not an indictment of the industry, but an example of why cryptocurrency, and a new platform like TRON Network, are necessary for the growing digital age.