I have been thinking on this topic for a long time and I believe the future of social media will not be centered around selling user data to advertisers, but selling “likes” as a currency.

The successor to Facebook will have to find a way to successfully convince people that tipping their favorite content creators is normal. Not an easy feat by any manys, but the beginnings of this idea can be seen in YouTube monetization, Twitch bits and subscriptions, and Medium applause. Combining these elements is the key.

This new social network will allow all types of posts to be monetizeable, not just videos. Like Medium, likes will be basically limitless. A single user can like a post as many times as they want which roughly translates to more appreciation for the creator. Standard likes are free and common, but there are rarer tiers of likes that cost real money and have a higher appreciation value, which can factor in to trends and recommendation algorithms.