It’s been about four years since I last actively used Steem. In internet time — especially in crypto — that’s practically a geological era.
Back then, SocialFi felt experimental but idealistic: ownership of content, censorship resistance, native monetization, and communities that actually talked to each other instead of chasing algorithms.
Stepping back in now feels a bit like returning to a familiar city where the streets are the same, but the shops have changed, and some landmarks are gone.
What’s hard to ignore is how fragile SocialFi still is. While we’ve been iterating inside our own ecosystems, the rest of crypto moved fast. UX-first chains, app-specific ecosystems, and massive distribution pipelines are now the norm. If anything, it feels increasingly likely that SocialFi won’t “win” as a standalone category — it may simply get absorbed. It's expanding like #space
The most obvious candidate? $BASE.
* Not because it’s philosophically aligned, but because it has:
* Massive onboarding power
* Familiar UX patterns
If a single $BASE-native social app nails creator monetization with near-zero friction, most users won’t care whether it’s decentralized “enough.” Convenience has a way of swallowing ideology.
That doesn’t mean SocialFi failed — it might just mean it’s becoming infrastructure rather than destination.
So… How Have You All Been?
That brings me to the real reason for this post.
How are you doing?
Who’s still here building, writing, moderating, experimenting — and who quietly moved on?
What lessons did we actually learn over the past four years?
And more importantly: what’s still worth fighting for in these spaces?
I didn’t come back with answers. I came back with curiosity.
If SocialFi is about anything, it should still be about people — not just tokens, charts, or narratives.
So, how have you been?