Solana's SocialFi Boom: Clout, Tribe.run Drive Renewed Interest

Social finance, or SocialFi, is making a comeback, this time on the Solana blockchain. New apps like Clout and Tribe.run are gaining traction by offering innovative ways to tokenize social media profiles and interactions, drawing comparisons to earlier iterations like BitClout and friend.tech, but with some key differences.

Clout: Tokenizing Profiles and Channeling "The Social Network"

Clout, in particular, has seen a surge in downloads after launching its iPhone app, which allows users to buy tokenized versions of social media profiles. This concept echoes the viral app friend.tech from 2023, and even earlier, BitClout. Clout hasn't shied away from these comparisons, recently posting a meme referencing a famous line from the movie "The Social Network" about dropping "the" for a cleaner name.

Tribe.run: Gated Chats, Retro Vibes, and Airdrop Incentives

Tribe.run, currently in invite-only mode, is another Solana-based platform gaining momentum. It offers a unique twist by creating token-gated group chats called "tribes," with a nostalgic Windows 98-inspired design. Tribe also incorporates an airdrop feature, powered by Solana's zero-knowledge compression, allowing users to easily distribute tokens within their groups.

Learning from the Past: Why Tribe.run Thinks It Can Succeed

Bill Zheng, the founder of Tribe.run, believes his app addresses a key flaw of previous SocialFi attempts. He argues that friend.tech, for instance, lacked incentives for creators to remain engaged. Tribe.run's subscription model, where members pay SOL to stay in group chats, aims to solve this by providing ongoing value to creators.

Beyond Solana: Kaito AI's "Yaps" Reward Crypto Engagement

Outside of Solana, Kaito AI has found success with its "Yaps" platform, which rewards users with points for their activity on Crypto Twitter (now X). This highlights the enduring importance of X as the central hub for the online crypto community.