The crypto world is buzzing about a Bitcoin to control your own image. The BitClout app was short-lived and likely under SEC investigation.
You won't be surprised to learn that Friend.tech lacks a privacy policy and that its legal status is murky at best. A few days ago, the company changed the name of what it is selling from "shares" in a person to "keys," but it's hard to imagine that will do much to reassure securities regulators. Meanwhile, there is chatter about a potential "airdrop" that would involve Friend.tech dropping a token that users could flip.
In short, Friend.tech is terrible. It takes the worst attributes of social media and crypto and combines them in an app that likely holds little appeal for ordinary people. I explained it to my wife and she actually recoiled.
While Friend.tech is shaping up to be another crypto horror show that will likely blow away in a few weeks when the current speculative frenzy abates, the app does have one thing going for it: It's easy to join and to use. You can join simply by connecting your X (formerly Twitter) account, and the only money you need is Ethereum. And once you're on, the interface is fairly smooth and intuitive.
This is a big step forward from BitClout and earlier crypto-based social media services. Now, if Friend.tech could only find a use case that doesn't involve buying and selling people.
Jeff John Roberts
jeff.roberts@fortune.com
@jeffjohnroberts
