Quick take:
- Mirror creators will now shift their focus to developing a Web social app “Kiosk”.
- The App will be built on the Farcaster protocol, a platform that blends blockchain technology with e-commerce elements.
- Mirror has been providing writers with a blockchain-based monetisation platform that allows them to mint their articles as NFTs.
Web3 publishing platform Paragraph has acquired its close rival Mirror in a deal that will see the creators of the latter switch focus to building a Web social media app “Kiosk”. According to the announcement, Mirror will continue to operate independently before the two companies will eventually merge to form one entity.
Designed as a Web3 version of popular web2 publishing platforms like Medium, Mirror allowed writers to mint their articles as NFTs, giving them a new channel to monetise their content.
Mirror developers are now moving into another realm of the blockchain space as they look to leverage blockchain technology and elements of e-commerce to build a decentralised social platform on the Farcaster Protocol. Described as an X-like micro-blogging platform, Farcaster provides applications like Kiosk with access to underlying data on Ethereum. The protocol also allows users to explore its functionalities or more use cases.
Mirror founder Denis Nazarov likens his new product to ‘a more data-rich version of Twitter.’ “There’s this potential for an experience where you not only see what people are saying, what they’re liking and who they’re following – but also what assets they are buying,” said Nazarov. “We think that the whole idea of asset ownership and collection is not just transactional, it’s also social.”
With Mirror, “we were one of the first web3 products that really brought strong product design, brand, and go-to-market DNA – which I think is still quite rare in the ecosystem – combined with a deep understanding of the potential of the technology,” Nazarov explained. “We learned it’s really powerful to combine a social container – so, telling a story – but then embedding this economic call to action.”
Although the two companies did not disclose the terms of the acquisition, Paragraph founder Colin Armstrong maintains everyone was happy with the deal proposed by Union Square Ventures, which has invested in both companies.
“Everyone is very happy with the outcome. Mirror gets to pursue their new product, and the Mirror product gets to continue under someone who’s fully dedicated to publishing,” said Armstrong. “It’s great for us because it elevates our user base and products to a pretty large degree.”
Stay on top of things:
Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!
