Mirror Acquired by Paragraph, Team Pivots to Social App Kiosk

Web3 publishing platform Mirror has been acquired by its rival Paragraph, allowing Mirror's team to focus on developing a new social app called "Kiosk." Built on the Farcaster protocol, Kiosk aims to blend blockchain technology and e-commerce within a social media context.

Mirror, launched in 2020, gained popularity by enabling writers to monetize their work through minting articles as NFTs. Paragraph, released in 2022, offered similar functionality but focused more on newsletters and publications, appealing to a broader Web2 audience.

Paragraph founder Colin Armstrong noted that the two platforms have evolved to become more similar, making it challenging for users to choose between them. The acquisition, proposed by their mutual investor Union Square Ventures, aims to streamline the user experience by eventually merging Mirror and Paragraph into a single product suite.

Mirror founder Denis Nazarov will advise Paragraph while focusing on developing Kiosk with his team. Kiosk's vision is to create a synthesis of social media and commerce, allowing users to embed digital assets directly into their social media posts and view the blockchain-related activities of others.

The acquisition and launch of Kiosk mark a significant win for Farcaster, the decentralized social media protocol that has attracted both the combined Mirror/Paragraph entity and Kiosk. Farcaster recently gained traction with its Frames feature, enabling users to perform various functions within social media feeds without leaving the app.

Following the launch of Frames, Farcaster's daily active users surged tenfold and have since grown by another 50% to around 40,000. While still far from mainstream social media platforms' user base, builders like Nazarov believe Farcaster has reached a near-critical mass of users, making it a sturdy foundation for innovating and realizing the potential of decentralized social media.

The acquisition of Mirror by Paragraph and the launch of Kiosk on Farcaster signal a significant shift in the Web3 publishing and social media landscape. As these platforms continue to evolve and merge, users can expect a more streamlined and integrated experience that combines the benefits of blockchain technology with the familiarity of traditional social media and e-commerce.