Facebook's "Libra" cryptocurrency concept has been brewing for some time now. Everybody and their dog (literally) rushed into the crypto coin market after the monster Bitcoin price spikes of 2017, but Facebook's proposal is different for a few reasons. One is that they've been brewing it slowly (for over a year now), another is that it will be backed by a mix of currencies and securities and will not be decentralized.
More importantly and more germane to this site, it is possible that there may eventually be a way to earn Libra by publishing content on the platform? Right now, there is no official word. However, there has been a bunch of speculation.
It's not too farfetched to think that Facebook might implement a system similar to that of Medium (paywalled content for which you get paid by-the-view based on estimated user engagement) or the revenue share model of something like Steemit. Another possibility is simply asking for Libra donations on the platform, creating a new monetization possibility outside of PayPal/Stripe and ad networks. The most concrete information at the moment comes from a Wired report, which suggests that " ... Merchants could use the coins to pay for ads, and users would be rewarded in coins for viewing or interacting with them." That scheme, which the report says is still "under debate" amongst Facebook's executive ranks, sounds more like Swagbucks or one of its many clones.
The big question here is, if you don't already have some sort of Facebook presence built out, should you build one in anticipation of the Libra rollout? That's virtually impossible to say given that we still don't know the company's plans in this area. We don't even know the exact release date; Facebook has basically just said "sometime in 2020."
Even if Facebook does allow you to earn Libra from user engagement with your content, there are some reasons to be hesitant about being one of the first through the door.
The whole reason to be interested in this idea is Facebook's massive, global user base paired with its sophisticated ad targeting system, as well as its culture of sharing that enables content to spread very quickly. However, some people feel that the ad targeting system that is so critical to Libra's success is highly unethical and awful for personal privacy and want nothing to do with it at any price.
Even if you are unburdened by such concerns, the system's non-decentralized nature may give you pause. With Bitcoin et. al., no one can seize your account. Libra will be regulated by national authorities and controlled by megabroker Coinbase, but it's not clear how the regulations will work and under what terms you could have your account seized or access to it blocked. You also have to trust that Coinbase and Facebook won't get hacked by threat actors who steal your account keys, something Facebook has a spotty history with.
There is also the question of Libra's stability. Facebook has not yet announced their long-term plans for making money with Libra. If the effort is a dud, it could be yanked out from under you at any time. There is a lot of skepticism about it and sentiment against it due to it violating the central idea of cryptocurrency - that it's not supposed to be controlled by one corporation or entity.
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