A decentralized, open identity protocol to connect profiles across Web2 and Web3, enhancing data ownership and mobility.

Hi Next.ID community! 👋

As the month of May draws to a close, we are bubbling with excitement to share all the latest happenings. Brace yourself for a whirlwind of information, including statistical reports, community member perks, hackathons, product offerings, and development updates.

Oh, and did we mention the core events we’re knee-deep in? It’s been a jam-packed month. Let’s dive right in! 🏄

[Data queries]

ProofService witnesses ~32.1M API calls per week.

• As of now, the number of Twitter bindings recorded by ProofService is 14,352, while the number of Ethereum wallet bindings is 3,782.

[Data insights]

Expect the RelationService to be ~5X faster! 💨

• The RelationService ’s data engine transitioned from ArangoDB to TigerGraph. As part of this update, we've also upgraded our internal upstream fetching logic. And the best part? Our API calls are now approximately 5 times faster! That means you can enjoy a much smoother and more efficient performance.
• Check out the new speed by visiting https://relation-service.nextnext.id. ☝️

Web3.bio views & traffic sources

• In the past week, Web3.bio has recorded a total of 1,493 page views. The majority of the traffic originates from the United States, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, and Australia, indicating a notable level of engagement. 🫡

[Conference participation]

Past

• Next.ID was in Montenegro-bound for EDCON 2023! ✈
• EDCON (May. 19 — May. 23, 2023) is a non-profit committed to serving the Ethereum ecosystem in boosting the communication and interaction of Ethereum communities worldwide.
• As a supporting community, we offered exclusive access to our SBTs (soul-bound tokens) which accumulate reputation points for future perks, in alliance with the Next Planet system.
• Developers with SBTs are given early access to Next.ID’s Web3 profile SDK and identity graph database access with the airdrop being available from June 2023 and onwards.

Upcoming

• #ETHShanghai: This year, Next.ID has been selected to host one of the ETHShanghai Hacker Houses. In collaboration with the ETHShanghai 2023 Hackathon Builders, our goal is to develop tangible applications utilizing Decentralized Identifiers (DID).
• Time: June. 24 — June. 30, 2023 (*note that the time has been adjusted)
• Speaker (s): Wei Duan (community manager)
• Speaking session (s): BUIDL week
• Location: Shanghai, China

[This summer, Next.ID is bringing the heat to OSPP 2023!] 🌞

• Next.ID proudly supports the ethos of open source with our participation in OSPP 2023, a month-long summer program (April. 29 — June. 4, 2023) for college students to engage in the development of open-source software.
• As a part of the supporting communities, we have introduced 2 exciting projects to the program — “KVService: upload chains onto Arweave” and “RelationService: node ranking for heterogeneous social graph”. If an applicant successfully completes the project, they will receive a reward of 12,000 CNY before taxes.
• Currently, there are 2 applicants who have committed themselves. More talents are always welcome to join! If you think you’re up for the challenge, you may check us out at: https://summer-ospp.ac.cn/org/orgdetail/25086610-4c4b-4c14-8a35-680826c68f63?lang=en. You will have full support from Next.ID devs as we will address any questions and concerns you may have. 🔥

[Community spotlights]

Next.ID’s Community Fund Pool is established — everyone is included!

• Thanks to the generous Arbitrum community, Next.ID, part of the Mask Network ecosystem, has received a 30% portion (77,262 $ARB) of the distributed $ARB tokens to Mask Network (257,540 $ARB). Along with rewards received from previous competitions, now Next.ID’s Community Fund is officially established, reserving an amount of ~$10,000 USD. Since day one, Next.ID has been practicing the spirit of community based on open governance. This is done so via the Next Planet system, to track our community contributions. We’re planning to give back to our community members who have been actively contributing! 💪 To learn how we plan to airdrop the $ARB to our past contributors and newcomers, do follow @NextDotID on Twitter to stay updated. Read more>>>

Devs, we hear ya! Expect an all-in-one Next.ID handbook for you to kickstart your Buidler journey! 📒

• 💬: “I want to look for detailed information about how I can build upon Next.ID and where do I find those?”
• Fret not, my friend, soon we will release the external Notion page where you’re able to have it all.

[Immerse & Discover]

Find more technical discussions on Next.ID’s Mirror!

• DID can seem intimidating due to technical barriers, but don’t worry, we understand. Developers and Web3 enthusiasts often struggle to find educational resources and articles on this topic. That’s why Next.ID’s Mirror is here to help. Our Mirror not only provides community updates but also offers educational content, technical discussions, and new findings about DID, thanks to the help of our experienced developers and content experts.
• Click on this link to explore the latest research articles. The two most recent research pieces include:

→ Role of Identity Graphs in Web3 Social Networks

→ RelationService — Why is Graph Database important for Next.ID?

• Do subscribe to our Mirror page to stay updated! Happy reading! ☕️

[Community polls]

What is the most fraud-proof form of online ID verification? 🧐

• According to the poll results, some of our users believe that the most foolproof method for online ID verification is through biometrics such as facial recognition and fingerprints, followed by official documents like passport IDs.
• https://twitter.com/NextDotID/status/1658720949280333824
• What’s your take on this? Join our Telegram to discuss. 🗣️

[Feature updates]

ProofService

The payload of the Twitter proof posts changed.

• This change will allow us to rebuild the sign payload in the event of a submit request failure. If your proof request doesn’t go through for any reason, you’ll have the chance to resubmit it.
• In addition, we have implemented a new feature that logs a full request of proof submission, enabling us to track and manage all requests more effectively. And that means better support for developers all around.

Smart contracts will be able to query ProofService binding records on-chain.

• The possible use cases for this feature would be airdrops and soft KYCs.
• To ensure proper data auditing and integrity, we are enlisting the help of a 3rd party smart contract team to migrate the ProofService data on-chain.
• There will be no significant changes for users in regard to the basic ProofService functionality. However, they will benefit from the ability to provide off-chain identity bindings to blockchain-only Web3 apps. This allows for more flexible identity verification and usage in Web3 applications beyond blockchain identities.

RelationService

RelationService now supports EIP1155-based ENS domains.

• A few months ago, ENS introduced a new feature called “wrapped domains” that allows users to have more fine-grained permission management. To utilize this feature, users needed to re-wrap their ENS (ERC721) into an ERC1155 container.
• However, this change disrupted our previous logic for fetching the owner of an ENS address. Fortunately, we have now fixed this issue, and both wrapped and unwrapped domains can be now accurately fetched and displayed in RelationService and Web3.bio.

Web5.bio is now Web3.bio.

• As Web3.bio merges with Web5.bio, we will be exclusively using the Web3.bio platform and phasing out the use of Web5.bio.
• Web3.bio is powered by Next.ID’s RelationService, which offers a new level of digital identity visualization. With this service, you can bridge your Web2 and Web3 worlds and map your unique identity graph.
• A new NFT viewing experience has been added to Web3.bio.
• You can now view a user’s NFT directly on Web3.bio without the hassle of being redirected to another site.

Enjoying Web3.bio? Let’s spread the word! 🤛

• With the recent developments in Web3.bio, user profiles are becoming more visible across both Web2 and Web3.
• Take, for example, https://web3.bio/yisiliu.eth; it is a comprehensive and enriched user profile that can easily be shared with your friends via simple copy and paste via Web3.bio.
• Not only that but as we continue to work on SEO, more profiles should be prompted in the first several pages of Google search results, making them even more visible to a broader audience. 🌏

CoreService

CoreService updated UI

• Easier to host on VPS and bring up AuthService and ProofService, as well as other potential self-hosted services.

[Product offerings]

• The Next.ID team is working tirelessly to delve into the best product fit which serves our users the most. That’s why we came up with the product offerings compromising 3 modules. Next.ID’s DID endeavors to serve as an infrastructure service to developers, empowering user adoption and their social experience.
• Ultimately, users can enjoy a more seamless App onboarding and profile connection experience. ⏩
• Check out the 3 modules below:

→ DID-based authentication. It uses your familiar Web2 credentials to access Web3 services with DID as a backend infrastructure, empowered by ProofService and AuthService.

→ Universal profile SDK. By leveraging RelationService and Web3.bio, all application develoeprs should eventually be able to access a universal profile SDK that showcases users’ enriched Web2&3 social profiles easily. The connection and verification of different identities should be done with 1 simple click.

→ Identity service marketplace. Developers should find it handy within the Next.ID identity service marketplace where they can find all the helpful tools offered by Next.ID and relevant projects to build user profiles and chat forums within an App with minimum effort.

• Web3 is a place with constant changes and new trends, and we are always exploring ways to enhance our offerings.
• As we keep pitching and finalizing our product lines, we’re offering our community members limited free early access to our product lines to experience firsthand. Secure your FREE early access today by emailing us at hello@next.id! ⚒️

Thanks for tuning in to the community updates of Next.ID! We’re thrilled to have your support and we urge you to stay plugged into our community. Got a burning question or some spicy feedback? Slide into our DMs on Telegram and let’s connect!

Previous updates: Next.ID Community Updates #1