Every Friday, Farcaster is filled with a relaxed atmosphere. People greet each other with “Happy Friday” and “touch grass,” and the cash cannon (a method of mass tipping) seems to be more active than ever. It’s hard to feel this atmosphere on social media, but you can experience it in the office before the end of the workday on Fridays.
I know some people have come to Farcaster, taken a look around, and left with a dismissive comment like “how is this any different from Twitter?”. Let me tell you, when you understand the relaxed atmosphere of Farcaster on Fridays, you’ll know the difference between Farcaster and Twitter.
Farcaster is a city under construction, and currently, everything here revolves around the builders. Most of Farcaster’s infrastructure is designed for the builders. Similar to Twitter’s posts, the basic unit of Farcaster is a cast. However, unlike posts, which only have content output capabilities, Farcaster’s frames and actions allow casts to provide much more than just content. Frames are more focused on the cast’s publishers, enabling them to offer applications or services in the form of casts. Actions, on the other hand, are more focused on the cast’s receivers, allowing them to interact with the cast or even the caster.
Whether it’s frames, actions, or the upcoming programmable direct casts, these prominent infrastructures or designs on Farcaster are like Lego blocks given to the builders, allowing them to develop products in a composable manner on a decentralized social network.
Channel and Group Direct Casts are two infrastructures primarily aimed at content creation. Farcaster explores the rules and enhances the capabilities of these two infrastructures, enabling builders to create content more effectively and comfortably.
Most of the honors and rewards on Farcaster go to the builders. The mainstream currency distribution method on Farcaster is tipping, such as the well-known $DEGEN. Builders, those who contribute to the ecosystem and bring value to others, have a natural advantage in this distribution method.
The recent popular project on Farcaster, BUILD, directly rewards builders. The token distribution method allows each person to nominate three builders daily to receive $BUILD. Personally, I nominate builders I know, but most of the time, I nominate the builders associated with something I liked on Farcaster that day, even if I didn’t know them before. They receive rewards because of their contributions to the ecosystem, not because of who they are.
Most of Farcaster’s residents are builders. Here, people rarely discuss politics or gossip. Instead, they talk about how to effectively filter out the noise on social media while retaining valuable information. They discuss how to build a place for meaningful conversations. Every day, numerous new applications appear on Farcaster, and everyone contributes to their development. The roles may vary, from developers to testers to promoters. People build, discuss how to build, and build tools and infrastructure for building.
If you come to Farcaster expecting to see a mature city, you may be disappointed. Farcaster is currently a city filled with scaffolding and busy builders. But if you come to Farcaster not just to sightsee but to find opportunities, you won’t be disappointed. As long as you’re willing, you can become a builder in this city. There are vast empty spaces for you to choose from, plenty of tools for construction, and friends to collaborate with. And you will be honored and rewarded for your own contributions.
You will feel relaxed on Fridays because you can take a break after a busy week of work.
Everyone can be a builder.
Let me share my own experience in Farcaster to discuss the theme of “everyone can be a builder.” When I first arrived at Farcaster, I immediately created a channel called /opinion and started sharing my viewpoints there. However, very few people showed interest in these opinions, and I realized that this approach was not right. I shouldn’t just stay in my own corner.
It’s worth mentioning Farcaster’s information filtering algorithm. In most systems, new users are assumed to be genuine until their behavior resembles that of a witch. But in Farcaster, new users are marked as NPCs (non-player characters), and only when their behavior resembles that of a human are they considered real users.
In Warpcast (Farcaster’s largest client), many default settings hide or exclude content from NPC users or users without a power badge from the main feed. This means that when I was a new user, the content I posted was difficult for others to see, let alone if I only posted in my own channel.
I needed to step out and establish connections with others. Isn’t that the essence of a social network? At first, I simply said “gm” to others, and some responded while others did not. Soon, I discovered new products being released every day, and I started using these products and providing feedback to the developers. Finally, others “noticed” me. I was like a person strolling in a bustling city under construction, helping whoever needed assistance. It may not have had a significant impact, but it allowed me to integrate into this city. Although I didn’t build my own project, helping others build was also a form of construction.
After spending some time here, I gained a basic understanding of Farcaster’s ecosystem. I started sharing new products that I found interesting, useful, or enjoyable. I also shared and discussed viewpoints that I found impressive. By doing these things, I could help other builders make their products and viewpoints known to more people while also building my own content.
I don’t know what I will build here in the future, but there’s no doubt that I am already a builder. I have received decent tips in $DEGEN and have been nominated as a builder to receive $BUILD. I have made many acquaintances, and they have also become aware of me. I have built my own social network.
This is my journey from being an observer to becoming a builder in Farcaster, even though I am not a developer or a high-frequency content creator. This journey is not mainstream; it naturally formed based on my personal interests. You don’t have to do the same.
What you need to do is stay here and start doing something you enjoy, which also connects you with others. For example, if you don’t know what you can do but you are a meme enthusiast, start by joining the /memes channel. Share memes, become a builder in this channel, make friends, and establish your initial social network here.
Is Farcaster just an on-chain social platform? No, it’s an on-chain society.
One day, while playing Farcaster on my computer until 9 or 10 pm, I felt the need to relax. So, I went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of sparkling water and a pack of potato chips. I slouched on the couch, eating the chips, when a huge question mark appeared in my mind: What am I doing? Why do I need to eat chips to relax in the middle of the night? I sat up, pondering this question. I realized that I wasn’t just playing Farcaster; I was working for Farcaster.
For example, collecting and organizing important information on Farcaster to share with others is like being a media editor. Using new applications and providing feedback is like being a product tester.
When I realized this, a vision of a city appeared in my mind. Describing Farcaster as a city at the beginning of the article wasn’t just a metaphor; it was a mental image.
A massive, bustling city under construction, where everyone is contributing to its development. The unique aspect is that everyone isn’t working under someone else’s direction; they find things to do based on their own interests or skills. Yet, the construction of this city doesn’t become chaotic without top-down management or coordination. Instead, it demonstrates the flexibility, creativity, passion, and vitality that can’t be achieved in a centralized environment. This city is rapidly rising, based on the independent work of each individual.
Farcaster can function well in a decentralized and autonomous manner, possibly due to several reasons:
1. It is built on decentralized technology.
2. It initially gathered a group of dedicated builders and has a strong community atmosphere.
3. The currency distribution through tipping not only effectively incentivizes individual builders but also encourages overall participation.
4. Channels are conducive to discussing topics, curating content, and helping people get to know each other, forming their initial social networks. Moreover, individuals can combine into groups through channels to collaborate on specific projects.
5. Frames add WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) products to the content stream. Developers use frames to create products, and these products spread through the social network. The frames in the content stream bring independent developers and promoters together to collectively develop and operate products.
6. Almost everything on Farcaster is programmable. User data is decentralized and shareable, making it possible for Lego-like development. This development includes not only improving a product collectively but also combining different products to achieve new functionalities.
7. A healthy social network that efficiently delivers information and products enables people to obtain information and collaborate effectively.
On a side note, we have always been trying to establish effective organizations on top of decentralization. And organizations or societies imply collaboration, meaning that the first problem we need to solve after decentralization is the problem of collaboration, which, in turn, requires solving the problem of effectively transmitting information.
Returning to the main topic, I wanted to sit down and write an article about Farcaster, not because of its user base or daily active data, not because of its investor lineup or technical architecture. It’s because I realized it is an unprecedented city, or rather, a new form of social organization or operation based on a decentralized social network. Farcaster is more than just on-chain social; it’s a whole new society built on a decentralized social network.
The most important thing is not to study it from a distance but to immerse yourself in it.
