[Dive #104] Farcaster
What if there was a Web3 version of the 🐦 app?
When I share my story of diving into the Web3 over the past 18+ months, I often bring up one of the moments of realization that my interest was more than an ‘interest’:
My social media consumption completely changed.
Pre-Web3 TPan was on Instagram, and that was pretty much it. 80% for the memes, 20% for sneaker news, friends’ life milestones, and DMs.
As I went down the Web3 rabbithole, I started using Discord and Twitter regularly. Like…all the time regularly. I wish I took screenshots of my degen peak, but it’s probably better that I didn’t 😂
Taking my screen usage from 3 weeks ago:
My phone:
Work laptop:
Personal laptop:
Ok, this is a little scary to look at but if I add it up, I spend around 4 hours per day on Twitter and Discord across my devices. This number is probably less because the app might be open the background and I’m not actively using it, but still it’s…a lot.
Fortunately this is all for work purposes, right? 😉
Discord and Twitter are the primary hubs for Web3 to build an audience, foster community, and communicate.
However, Web3 folks know deep down that there should and will be better platforms for these purposes, especially as Web3 adoption continues.
My intro to Farcaster
A few weeks back, I heard Farcaster mentioned a couple times:
During a weekly Platinum Balloon call (shoutout Ken for sharing)
From one of my subscribers (shoutout Jayme, thank you for taking the time to get me acquainted!)
If you read my piece on Kairos a couple weeks ago, you may have noticed that I gave Farcaster a shoutout there. More like threw a bit of shade 😅
I had to check it out though despite being intimidated by the simple website and the Docs/Github links. I’m a non-technical person, what can I say 🤷♂️
I DM’ed Dan Romero to get access to the app and it was time to dig in!
How does Farcaster work?
FC’s mission is to be an open social network, even if it scales to become a multi-billion dollar business.
Many social networks (eg: Twitter) were open in the early days. However, as they grew, they started to restrict the data they passed to developers, users, and partners over time.
By incorporating blockchain tech, FC is building a sufficiently decentralized protocol.
Shit, another term to wrap my head around?
Yup, and it’s one I had to read multiple times to understand, and still don’t think I fully grasp yet.
TLDR for what a sufficiently decentralized network is and how FC qualifies as one:
Two users can communicate with each other even if the network wanted to prevent it
Users control their identity (usernames), data (messages), and social graph (relationship with others).
Developers are free to build apps and have unrestricted access to the network
User identities are stored on-chain (on an Ethereum smart contract)
User data is signed by the user but stored offchain for speed, cost, and scalability reasons
More info on how it works here (technical, but interesting!)
The team is onto something here. The parent company Merkle Manufactory raised $30 million in July from a16z, Multicoin, First Round, Scalar, and many others.
What’s Farcaster like?
Let’s get to the good stuff for the average consumer like TPan. What does it look like and how does it work from a non-technical POV?
Basically like Twitter…and that’s a good thing!
The magic of FC is under the hood, not reinventing the newsfeed.
That said, there are nifty features and touches that make the app friendlier for the average Web3 user.
If a user has GM in their ‘cast’ (equivalent to a tweet), the UI for engaging with that cast adjusts accordingly.
In the Discover tab, I can search for users by NFT ownership since your account is tied to a wallet address. Great for communities or finding like-minded folks.
I can see who owns RTFKT forging tokens, with myself being one of them
You can also see this info on a user level
So…Twitter with NFT features?
One of the points that mentioned earlier:
“Developers are free to build apps and have unrestricted access to the network”
This is where it gets interesting as there are a ton of folks who are building apps on top of FC. The official list is here, and here’s a sample:
Farcaster Stats: For a growth guy like me, this is fun to see.
Even if it got to a point where Dan and the FC team wanted to take down this site, they could. But someone else will just create a clone because the data from this dashboard can’t be restricted.
“Developers are free to build apps and have unrestricted access to the network”
What this really means is if there’s a down week, I’ll be spam-casting to make sure those charts continue looking healthy 😂. I got you FC team 🫡
Searchcaster: Search for FC content
Wait…doesn’t Twitter have this already?
Yes. But keep in mind Twitter was founded in 2006. FC was created…earlier this year? I imagine a tool like Searchcaster would improve with more features over time.
castRSS: Add a user’s activity to a different app
Anycaster: View what the feed looks like for any user
RequestCaster: A public forum for feature/product requests
Castlytics: View the FC stats for a user
I need to have some more GM casts.
Most of the apps that the community has built so far are utility-oriented, as they should be.
As the user base grows, I can see more apps being built to support the diverse needs and interests of the community. Not sure if this is all possible, but I imagine it is?
Games
Based on engagement, activity, or other factors like wallet activity. My mind automatically thinks of Facebook games from 10-15 years ago (hopefully without the spam that your friends/family sent to play Farmville lol)
Commerce
Purchasing NFTs through FC or the network
Accessing specific services through FC or the network
Access
Giveaways that actually verify that the user conducting the giveaway followed through with the winner.
Logging into apps outside of the ecosystem with your FC account
It’s the early innings
Farcaster is an infant. And like an infant, there is a plenty of potential. Plus, it’s fun to be early!
If I were to compare this with another app, it reminds me of the early days of Clubhouse.
The vibes feel similar, with a Web3 lean and a vibrant builder culture.
And FC isn’t the only decentralized social network out there! Lens has been gaining a lot of steam, and I want to take more time to explore that platform too. But alas, my time is finite 😮💨
If I could sum up my experience it would be this:
I’ll continue to use Twitter. It’s a great app and it vital for most people to build an audience there, especially if you’re creating like me.
However, oftentimes I feel like I can’t really be myself. I worry more about if the tweet I’m about to post will get any engagement instead of sharing my sincere thoughts. I don’t have controversial content. I don’t write a lot of twitter threads that share the secrets of making millions.
I’m just…TPan. And at least for now, Farcaster allows me to be truly me. Random thoughts and all.
There’s a lot more for me to understand, so I will probably have at least a followup piece on this. Maybe I’ll chat with someone on the team and they’ll tear my non-technical analysis apart 😂
See you tomorrow and message Dan if you want to give FC a go!
Great introduction to FC!