on today's Farcaster dev call @dwr.eth repeatedly stated that the #1 priority is to improve the quality of content on the network

I think he's wrong. Let me tell you why.

(disclosure: I told Dan i was going to write this. i hope it spurs some  debate)

the #1 most important priority is for Farcaster to become more onchain

"quality content" already exists in other places and there's no reason or benefit for it to come to Farcaster unless there's some uniquely onchain elements that vastly improve it

and tbh most of the content that gets lots of engagement on CT is polarizing debates that the FC community hates

the world doesn't need another place to yap about the NBA; it does need better ways to wager, play fantasy games, get access to bts content

the world doesn't need another place to yap about what you cooked;
the world does need more ways for foodies to get rewarded for sharing great recipes 

the way to win is by using onchain to change the paradigm and lure people in with the benefits as they emerge

Love discussions like this. Input from a writer’s perspective:

As @mjc716 aptly put it, “There’s a whole class of creators out there without the financial and social mechanization necessary to make a living off the work they want to do.”

Understatement of the year.

If FC channels + crypto rails can make it possible for creatives and moderators to make a sustainable living doing what they actually want to do — in the context of building communities around channels — it’ll be a huge unlock. For many, that’s the key that’s still missing. 

Protocol rewards and tips can and do help, but recurring revenue streams help a lot more. 

Especially helpful are ways to receive rewards for the work that creatives and moderators are already doing but not capturing much value in, since extractive entities control the chokepoints in creative industries.

TL;DR: lure people in with the benefits as they emerge (as Jason wrote).

Writer, senior editor, music nerd, GenX eldergoth, monastery-bootstrapper. https://paragraph.xyz/@danicaswanson https://tinyurl.com/Black-Stone-Wordsmith

Gamer, educator, dev translator | building tabletop.xyz | Writings, memes, thoughts, and mints in /nerdery | lead /tabletop /gaming /sobriety

Do you mean you're already making a living with your creative/moderator work in FC channels? Or you're hoping to?

Tabletop

3333 $DEGEN

Tips are a drop in the bucket, but still worth giving. The channel is lucky to have you.

I'm in a similar situation but with much smaller channels to manage. When we monetize we'll need a business model that can work for niche topics.

(Is there a channel where channel owners discuss business models yet?)

You're moderating a channel with 72K followers on about 1/10th of the income you need to do it full time? Holy crap. That's a lotta work. (I'll be back with a tip when my allowance renews).

I've moderated old-school discussion forums on niche topics, and I've watched several of them go under because there was no sustainable way to pay for the back-end and front-end work required.

Hoping FC channels can tackle this sustainability problem in ways that weren't possible before crypto, but of course we're only a month into the channel decentralization process so far, so a lot remains to be seen.

I have 1/10 of the monthly income needed from current /tabletop monetization