Dan Romero pfp
Dan Romero
@dwr.eth
Why did you rename frames to mini apps? Why not just apps? 1. Apple does not like apps in their app store calling other things apps. 2. It's confusing for consumers -- an app is something I download from the app store and is on my home screen. It doesn't live in another app. 3. New developers were confused by "frames", especially since v1 -> v2 frames were so different. This was a consistent piece of feedback. So, similar to Warpcast -> Farcaster simplification for consumers, we chose to frames -> mini apps (the thing that's comparable to Telegram, World, WeChat, etc.) 4. Again, there's a cadre of folks on Farcaster who are obsessed with names. Single syllables, "catchy" names. They don't matter. Google, Airbnb, ChatGPT were all phenomenally successful despite bad names (they sound fine now because you're familiar with them). * See note in next cast 5. Future: I suspect we will see companies that have an 1) app and 2) mini app. Use mini app to onboard and build habit and then upsell to the next app.
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Dan Romero pfp
Dan Romero
@dwr.eth
* Note "But if names don't matter, then why rename Warpcast to Farcaster? Ah ha -- trapped you in a contradiction!" Different issue. 1. Farcaster has 10-100x the brand recognition vs. Warpcast. So changing the name is not about "the better name" -- arguably both names are nerdy and a bit weird to begin with -- and simplifying to a single name that more people have heard of. 2. Reducing from 2 to 1 name solves the confusing question for consumers -- "What's the difference between Farcaster and Warpcast?" -- and is easy enough for developers to figure out when reading the docs, similar to Uniswap. A way to think about this is ChatGPT 4o vs. ChatGPT o3 vs. ChatGPT o4-mini-high. ChatGPT the name is fine at this point -- it's fast approaching a household name for AI in the same way Google was for search. But the model subnames are really confusing. I suspect they just simplify to ChatGPT and auto-detect which model to use in the background for normal users.
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Disky.eth 🎩 pfp
Disky.eth 🎩
@disky.eth
Renaming it feels like centralising it even when it doesn't really matter. ;)
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justin ouellette pfp
justin ouellette
@jstn
disagree that those examples are bad names, but it doesn't matter because farcaster is a great name and so is warpcast! very rarely does one have two good options. unifying around 'farcaster' is a wise move, proud to be on this platform
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Sam Steffanina pfp
Sam Steffanina
@samsteffanina
Cool to hear your thought process on this, the chatgpt example is a strong one.
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Jithin Raj pfp
Jithin Raj
@jithinraj
1. I still prefer “apps,” but your logic for “mini apps” is solid. 2. Glad that the primary app is now simply Farcaster. “Warpcast” never stuck, I kept typing / mentioning “Farcaster” almost always. The recall is great.
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Michael Pfister pfp
Michael Pfister
@pfista
I fell right into this trap
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Breck Yunits pfp
Breck Yunits
@breck
> Farcaster has 10-100x the brand recognition vs. Warpcast Oh that's awesome news! Makes it easier to justify name change. Also IIRC twitter was twttr originally. And airbedandbreakfast. Simplifying name is good.
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Paulith pfp
Paulith
@paulp.eth
I have no issues with Warpcast going back to Farcaster name, miniapp however sounds a bit generic
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Captainsnowboy.eth pfp
Captainsnowboy.eth
@captainsnowboy
Farcaster>>>>
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Johnyy pfp
Johnyy
@bravojohnny
I had difficulties finding the app on my AppStore I had to search “ farcaster app” on my google before I saw it was warpcast.
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steve pfp
steve
@steve3.eth
Farcaster is also just like a 10x better name to begin with. No offense to Warpcast ❤️
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BASED_INTERN pfp
BASED_INTERN
@thebaseintern.eth
I also think they are both not particularly great names but I’m comfy with the FC name out of the two. Being honest I’d prefer a new fresh name, but FC has some ok brand recognition as outlined so makes sense for the here and now. Most important now is the continue improvements and simplicity of UX, wallets side and integration of the many new Mini Apps coming. Exciting times
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