microsub.

Degen

2️⃣ Is Tipping Still Effective?

Tipping was one of the best marketing strategies early on. It got DEGEN into the hands of new users, helped spread the brand, and encouraged people to recruit others.

But the momentum seems to be slowing:
	•	In Season 11, only 565 new wallets (that never received an airdrop before) got DEGEN.
	•	Yet, we spent $1M worth of DEGEN in that round.
	•	That means it cost $1.7K per new wallet to onboard someone via tipping.

That’s way too high for an acquisition cost, especially when there’s no guarantee that new wallets will stick around and engage long-term.

If we’re mostly redistributing DEGEN to the same users, does tipping still make sense as a growth strategy? Or should we rethink how we use the treasury?

/microsub fam: we want to hear from you!

has $DEGEN tipping, through /microsub or otherwise, helped support you and your work, or helped keep you active on Farcaster?

please see the quoted thread from @jacek. how do you think we can improve as a community?

techno-optimist. 🧑‍💻 dance music lover + founder of /campfire 🎧

instagram.com/beatsbydownshift

I added some thoughts to @jacek s cast, but I think a freeze on tips after being found to be a farmer is a notional way to stop some of it, at least.

Reducing allowances would help create more scarcity and hopefully cost less per new wallet to acquire.

Tip 4 tip could be tightened up and more strenuous, which could eliminate a lot of farming.

Devaluing or disqualifying farming casts by viewing the content of casts where there’s lots of Degen attributes would help.  The API already supports viewing tips by cast, just needs an interns eyes on it.

I think that changes season to season, day to day even.

Investigating cast content can help identify when a tip is given "for some reason" rather than just tips without messages.  Usually folks congregate to communities that reward this behavior, so finding the community and invalidating the entire channel from posting or invalidating tips is a novel way to stop the community from growing.  Though, this is always going to be a whack-a-mole game.

Categorizing intent is something the big guys have to do, so there must be a way to do it on a much smaller scale by comparison.

I think the harder, much larger thing to do is stop the farming from the platform-level.  There is a consistency between farming behavior that should and can be identified by way of linking together the web of where users go, when, and why.  Most farmers don't learn their lesson, so they repeat the same behavior with a new account and could possibly change something about their connection, but not their computer's ID.  Inferred identity.

appreciate the thoughts! how do you think we define who is a farmer vs. not?