Impact

fc-updates

We’re planning to launch a new, optional “Pro” protocol subscription

1. At launch, subscribers will have a Pro badge on their profile

2. Subscription will be onchain and part of the protocol. 100% of the proceeds go to casters / developers in weekly rewards. This in addition to the existing $25K+ a week in rewards. 

3. Planning to add longer casts (10K characters) and up to 4 images per cast for pro subscribers (needs a protocol change). Additional features over time.

4. $120 a year / $10 a month 
Why are we doing this?

- The protocol needs to find long-term revenue source that can continue fund caster and developer rewards beyond any one company.  
- We originally thought storage fees could be that, but we’ve realized that storage fees should be essentialy free to help growth. 
- So we’re trying an opt-in pro subscription as another model

Why now?

- Figuring out a long-term revenue model that works will allow us to double down on investing in growth

This is perhaps one of Dan's most important casts re: farcaster in the past year.

It confirms my thesis that:
1) Merkle doesn't have a sustainable business model for FC in mind
and 
2) FC is squandering its competitive supremacy (having an open graph) by trying hard to be an X/twitter clone with a crypto wallet

The great thing about protocols (over centralized platforms) is that you can create a sustainable model where the interests of users ALIGN with the interests of the protocol (more on that here: https://paragraph.com/@abundance/time-to-put-the-user-in-the-center)

This is not that.

Merkle's current approach indicates that it will be using centralizing vectors (algos, subscriptions, etc.) to keep users "locked-in." 

A better approach would be favoring decentralization - where anyone can build their own client, app, and so on, and plug into a vast interoperable ecosystem powered by the open graph.

Solving public goods value capture. | /impact | book.abundance.id

Legacy social media is so 2008. I really wanted this place to be different but it feels like freemium and ads will always win in the end.

Pi-chi.eth (she/her) Artist /animeoutcasts
Hosting: /sakura /kyoto /momiji  /anime-manga /farcasterunion

https://portrait.so/pichi

the thing tho is that it *could* be different. too bad the inertia to copy what works on legacy platforms is too strong here

It makes me sad. We are still too early and too small of a group who craves something different.

I think there are LOTS of people out there who crave something different. we're just not very good yet at articulating both what's broken w the web2 platforms and what alternative decentralized social can provide

atm the "alternative" is only marginally better than web2 platforms. we should grow that margin but instead we're going in the other direction