this is what I'm working on:

• Kimiya, a newsletter I write to when I have a piece complete. No more set schedule.
• A book on being lost in a collapsing world, navigating such challenges. One chapter at a time.

Consider becoming a paid subscriber to support this work. Send equal amount to my FC wallet and I will add you manually.

this is what I'm working on:

• Kimiya, a newsletter I write to when I have a piece complete. No more set schedule.
• A book on being lost in a collapsing world, navigating such challenges. One chapter at a time.

Consider becoming a paid subscriber to support this work. Send equal amount to my FC wallet and I will add you manually.
https://kimiyamag.substack.com/l

such a great day offline with friends! yoga in the morning, pho for lunch, many hours at a cafe finalizing the flyer for my next rounds of AI workshops, spa time, and dinner at the bar. totally living life!

for my fellow writers, a reminder and lesson from the enigmatic Wizard, Alan Moore

for my fellow writers, a reminder and lesson from the enigmatic Wizard, Alan Moore
https://youtu.be/jOd9qTlmyFo?si=QpGuEt0XWE2Vds3C

if you have the time, this is a good listen

if you have the time, this is a good listen
https://youtu.be/ntzLir_DxKY?si=Sta_9QLvkd9_gfxp

how it feels to be the only American awake on FC when they're all asleep

yay @trish is my first cast collector 🥳

Talking *@! In /extracurriculars reminiscing in /gen-x and curating in /trish

such a nice group meditation this morning with singing bowl and vegan buffet after with our local community here

FC Creatives‼️ One of my favorite IG accounts is hosting a contest that and I would love to see one of you win!

FC Creatives‼️ One of my favorite IG accounts is hosting a contest that and I would love to see one of you win!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DMd7fOPPIzt/?igsh=N3dzcnYxNG9pZm94

feels like it won't be long before a few of us have the Big Idea spark. it's coming!

Kyla's latest substack says what we're all thinking

Kyla's latest substack says what we're all thinking

https://kyla.substack.com/p/zero-sum-thinking-and-the-labor-market?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwLt4BBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp3Dyssjw0a2yARGDsOhRII1RIbT19ChWpNMSOHFS8URLQj9dqOfB02kZYp0H_aem_FK5nN2-N98YwFC_iTyVsOQ

my gender is whenever the last weird font you saw

Farcaster

Farcaster doesn’t have a growth problem. It has an identity problem.

The users are already here: builders, artists, indie hackers, founders, and creators. Not future users—present ones. They’re casting, tipping, building, shipping, connecting. The challenge isn’t how to attract them. It’s how to see them.

I wasn’t onboarded. I wasn’t converted. I found Farcaster through Discord. Inceptionally invited me to co-host /itookaphoto. I had a role. I made friends. I built. I earned. I stayed. That’s the story. And I’m not unique. The platform didn’t onboard me. The network did.

The network is the onboarding team. The network is the sales team. Every friend invite, channel discovery, and moment of recognition is where conversion happens. Farcaster doesn’t need a better funnel. It needs to empower the people who are already doing the work of onboarding.

That’s Farcaster’s strength—and its blind spot. The team still hasn’t clearly said who this platform is for. If they had, more of us would’ve heard it. “Make money, make friends” is directionally right—but spiritually flat.

If Merkle knew how to tell the world what Farcaster is with clarity, they’d already be doing it. And if the message isn’t for innovators and adventurous early adopters, who is it for?

People don’t just use social networks. They identify with them. Farcaster is edgy. Crypto-native. Experimental. Weird. It’s not mainstream, and that’s the point. The people here are opting into a scene. A vibe. A frontier. And that posture attracts the right kinds of early users. This isn’t Twitter, TikTok, or LinkedIn with a wallet. It’s something new.

The myth is already being written. The team ships features. But the network is building the narrative. The most powerful rituals and culture didn’t come from a product brief. They emerged. And they’re spreading. That’s not roadmap work. That’s recognition work.

Meanwhile, channels—arguably the most important surface for community, identity, and belonging—have been given less direct attention from the core team. They’ve largely been supported by external contributors and passionate builders like @cura. That may have made sense operationally, but strategically, it’s risky. Channels are how users onboard each other. How people discover relevance. How culture gets sticky. If you want retention, channels aren’t optional—they’re foundational.

And yes, monetization matters. It’s a key draw. It’s a functional job. But people don’t stay for features. They stay for feeling.

Let me be seen.
Let me find my people.
Let me make friends.
Let me matter.

These are emotional jobs. They’re the difference between checking in and buying in.

Farcaster isn’t sticky. It’s selective. It takes effort. It takes intent. That’s what makes it work—for now. But you can’t scale selectivity without understanding what’s already working for the people who are here.

There are over 1 million FIDs. But real engagement lives with fewer than 10,000. According to one Dune dashboard, roughly 7,000 users—VIPs, influencers, stars, and active casters—drive the majority of platform activity. That’s not a sample. That’s the source code.

These aren’t casuals. They’re believers. Builders. Super early adopters. Innovators with skin in the game. Many paid for Pro memberships. They fund the culture. They shape the tone. They are the Farcaster experience. You don’t grow by looking past them. You grow by starting with them.

But here’s the miss: the people closest to the product don’t always know what the product feels like to use. The community does. Yet the insights—the why behind the usage, the meaning behind the behavior—often stay siloed inside Merkle. And when that knowledge doesn’t circulate, the network can’t sell what it doesn’t fully understand.

Imagine a company where the people closest to the customer never share insights with sales or marketing.
Would you expect them to succeed?
Of course not. Yet that’s what’s happening here.

Farcaster doesn’t need a better story. It needs to tell the story the community is already living.

⸻

Stop chasing more.
Start recognizing who’s already here.
Support them. Reflect them. Speak to them.

Farcaster is already working. It just doesn’t know it yet.

👇 If you’re building here, show yourself.
If you’re watching from the outside, the door’s open.
But this isn’t a mass-market product.
It’s a movement in motion.

fc-updates

New: Collectibles! 

Support your favorite creators by collecting their casts onchain. Each cast can be turned into a unique, 1-of-1 collectible. Just tap the new "collect" icon on a cast to get started. 

Casts can be collected starting at $1. If there are multiple collectors, it goes to the highest bidder. Creators get 90% collectible earnings, and the remaining 10% goes to the protocol rewards. 

We’re excited about collectibles for a few reasons: 
1. Creators earn directly from their audience
2. New creators can earn on their first day
3. Users get to collect a unique piece of Farcaster history

Collectibles will go live tomorrow morning around 9am PT. We're announcing this early so people can be ready to collect their favorite casts when the feature is live! 

Learn more here: https://farcasterhq.notion.site/Collectibles-2306a6c0c10180d7a917c24892662a3c?pvs=74

much better implementation than everything is a coin

should luxury die? seems it may already be on its last legs as is, but what would be the consequences of this possible death?

Channel 5 interview with Hunter Biden
https://youtu.be/XBbkt2vYC4M?si=b09FUAiqkWwFMiPF

study of 100,000 finds owning a smartphone before age 13 leads to poorer mental health. seems pretty obvious to me.

study of 100,000 finds owning a smartphone before age 13 leads to poorer mental health. seems pretty obvious to me.
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1091598

writer, explorer. wandering through life.

rileybeans

@rileybeans