Stephan on Warpcast

Stephan pfp

removing the cost for real users to join and contribute to the network is an existential problem farcaster needs to solve most people don't pay for social media - doesn't matter if it's $1 or $10 - it's not something they're used to this is also an existential problem for apps building on farcaster

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baubergo pfp

This is interesting. We’re accustomed to “free” web2 solutions, but they make money through shady, non-transparent methods. Web3 solutions, on the other hand, change that dynamic by charging you upfront and offering a chance to earn money on their platform. Unlike web2, where 90% of users end up paying just to stay visible, web3 provides a more transparent and potentially rewarding experience imo. But yes, the start (change of behavior) is always a very friction problem.

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Ox.crypto 🌈 pfp

I myself love the way it is now. I wouldn't want any ads popping up on my feeds. I think the $$ is necessary for farcaster to stay in fund for development.

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limone.eth 🍋 pfp

limone.eth 🍋

any idea on how to solve this problem? i agree it adds unexpected friction for users, specially non web3 ones, but how can you overcome that fee? who should pay for gas fees and storage costs?

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Signor Schober pfp

Do it like WhatsApp in the beginning, free trial, then paid.

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Nick T pfp

I can imagine a client in stable state that serves ads in exchange for paying for reg/storage costs

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Dr B lizardo pfp

@bluelizardo.eth

i get the concern and totally agree, but can you imagine the bot flood if it’s that easy? Look at the volume now—imagine it later. Also, people tend to value and stick with stuff they’ve paid for more

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mass.framedl.eth pfp

mass.framedl.eth

Agree. My wife was gonna signup to what I was doing on here with all these “frames” and “tips” but stopped at the fee because she doesn’t really do social media anyhow. It’s not too much, but setting up payment is enough of a roadblock

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WebOfTrust pfp

>most people don't pay for social media while true, they are forced to watch advertisements. think of the yearly fee as an advance payment for ads free social media platforms.

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links 🏴 pfp

It’s definitely friction but is it an existential problem? It’s a new paradigm, could it potentially be solved with new framing? Imagine the fee going back to the community - then it’s a “membership fee”. Imagine a free read-only client - then it’s a “entry fee”. These are fees users are more used to paying.

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BFG 🎩↑Ⓜ️ pfp

BFG 🎩↑Ⓜ️

I disagree. Any fee is not a problem at all. Yes, there is the never-ending claim that people are not used to paying for things, yet thousands of paid services and apps are thriving. People will happily pay for things that they consider valuable, and builders need to learn to ask for a fair price. Especially in web3.

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nomygod pfp

hey stephan we are the product on social media that's why it's free

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MetaEnd🎩 pfp

they could start by offering free apps to verified worldcoin wallets or similar

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Liang @ degencast.wtf 🎩 pfp

Liang @ degencast.wtf 🎩

drop them tokens maybe

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Thumbs Up pfp

I suspect some app will just subsidize the cost and either run ads, operate a freemium service with certain perks, or both.

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Miguelgarest pfp

@miguelgarest.eth

I was sent a free invite to FC. If I had to pay I don't think I would have joined tbh. Especially since it wanted my phone number and credit card the first time I tried.

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kompreni 🅱️ ⚡ pfp

kompreni 🅱️ ⚡

I'm working on something to address this. DM'ing you

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crunklez pfp

I agree heavily with your points It also sets an immediate idea of what audience you're expecting to onboard based on the cost Many of my app's users are from parts of the world where 5$ is a pretty large sum of money to part with to just sign up to a social It's a difficult problem to solve, eager to see how three solution evolves

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kaitoren.eth pfp

Just like email, everyone can: • Run their own email server at their own cost. • Pay email providers. • Use free email platforms which have adjacent businesses built on top Real adoption happened when the free model arrived. Personally I’m building apps that record data onchain via our backend, at no cost to users. Without users the rest doesn’t matter.

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