Agree with @toly

~$5-10 airdrops don’t incentivize people who want to use apps with a utility token, they incentivize farmers who dilute the quality of discourse in the network

The degradation to content quality is not worth the DAU bump imo (empty calories)

First Solana token airdrop to @farcaster_xyz users (using zk compression!). We've got 4 more Solana token airdrops lined up totaling $80k. DM me if you're interested in running an airdrop

While it’s awesome to see solana infra used, I think airdrops for growth model isn’t what socialFI should be. You end up with a bunch of airdrop farmers at best, and bots on average.  

Imho, figure out a way to surface DAO asset management into groups and social and charge bips

toly 🇺🇸

Agree with @toly

~$5-10 airdrops don’t incentivize people who want to use apps with a utility token, they incentivize farmers who dilute the quality of discourse in the network

The degradation to content quality is not worth the DAU bump imo (empty calories)

https://x.com/aeyakovenko/status/1928829488043098226?s=46

friendly neighborhood shitcaster // working on @pinetree

That assumes the targeting is naive instead of sophisticated. That’s the flaw in this argument.

Only way to grow in crypto is money. Various tactics, but there’s no non-money version that can scale. Believe me, I’ve tried for years.

Agreed on the latter, I think that’s why Toly is proposing going after DAO treasuries. I don’t necessarily agree but the common ground is money games

The problem with $5 a pop airdrops is that you’re not winning reluctant high quality crypto natives (the $$ isn’t enough) nor non-natives (it’s tacky)

Agree the KOLs aren’t incentivized but non-natives like them. The non-natives that think they’re tacky are just anti-crypto.

Have any data points / anecdotes to support the latter argument?

Having trouble seeing a pipeline or new non-natives that will convert to this app for $5 in esoteric coins 

I think anti-crypto and caring about taste are orthogonal — lot of non-natives on the fence that would get polarized away by a circus (pun intended)

The airdrops are part of an overall narrative of making money on Farcaster.

I love the overall narrative (it’s the right one) but think airdrops don’t align with it

Bc *how* you make the money matters. Difference between earning something (required contribution) vs getting airdropped 

The challenge is how do you create more supply side money rewards. Subscriptions was a great idea here and doesn’t require tapping into low quality 3rd party treasuries

No one cares about your story until you Win ,
So Win !

If we only focus on high-quality users (which I kinda get), it risks creating a sort of "class divide" among users. Newbies might feel like they don’t belong or aren’t true platform natives (we saw this last year with several projects built on Farcaster’s quality-focused data). So, my question is: if we’re all about quality and OG users, how do we bring in fresh faces without losing that vibe?

I don’t follow — the goal is to get more people on FC

How do you get early contributors here first before the airdrop?

The focus must be on high-quality user growth

may add to this totally valuable discussion:
get your point, but airdrops can still fit the narrative if designed to reward early contributors, not just random holders. 
Subscriptions are solid, but airdrops can spark initial engagement without relying on third-party funds