I've been thinking about how we keep contributing, whether it's casting consistently, helping fight spam or just being active, but the way rewards are distributed feels really skewed. The current system mainly benefits a small circle of OGs who reward within their own (tight?) networks. Meanwhile, people outside those circles, even if they’re putting out good content or doing valuable work, barely see any recognition or points.

I get that rewarding early adopters makes sense to a point, but if the goal is to grow Farcaster into a more open, diverse network, this setup might actually hold that back. It keeps value locked in a feedback loop instead of spreading it to new or underrepresented voices who could help the ecosystem thrive long term.

I think the first thing that has to go is this shortlist of influential people that are dominating the Farcaster feed since I joined in January 2024. Let's call them the OGs.

The OGs that were on the autofollow list and gained 1000s of followers in early 2024 by design are now deciding who ranks high on the rewards leaderboard.

You can easily spot OGs in the trending feed, they are there every single day. Their casts are trending even without any engagement.

These OGs also decide when your casts are trending and pushed by the algo by engaging with your cast.

$hamster /hamster 
martinvr.eth 
deploy.degen.eth

Appreciate you sharing this perspective. The autofollow list definitely shaped the early days, but I think were still figuring out the best ways to help new voices break through

One thing I've seen work: surfacing more new builders and apps, especially via bounties or curated lists (shout out to @chuckstock's starter pack). It's not perfect yet, the protocol's still evolving, and the team is always open to feedback on how to make the trending feed more dynamic

Engineer @farcaster, co-founder @bountycaster. Sharing what I learn about AI + development. Previously: Phantom, 0x. NYC 🗽

Who has the final say about what casts should be trending?

/salty /fufu
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Embracing the Decentralized Revolution 🪙 | part-time degen, full-time believer.

yeah as soon as one of them likes your cast you'll get the "your cast is trending" notification