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.

Working on /impact ||


Abundance Economy book: 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

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

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