Brand3
Cover photo

#7 — Birth of Degen

The Unpredictable Power of Memetic Movements

S·G

S·G

Who Controls the Memes, Controls the World

In today's world, a movement exists that's more potent than hurricanes or tsunamis, transcending any marketing campaign or trendy influencer strategy. This force comes from a community unified by a single vision and objective, showcasing the immense power of coordinated effort.

We live in an era where memes are the catalysts for change. Do you wish for your idea to spread like wildfire? Aspire to go viral or be influential someday? Maybe we'll unravel these mysteries... or perhaps not.

The Genesis: The Power of Points

It all started with points, a seemingly simple concept outside the blockchain that has become a significant magnetism in recent months. These aren't groundbreaking innovations; they're traditional reward points, reinvented for the digital age. In a surprising twist, the outdated and deflated 'wheels' of other social networks find themselves reinvented in this new context.

These points, once seen in PWA apps like FriendTech, made their way to platforms such as Rainbow and Farcaster. What happened on Warpcast was even more intriguing: offchain points found an onchain utility. Imagine, traditional points now used for onchain activities like minting NFTs on Zora, rewarding users, creating channels, and more. By the time you read this, there will likely be even more uses for these points – real utilities that the world has been clamoring for.

This frenzy of points everywhere led to the birth of Farcaster's first native memecoins: $points opened the gates, followed by $wowow, then came $spam, $farts, and even a memecoin generator… The rest is history.

But the real strength of the movement resided in a particular channel: /degen.

Basic Information about $DEGEN

Degen: A Decentralized Brand Perspective

Degen emerges from a Permissionless Brand like Farcaster, making it crucial to integrate both in the Brand3 landscape. Degen represents the community, and the community has chosen Degen as a departure from the conventional, a response to those who label us as CryptoBros. Degen is our identifier, a badge we wear proudly within the ecosystem, come what may.

Originally, Degen started with a basic casino chip symbol – a purple token with a dollar sign. But to truly become a Brand3 with magnetism, it needed more.

The Solution: Quick, Direct, and Democratic

An open bounty invited the entire community to propose a new logo for Degen. The initial rewards were modest: 5M for the winner and 1M for the next four designs. The rules were simple – one proposal per user, submitted by a set deadline. 100 logo proposals were submitted, ranging from elegant and sober designs to wild creations spawned by AI and other visual resources.

The Top Hat emoji quickly became a meme, widely used in conversations. By day three, it was clear to me: The symbol is the emoji, the emoji is the meme, the meme must be the logo... Drawing inspiration from the emoji, I worked on refining this element, knowing the best logos function well at any size and are quickly internalized by the public. I created multiple color versions and proportions, swiftly realizing my vision and crafting a typographic element to accompany it. The sophistication of degeneration needed to be present, hence the choice of a serif font, adding that sophisticated touch, while the ecosystem itself would bring the degenerative aspect.

Envisioning the hat as the Nouns' glasses, I maximized this key element. I created some memes, shared the files with key users, and quickly, others began using it, modifying colors and shapes. The people made the logo their own, unknowingly becoming part of the brand. I integrated it into my PFP, and others followed, spreading the word.

On the day of voting, I was excited, not so much for the tokens (though a bit of Degen is in all of us) but for the chance to be the designer behind Degen's logo, the referential memecoin of Farcaster. I had tried with Points and participated in other significant branding processes, but here, I was eager to build this Brand3 with the community. There were formidable competitors, showcasing the growing pool of talented designers on Farcaster, inspiring and supporting each other, sharing knowledge and value every day.

And I won!

Those 125 votes marked a turning point in my career. I'm grateful for the unwavering support from communities like CryptoPlaza, FLOC*, BRICKS, and Brand3. We achieved this together, and it will always be a cherished accomplishment.

But do you know why it's so special?

Because, even after all this time and effort, we are just beginning.

Think Degen.

https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0d299f28f6c3d01332bbd73b51bcee3dcd71eb26/4


The Music


🔎 The Links

How To Use Farcaster and Warpcast

Still unsure about what Farcaster and Warpcast are? Or need help because you've been away for a while and want to catch up on what's happening on the sufficiently decentralized social network? Discover it with the help of Zerion, and also find the NFT I recently launched of the Farcaster Landscape inside...

Introducing: The Degen Post

The truth is, it can sometimes be challenging to keep up with the latest from Farcaster, as we've just seen with the launch of Frames. That's why I believe it's essential for specialized publications to emerge to keep us well-informed about the latest developments. This is why I recommend following people like @brownalytics and their creation of the Degen Newsletter on Paragraph.

Post-Identity Design: Brands, Politics, and Technological Instability

For years, branding has been a key strategy in building brands that spark cultural movements within their audiences. This intriguing article presents some examples of how major corporations have experimented in this regard.


💜 The Cast


🗝 The Key

“The imagination has no limits. The physical world does. The work exists in both.”
Rick Rubin


🖋 The Word

Degen — " Decentralized Gentleman/Gentlewomen ”

Degen is a lifestyle. It's a way of understanding technology, supercharged with socialization, entertainment, and fun. Be Degen my fren.


🌌 The NFT

There was a pivotal moment for me when creating BRICKS as a multiplayer creative community. Then, I launched the On Bricks collection to put all those ideas that emerge in this imaginative space onchain. That's when the idea to upload the OG Degen's logo came about, followed by compiling the best memes I've found of the Degen's brand. I'm not sure what comes next, but I'm certain we'll do it together and have a great time sharing knowledge. Let's keep building together...

https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0d299f28f6c3d01332bbd73b51bcee3dcd71eb26/5
post image
Brand3.io

Written and designed by @esdotge

Collect this post as an NFT.

Brand3

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Over 500 subscribers

Cryptsam
Cryptsam
Commented 1 year ago

Wow Congrats once again esdotge 🔥🎯

brais.eth
brais.eth
Commented 1 year ago

Added to "Materials" in the DEGEN ecosystem map :D

Nawashi.eth xxtarhxx
Nawashi.eth xxtarhxx
Commented 1 year ago

go go go

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

Designers! I just created a place to find useful design resources for & from Farcaster projects & tokens. Feel free to send me any new resources, links, articles and more to be added to this resources platform. Hope you find it useful and enjoy! https://organized-knee-7f9.notion.site/Design-142cc8a84685807c8befe6b2be6cae54

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

Feel free to add your support with Microsub: https://microsub-nomination-frame.vercel.app/api

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

@esdotge.eth @floc I took the liberty to add some of your resources to it as well. Let me know if you want to add stuff to it ;)

S·G 🎩↑◡̈Farcaster
S·G 🎩↑◡̈
Commented 4 months ago

wowow!!! Amazing idea!!! 1000 $DEGEN

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

Owowow! Thank you for the amazing tip!

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

❗ Important update ❗ The original link no longer works! You can now find the repository here: www.uiresource.design

logonaut.eth 🎩🍖↑🔄Farcaster
logonaut.eth 🎩🍖↑🔄
Commented 1 month ago

thanks for such a great resource! maybe update the pinned cast with your above cast that has the new url?

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 1 month ago

Thought of doing that. But don't like bothering people with a notification for the same thing haha. However, it's in the channels Bio ;)

mood: chopperFarcaster
mood: chopper
Commented 4 months ago

thank you!!!

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

My pleasure! The url has changed to http://uiresource.design/ ;)

mood: chopperFarcaster
mood: chopper
Commented 4 months ago

coming in handy glad this is pinned

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

To be sure the link has changed: http://www.uiresource.design/

Chukwuka OsakweFarcaster
Chukwuka Osakwe
Commented 4 months ago

link doesn't work, maybe quote it with the new link and have that pinned instead?

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

Indeed changed the link. There should be an !update! cast in there. New link is http://uiresource.design/

Chukwuka OsakweFarcaster
Chukwuka Osakwe
Commented 4 months ago

how did you get the first link pinned?

S·G 🎩↑◡̈Farcaster
S·G 🎩↑◡̈
Commented 4 months ago

I share with you the /brand3 @paragraph where we talk about Web3 brands in case you think it is interesting to include it... https://paragraph.xyz/@brand3

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

Oooh nice! Could be cool to add with a new list for channels related to design! Thanks!

S·G 🎩↑◡̈Farcaster
S·G 🎩↑◡̈
Commented 4 months ago

Great! For example, this publication is about the creation of the degen brand... https://paragraph.xyz/@brand3/birth-of-degen

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

Added a new section for publications and added the Degen story to it :) https://organized-knee-7f9.notion.site/Design-142cc8a84685807c8befe6b2be6cae54

dsord3r 🎩Farcaster
dsord3r 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

wow cool

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago
dsord3r 🎩Farcaster
dsord3r 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

200 $DEGEN

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 4 months ago

Thank you! 🙏

dsord3r 🎩Farcaster
dsord3r 🎩
Commented 1 month ago

The link is broken now?

S·G 🎩↑◡̈Farcaster
S·G 🎩↑◡̈
Commented 8 months ago

Who Controls the Memes, Controls the World… https://paragraph.xyz/@brand3/birth-of-degen

Vlady🎩Farcaster
Vlady🎩
Commented 8 months ago

love it memes 😍

hoppang🎩🍖Farcaster
hoppang🎩🍖
Commented 8 months ago

It's certainly a good phenomenon that a lot of people can simply enjoy

Lucky GuyFarcaster
Lucky Guy
Commented 8 months ago

That’s true… sir

S·G 🎩↑◡̈Farcaster
S·G 🎩↑◡̈
Commented 1 year ago

Degen emerges from a Permissionless Brand like Farcaster, making it crucial to integrate both in the /brand3 landscape. Degen represents the community [...] a response to those who label us as CryptoBro. Degen is our identifier, a badge we wear proudly within the ecosystem. https://paragraph.xyz/@brand3/birth-of-degen

VRIBES ✍️Farcaster
VRIBES ✍️
Commented 1 year ago

50 $DEGEN

S·G 🎩↑◡̈Farcaster
S·G 🎩↑◡̈
Commented 1 year ago

Be Degen my fren… … and vote for the Unpredictable Power of Memetic Movements! 🎩 https://paragraph.xyz/@brand3/birth-of-degen

Victor🎩🚴↑Farcaster
Victor🎩🚴↑
Commented 1 year ago

512 $DEGEN

QTee99.base.ethFarcaster
QTee99.base.eth
Commented 1 year ago

How to get farcon pass?

TITO Farcaster
TITO
Commented 1 year ago

177 $degen

S·G 🎩↑◡̈Farcaster
S·G 🎩↑◡̈
Commented 1 year ago

I Want You To Vote… (One More Time) 🎩 😅 https://paragraph.xyz/@brand3/birth-of-degen

MohammadFarcaster
Mohammad
Commented 1 year ago

45 $DEGEN

S·G 🎩↑◡̈Farcaster
S·G 🎩↑◡̈
Commented 1 year ago

The moment of truth has arrived, the time for Brand3!!! For Degens 🎩 For Design Fans 🧑‍🎨 For Branding Lovers 🥷 Vote for my candidacy to secure our Lightning Talk for FarCon! 💜 Thank you all!!! https://paragraph.xyz/@brand3/birth-of-degen

al3jandroFarcaster
al3jandro
Commented 1 year ago

Good luck!!

nawashi.eth aka ShowmorerepliesFarcaster
nawashi.eth aka Showmorereplies
Commented 1 year ago

🤍🤍

Drake 🔵🎩 Farcaster
Drake 🔵🎩
Commented 1 year ago

Lets goo broo 333 $degen

S·G 🎩↑◡̈Farcaster
S·G 🎩↑◡̈
Commented 1 year ago

In recent months, my life has transformed dramatically! I'm eager to share this journey at @farcon, where Degen's rise marks a revolution for onchain builders... A true whirlwind of change! 🎩💥 Birth of Degen on /brand3 @paragraph https://paragraph.xyz/@brand3/birth-of-degen

ViHaFarcaster
ViHa
Commented 1 year ago

GE! I didn't know this story. WOWOW! 200 $DEGEN Best wishes for /farcon and beyond. Happy to connect with you here on WC 🤗

FLOC*Farcaster
FLOC*
Commented 1 year ago

3333 $DEGEN

dycpFarcaster
dycp
Commented 1 year ago

your eggs still dont work... why grift

Ese 🌳Farcaster
Ese 🌳
Commented 1 year ago

Why not be patient, devs deving dycp

dycpFarcaster
dycp
Commented 1 year ago

that works too 🎩 although they were supposed to open on the 29th but 🤷🏻‍♂️ seems like devs kinda dgaf about the retail speculation but no worries im just trynna find out where everyone stands on this app rn

dycpFarcaster
dycp
Commented 1 year ago

also ive given my txn multiple times over the past few days while they produce more mints that lead to nowhere just wonderin what im lookin at 👀🥂

dsord3r 🎩Farcaster
dsord3r 🎩
Commented 1 year ago

Hi, GM good morning, on Monday we will review the case of your egg, we have our Dev in NY, but don't worry, we can solve it for sure. Sorry for the delay

dycpFarcaster
dycp
Commented 1 year ago

🫡🥂☑️ got it boss

Rahul Dacoit 🎩↑Farcaster
Rahul Dacoit 🎩↑
Commented 1 year ago

I wanted to talk to you about the whole brand3, will catchup soon.

al3jandroFarcaster
al3jandro
Commented 1 year ago

1000 $DEGEN

Franklyn 🎩Ⓜ️🟣Farcaster
Franklyn 🎩Ⓜ️🟣
Commented 1 year ago

Go ahead Sergio and don't stop the music!!! 🎩 🎩 🎩

DanteFarcaster
Dante
Commented 1 year ago

Much congrats, Sir 🎩 Top legend. Keep it crushing it, tio!

Varun 🎩🔵Farcaster
Varun 🎩🔵
Commented 1 year ago

23 $DEGEN

ted (not lasso)Farcaster
ted (not lasso)
Commented 1 year ago

couldn't be more excited to announce FarCon Lightning Talks, powered by @paragraph wanna give a lightning talk? or choose the ones you wanna hear? great news, you can. we're decentralizing Lightning Talks to everyone with a FarCon pass: paragraph.xyz/farcon. shout out to @colin! frames.neynar.com/f/38cdde63/d03915a7

ted (not lasso)Farcaster
ted (not lasso)
Commented 1 year ago

@ilemi submit your Dune talk @antonio submit your web3 ad/marketing/GTM talk @jacob @zora we would love to hear from you @jacek @six want to share about community-led memecoins @july @linda perfect time to submit the "15 min talk about anything" @warpcastadmin.eth can you teach us how to troll @nounishprof DAOs :)

Nounish Prof ⌐◧-◧🎩Farcaster
Nounish Prof ⌐◧-◧🎩
Commented 1 year ago

Hey @billzh @derekgtaylor @nonlinear.eth let’s do a reprise! And maybe @ccarella.eth can join us! I’m submitting it! 🙌 let’s chat about the state of the DAOs & all that’s changed in a year!

billzhFarcaster
billzh
Commented 1 year ago

Let's do it!!!

EulerLagrange.eth - shitpost/accFarcaster
EulerLagrange.eth - shitpost/acc
Commented 1 year ago

You know I’m about to go off

✿   ZACH HARRIS   ✿Farcaster
✿ ZACH HARRIS ✿
Commented 1 year ago

I’m bullish on hearing boro

rishFarcaster
rish
Commented 1 year ago

dumb question but can you add a cast about what is a lightning talk? is it during the main event, one of the side events, etc. etc. sorry if I missed this somewhere

ted (not lasso)Farcaster
ted (not lasso)
Commented 1 year ago

updated to second frame!

rishFarcaster
rish
Commented 1 year ago

awesome thanks! update launch announcements seamlessly if you announce via frames haha

rishFarcaster
rish
Commented 1 year ago

love this decentralized voting idea btw!

Nounish Prof ⌐◧-◧🎩Farcaster
Nounish Prof ⌐◧-◧🎩
Commented 1 year ago

AND @adrienne we need your scenius again but with a one year later viewpoint!💜

adrienneFarcaster
adrienne
Commented 1 year ago

Hmmm maybe a “how to infiltrate a scenius” talk? What is scenius How to infiltrate Did the scenius die as farcaster got big?

Nounish Prof ⌐◧-◧🎩Farcaster
Nounish Prof ⌐◧-◧🎩
Commented 1 year ago

YES PLEASE!!!!!! 🙌

IvyFarcaster
Ivy
Commented 1 year ago

this is amazingly sick ty

Gabriel AyusoFarcaster
Gabriel Ayuso
Commented 1 year ago

Just reporting that I can't vote since it states that I don't have a Farcon Pass. To be safe I double checked and unlock does state that I have one.

ted (not lasso)Farcaster
ted (not lasso)
Commented 1 year ago

cc @colin

ThibauldFarcaster
Thibauld
Commented 1 year ago

Argh... I am seeing this just now. I guess it's too late to make a submission? 🥺

humptyFarcaster
humpty
Commented 1 year ago

great job on this. I’m submitting my ⚡️talk on /loyalty

sahilFarcaster
sahil
Commented 1 year ago

👋 Ted, just DMed :)

CruxFarcaster
Crux
Commented 1 year ago

Would love to see a discussion between @jacek @syndicate @conduit @airstack.eth about Degen L3

Cassie HeartFarcaster
Cassie Heart
Commented 1 year ago

Some people get to assert their views as leading consumer crypto. Others have to build their own way in spite of organizational barriers. My talk proposal: "The Alternative Thesis to Consumer Crypto". Will prepare the submission soon, please vote if you'd like to hear someone else's voice in the room besides Base.

Cassie HeartFarcaster
Cassie Heart
Commented 1 year ago
S·G 🎩↑◡̈Farcaster
S·G 🎩↑◡̈
Commented 1 year ago

Birth of Degen — Who Controls the Memes, Controls the World… https://paragraph.xyz/@brand3/birth-of-degen

Victor🎩🚴↑Farcaster
Victor🎩🚴↑
Commented 1 year ago

2000 $DEGEN

memes4airdropFarcaster
memes4airdrop
Commented 1 year ago

classic degen 🔥

nawashi.eth aka ShowmorerepliesFarcaster
nawashi.eth aka Showmorereplies
Commented 1 year ago

happy degen to you

Ben RoyFarcaster
Ben Roy
Commented 1 year ago

Ok calling for some research help! I'm looking for everything good that's been written about @farcaster Please share any essays, blog posts & threads below (podcasts are cool too) Could be about how Farcaster works, why it matters, related projects/businesses, personal anecdote, all of it Compiling something 😈

rileybeansFarcaster
rileybeans
Commented 1 year ago
Ben RoyFarcaster
Ben Roy
Commented 1 year ago

Thank you Riley!

Steen!!!Farcaster
Steen!!!
Commented 1 year ago

This is fire

rileybeansFarcaster
rileybeans
Commented 1 year ago

🫡 💖 tyty!!

wmpFarcaster
wmp
Commented 1 year ago

Got this 101 on Farcaster Frames 🤓 https://metaversal.banklesshq.com/p/farcaster-frames

Ben RoyFarcaster
Ben Roy
Commented 1 year ago

Dopeee, ty sir

wmpFarcaster
wmp
Commented 1 year ago

Actually just pub'd this one a few minutes ago too, talks about how to drop a free NFT mint frame via Zora + Warpcast https://metaversal.banklesshq.com/p/free-nfts-farcaster-frames

Ben Adamsky 💭Farcaster
Ben Adamsky 💭
Commented 1 year ago

I mean all of @yb content about farcaster is top tier, here's a fun one on channels I particularly enjoyed reading https://onchainletters.xyz/channels

YBFarcaster
YB
Commented 1 year ago

Appreciate the shoutout Ben! @benroy also wrote this piece from 2 months ago: https://onchainletters.xyz/farcaster

Ben RoyFarcaster
Ben Roy
Commented 1 year ago

Amazing, thank you for sharing this!

SimonFarcaster
Simon
Commented 1 year ago

Let me help on this one

alexFarcaster
alex
Commented 1 year ago

"Lessons Learned" on $ticker and a Farcaster experiment born from the fiasco: https://zora.co/collect/base:0x7715abb2c8f3489acecaf6f6d0b5ebf9bb11624b/3 "Over Engineered Networks, Toxic Communities" on the OG vs. New User culture clash https://paragraph.xyz/@proxystudio.eth/culture-wars

Ben RoyFarcaster
Ben Roy
Commented 1 year ago

Thank you for these!

alexFarcaster
alex
Commented 1 year ago

https://onchainletters.xyz/microeconomies @six's "A letter to Emerging Microeconomies" on /onchainletters by @yb

alexFarcaster
alex
Commented 1 year ago

@leo5 essay "hyperstitions" not directly on Farcaster but certainly related https://leo5imon.com/hyperstitions

✿   ZACH HARRIS   ✿Farcaster
✿ ZACH HARRIS ✿
Commented 1 year ago

@esdotge.eth has a pretty rad, ecosystem infographic NFT and /fartone collection - @mcbain would also be all over this

McBainFarcaster
McBain
Commented 1 year ago

I have written so many casts but not enough long form

S·G 🎩↑◡̈Farcaster
S·G 🎩↑◡̈
Commented 1 year ago

Thanks!!! 3333 $DEGEN

✿   ZACH HARRIS   ✿Farcaster
✿ ZACH HARRIS ✿
Commented 1 year ago

Toto Tranquilo hermano queso

#7 — Birth of Degen