I started thinking more about mini-apps last night after reading @ted's cast about her in-app Paragraph feedback and then reading YB's essay on mini-apps. dwr has been heat-checking mini-apps and wondering what people would build, if anything at all and would users really want to use an app inside of an app? I don't have those answers but I do think in-app reading is the first use case that I got excited about.
I started working on this concept for an in-app reader. This could be a Paragraph app or could work with any URL like a Read It Later service. The cool thing about mini-apps in Farcaster would be to deeply tie together the social graph to create an experience where bouncing back and forth between the main app and the reading app was additive in a way that would be difficult as a standalone app. To be honest, I'm not sure if this concept has yet crossed that bar but it feels close to something that if you spent a little time with it could get there.
The wild thing is that I was concepting this as an interactive prototype using Claude Artifacts. You can check it out here. Then after I prorotyped, I wrote the doc.
Together is a mini-app designed to elevate the reading experience within the Farcaster ecosystem. This document explores how Together leverages Farcaster's unique features to create a more engaging and social reading experience.
Content Optimization and Dual-Mode Consumption
Together offers two primary modes of content consumption: Reading and Listening. The Reading mode presents articles in a clean, distraction-free format, with customizable typography and color schemes to enhance readability. The Listening mode provides AI-generated audio narration, allowing users to consume content hands-free.
By operating as a mini-app within Farcaster, Together can directly access shared links and metadata, streamlining the content ingestion process. For example, as links are shared to the Farcaster network they can be processed and cached for both readability and text to speech.
Social Features Native to Farcaster
Together's most compelling aspect is its deep integration with Farcaster's social mechanics. Comments, reactions, and discussions are synchronized with the Farcaster ecosystem, allowing users to engage in conversations about the content they're consuming with or without the app.
The app enables users to create highlights and annotations within articles, which can then be shared as Farcaster Frames. These Frames serve as focal points for discussion, allowing other users to comment on and engage with specific passages or ideas from the article in app or on Warpcast.
Together introduces a "Now Reading" section that displays all Farcasters who have read the article in the last 48 hours sorted by peaple you follow. It includes icons indicating whether a user has cast about or commented on the article. Tapping on a user's entry in this section takes you directly to their related cast, facilitating easy access to discussions and perspectives from your network. This feature leverages Farcaster's existing social graph, making it effortless for users to discover and engage with content that's currently resonating within their community.
Farcaster Frames Integration
Together uses Farcaster Frames to extend its functionality beyond the app interface. Users can share article previews, reading progress, and highlighted quotes directly in their Farcaster feeds using custom Frames. These Frames are interactive, allowing other users to jump directly into the reading experience or participate in prediction markets related to the article's content.
Cast Actions and Composer Integration
Together extends Farcaster's native cast composer with additional features tailored for sharing and discussing written content. When a user shares an article, the app provides reading time estimates, extracts key quotes, and suggests channels based on the article's content and its reception within the Farcaster network. It also allows you to share the audio version.
Cast actions allow users to quickly activate Reading or Listening modes, add articles to a "Read Later" queue, or initiate collaborative reading sessions with their Farcaster connections. These actions are deeply integrated with Farcaster's existing interaction models, making Together feel like a natural extension of the platform rather than a separate application.
Mini-apps
While mini-apps in Farcaster is yet to be realized, a rapid concept like Together makes me hopeful. It offers a glimpse into how deeply integrated, purpose-built applications could enhance user engagement and create new forms of social interaction within the Farcaster ecosystem.
As Farcaster continues to evolve, experiments like mini-apps and other new developer legos will be important for exploring the boundaries of what's possible within a decentralized social network.
Social Reading
Luckily for all of my readers, while I loved spending an hour in my studio last night thinking about mini-apps and prototyping one with the help of Claude, Paragraph has expressed interest on building a mini-app. So we might get to see how some of this plays out after all.
Collect this post as an NFT.
Over 600 subscribers
Anddddd we're backkkkk... with the 12th edition of Paragraph Picks, highlighting a few hand-selected pieces of writing over the past week or so! Let's check em out!
@joanwestenberg.eth walks through the allure of direct fan connections and subscriptions, especially compared to depending on algorithmic-driven platforms and advertising revenue, but also touches on the limitations of paywalling, churn, and other challenges with paid subscriptions. https://joanwestenberg.com/the-try-guys-and-the-limitations-of-creator-subscriptions
@matthewfox dives into the potential rise of mini apps on Farcaster, highlighting the recent launch of Flappycaster and Recaster, and how they show the promise of improved UX & new interactive experiences. "Mini apps could be a natural evolution from frames and potentially even be the linchpin which sets our network apart." https://paragraph.xyz/@matthewfox/mini-apps
Continuing the mini app theme... @ccarella.eth shows the potential of mini apps by (quickly!) building Together, a prototype of a social reading app. "Together offers a glimpse into how deeply integrated, purpose-built applications could enhance user engagement and create new forms of social interaction within the Farcaster ecosystem." https://paragraph.xyz/@ccarella/together-enhancing-the-farcaster-experience-through-social-reading
I just subscribed to @ccarella.eth on /paragraph ! Check it out:
Mini-App Concept: Together: A Social Reading App
omg I'd love something like this!!!
had a vision awhile back... what if we had folks who were interested record a bit of audio (or gleaned from /farhouse or /tavern) and then there would be an audio client which could read folks casts in their native voice using AI - think this could be a great together iteration in the future. instead of generic AI, get the ccarella voice reading the paragraph?
Yea totally possible.
i like that’s time based as well
Together would be in the top 2 things I would do on Farcaster. It's kind of what I try to do now, but the social discussion part is hard to foster. You were able to pull many features from many places into your ideation. Day 18 or whatever it is for you is in the top 3 articles you've done. 🫡
OK banger this is great tbh
Killing multiple birds with a stone This is an actual banger!!
Exploring the world of mini-apps, @ccarella.eth delves into the innovative concept of Together, a proposed in-app reader for the Farcaster ecosystem. Featuring social interactions, customizable reading modes, and seamless outcome sharing, this mini-app could revolutionize how content is engaged with in-app.