A challenge is not complete without setbacks, isn't it? Traveling always throwing a curveball to writing challenges. If anyone has another saying than "curveball" let me know. Maybe right hook is more appropriate, or more me, given that I'm not playing Baseball anymore but doing Kickboxing.
The idea of tipping as currency still intrigues me. Farcaster is more than a decentralized social network. It's also a huge social experiment, where we get to try out new incentive structures. Incentive structures for what? Generational wealth creation? Pushing people further into doom scrolling and emotional voids? Improving distribution of content and making creative work - finally - a viable profession for the masses?
I don't know. But I know that I enjoy it when people try out new stuff. If Degen tipping contributes to playing the long game - going for the long-term success instead of the short-term hype, we'll have come far.
With my Degen Tipping Dashboard I started to look at who is tipping who for what. It was born out of a nuisance seeing people complain about degen based on their personal hence anecdotal experience. My patience for moaners is super thin. Just ask my kids.
There are several sentiments around tipping degen and any of the other coins. A honey-pot for farmers, a nuisance, another chore, an opportunity, a source of income. Pick and chose! But tipping isn't anything new. It's done for quality service in formal establishments. Or tipping of buskers on the street, those wandering performers who light your (shopping) day or ruin it completely. Some groups in Galway attracted crowds that make walking on Shop street impossible (Yes, the main shopping street is called Shop street).
In IRL, what do you tip for? What do you believe is worthy of a couple of coins being dropped into someone's hat for their effort in delighting you? And would you walk on a street where buskers lined left and right performing for your generosity?
Enough of this waffling and philosophizing. Let's look at hard data. I'm on a quest to figure out what predicts tipping, especially tipping of quality casts. Let me take you on an adventure. Of those artsy-minded reader, don't you dare laughing or rolling your eyes. Digging through data is as much an adventure as the playing with colors, textures, and sounds you do!
Exhibit 1: People don't like to read
I'm lying a bit. This is a much improved version of the first chart I did. That I'm dropping you somewhere in the middle of this data journey is a blessing for you.
The chart shows how often a cast got tipped based on how long it is. We are going to ignore the huge peak. It's a clear outlier, a fluke of the system. What's visible from the chart is that short casts attracts more tipper. Either Farcasters embodies the KISS principle (Keep it simple, stupid!) or people don't like to read. More likely, people don't take the time to read longer casts. Another hypothesis is that longer casts are more like conversation starts than a pat on the back aka a tip. Something to test further.
After seeing this chart I formulated the following mental model:
Shorter casts get tipped more often --> but these tips are small amounts.
Longer casts hold better content --> hence will get fewer but higher tips.
This was the first dead-end in my data journey. I tried different slices of tip amounts, but nothing validated my mental model.
But KBC there are peaks! I know! But if the peak of casts with 300 characters is nearly as high as the peak with casts of 50 characters you know that cast length doesn't influence the tip amounts.
Frustrated with the lack of conclusive patterns I decided to focus on those who give small (less than 100 $degen) and big tips (more than 1000 $degen). Nothing. Writing longer casts doesn't get you bigger tips. On the contrary, you might be loosing out, as people scroll past your cast.
