When the Moxie Protocol launch was announced a couple of months ago, I called it the most exciting development I've seen in my 3+ years in crypto.
After a month of close observation following the launch on July 29, 2024, this month I decided to start a 30-day experiment on Farcaster: the Moxiesplaining Journal.
It's a daily window into my observations, learnings, and the view of Moxie from where I sit as a writer + editor.
This post is a collection of the first week's journal entries (days 1 through 7) exactly as they appeared on Farcaster. Click on the date to read the relevant threads.
Day 1: The Big Picture
Ever since Moxie launched, I've often said that "Farcaster has become my un-job."
“Unjobbing,” in my lexicon, is positive-sum and socially beneficial. It includes:
- Opportunities to do work that gives back to creatives as much as (or more than!) it takes.
- Increased freedom for creatives to align themselves as they'd choose to anyway, regardless of employment prospects or paid gigs.
As Moxie continues to work in the background to financially reward quality contributions to the Farcaster network, it helps free up more time for unjobbing.
I’d like to live in a world in which everyone who wants to can “roll their own” un-jobs into a sustainable livelihood.
I'm excited about the inroads Moxie is making toward that world.
Day 2: Want To, Not Have To
As Moxie builds an economic engine for Farcaster, it can help create more opportunities for “unjobbing”: permissionless work based on alignment instead of employment.
I didn’t ask the Airstack team for permission to start a Moxiesplaining journal. I’m simply writing what I want to write. It’s opt-in. It's inspired by my alignment with the Moxie vision.
That's why I call Farcaster my "un-job."
If people respond, I’ll receive Moxie rewards, which in turn can help free up more time for alignment-based work.
Non-coercion is baked into the design.
I find great magnetism in work that flows from “want to, not have to.”
Day 3: Rethinking Narratives
Observing Moxie Fan Token value flows is prompting me to rethink the mental models of “supporting creators” and “monetizing an audience.”
Fan Tokens don’t fit charity or patronage models. Buyers aren’t donating or becoming patrons.
Big Moxie rewards earners who don’t yet have Fan Tokens are getting nudged to launch them, because benefits can flow to their followers and the FC network when they do.
Holding Fan Tokens isn’t a loyalty test, either.
It’s OK to sell; it's necessary to realize gains. It’s part of the mechanism design. Creators receive a 2.5% fee from every sale.
They also benefit from holding other entities’ Fan Tokens.
So how much of buying/selling Fan Tokens is motivated by altruism, and how much by self-interest?
It's not obvious.
Perhaps that's the point.
Day 4: Valuing Attention
The 90-9-1 rule of participation inequality in social networks is well-known. 90% lurk; 9% contribute occasionally; 1% create.
While creators (1%) get the fanfare, all these roles contribute valuable time + attention to the network.
Moxie Fan Tokens can:
- reward the value contributed by occasional contributors + lurkers
- reduce the grind for creators
Any of these roles can buy (or be gifted) Fan Tokens to align their self-interest with the success of entities in the network.
Everyone can opt into the rewards loop. Not just top creators.
This reduces systemic pressure to compete for limited attention.
Lurkers who don't want to be creators can hold Fan Tokens and just enjoy lurking.
Creators + occasional contributors who hold Fan Tokens can contribute as they see fit, and take breaks when they want.
Brilliant.
Day 5: Creative Livelihood
For 25+ years I’ve been calling attention to extractive patterns that constrain writers’ options for a sustainable livelihood that allows them to focus entirely on writing.
After watching countless bait-and-switch patterns that prey on writers' hopes of making a decent living yet leave them with mere scraps, I lost hope for significant improvements in my lifetime.
So it’s notable that my first words upon learning about Moxie were:
“Don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about anything else I’ve seen in my 3+ years in crypto.”
Moxie rewards creative work in ways that open new paths to sustainability.
I view my Fan Token holdings as a "plug" into network effects that can accrue to users. Not extractive entities.
Here's to a world in which more writers have sustainable incomes so they can just write.
Day 6: The Moxiesplaining Begins
Rising star creator @thecurioushermit has mentioned that my newsletter persuaded her to join Farcaster, and she later purple-pilled and onboarded several other newcomers.
Our exchange in DCs from mid-July (shared with her permission) is where the Moxiesplaining began, so it's worth revisiting as part of this 30-day journal experiment.
Danica: "...there's a big-deal launch coming up in 10 days that I'd recommend you follow. I suggest you learn as much as you're able to about it. I expect it will have far-reaching effects on the Farcaster ecosystem."
Gwynne: "I'd noticed Moxie being mentioned in quite a few casts, so I'd already opened a tab to start looking into it! The more I'm reading about Moxie, the more fascinating it is, especially for content creators!"
(Bonus mention of "Fast Rope Into Farcaster," the canonical newbie reading I always recommend by @cameron).
Day 7: No-Shame Moxiebaiting
Last week Far Scores got an upgrade: Far Boosts, at a rate of +1 boost for every 100K of Moxie TVL in Fan Tokens.
Has this change eased up Moxiebaiting of the harmful/disruptive sort?
I hope so. Because there's a more subtle point to be made about pursuing engagement from high Far Score casters in hopes of earning Moxie.
My current Far Score is 1.188 organic + 7.295 boost = 8.483.
Maybe that’s high enough to attract some Moxiebaiters?
In case it is: I don’t want anyone who’s engaging in good faith to be shamed for having financial motives for interacting.
We're playing positive-sum games here; we want the network to win. If replies are interesting and not a burden on people's time, who cares whether the motives are "pure?"
Save the shaming for those harming the network. Leave good-faith Moxiebaiters alone.
