FID 1,215,111,111 felt the sun’s warmth against their eyelids, gently welcoming them to a new day. Today marked two years since joining Farcaster and six months since quitting their 9-5.
Two years ago, crypto had sounded like a ravenous cult promising untold riches, with journalists and politicians convinced it was a scam.
FID 1,215,111,111 had wanted to stay as far from crypto as possible. And had done so in ignorant bliss until they'd joined a writer's workshop and learned about publishing onchain.
What had been most intriguing was the ability of readers to collect minted copies of articles, while authors received a small payment. But why pay for an article that was available to anyone? It was a question they’d wondered aloud during the workshop.
“I had the same question,” the presenter started. “I was skeptical people would pay for something available for free. But we buy things we can get for free all the time.”
The presenter scanned the room. “How many of us rent books from libraries?”
A smattering of hands went up.
“How many of us own books?” The majority of the room raised their hands in agreement. “Why buy a book when you can rent it for free?” It grew quiet as attendees pondered.
“For convenience. No library run. No late fees,” someone called out.
The presenter nodded. “What else?”
“I think it’s good to support the artist. After they put so much time and effort into writing, the least we can do is buy the book.”
Another hand went up. “I’d consider myself a book connoisseur. My collection brings me joy.”
“All valid points,” the presenter replied.
“Those who mint my articles tell me the same thing. They’re curating articles for personal collections, they want to support me, and they enjoy having the article readily available. And while it’s available to them for as long as they want, it’s not a privilege to take for granted. At any moment, I can restrict mints of my work."
"Has anyone ever lost access to a site that held their content?”
This question stung. FID 1,215,111,111 had lost over 600 articles when their website was hacked. Countless hours poured into the site were lost in moments. The website host had no backup. They had no recent backup. It was a hard lesson to learn.
“If your articles are minted onchain,” the presenter continued, “they are permanent, immutable. Your words will live onchain forever.”
Quiet fell over the room.
It felt surreal to think of people thousands of years in the future reading their words. Would people sing phrases of their literary prowess? FID 1,215,111,111 smiled at the thought.
“How many of us like Beyoncé?”
Hands shot up and giggles spread as attendees surveyed members of the Beyhive.
“Like doesn’t even begin to explain it,” someone called out.
The presenter pointed to the speaker. “How many times have you listened to a Beyoncé track?”
“Countless.”
“Would you say you’ve listened to Beyoncé more or less than the average person?”
“I’m top 10 for sure.” More giggles throughout the room.
“What if Beyoncé could see that you were a top ten listener? What if she could access information about everyone who listened to her music, watched videos, purchased merchandise, attended concerts, or interacted with her social media account? And what if she could reward those fans with a click? Send exclusive messages or merchandise, give access to special events, and upgrade concert tickets to VIP. Soley based on your fan activity.”
The Beyoncé fan had a more serious tone. “That would be dope.”
“This is the power of building communities in Web3. Your actions are connected beyond one platform. Your true commitment to a project, an idea, a person - it’s all there, in code, for the world to see, analyze, and reward.”
Those words had shifted something in FID 1,215,111,111 and when they left the workshop, they’d taken a long trip down the crypto rabbit hole. Two years later, their only regret had been not starting sooner. As cliche as it sounds.
FID 1,215,111,111 finally opened their eyes to a space filled with plants, purple and NFT prints - all of their favorite things. These slow mornings were their favorite part of being a Web3 creator. They could truly be inspired into action each day.
The sound of lapping waves caressed their ear. It was a phone alert indicating that someone had minted one of their articles.
A rising tide lifts all ships.
The first time they’d received a payment from Paragraph, a Web3 publishing platform, it'd felt surreal. When they thanked the person who minted their article, the minter replied, "A rising tide lifts all ships. I’m glad to be a part of it."
Patronaging and supporting others had created burgeoning communities across Farcaster, a Web3 social platform.
Innovative ways of sharing and showing value were created and iterated daily. Those that were early continued to pour value into the ecosystem instead of extracting from it. So many of the OGs were wealthy enough to do anything, and those OGs contributed to Farcaster daily.
FID 1,215,111,111 was thankful to get out into that tide and become part of it.
Now, after a wide stretch, they reached for their water bottle and took several sips. Based on the sun’s location and the birds’ playful chirping, they guessed it was early morning. After taking another sip, they slid their legs across the bed and planted their feet on the floor.
They flexed each toe, found their center and stood, a buoyant energy bubbling within them. Their daily routine varied but usually involved a combination of hydrating, journaling, yoga, meditation, checking in with loved ones, a walk in nature, and of course creating content.
Today, energized by the recent mint, they went straight to their desk, greeted the plants they shared the space with, and opened their laptop to start creating.
Several mint alerts were waiting. Most were of the first article they’d published on Paragraph.
The supportive culture of Farcaster was unlike anywhere else. It had become a thing that when you follow someone, you mint the first onchain piece they created. It was a degen nod of the hat to a creator’s audacity to put themselves out there.
Over the past two years, the international community of readers and the rising value of ETH had made building community on Farcaster more lucrative than mining fiat.
FID 1,215,111,111 had paid off debt, staked a small nest egg, and then broke their golden handcuffs to build in Farcaster communities.
To start that day, FID 1,215,111,111 casted a picture from the previous day’s nature walk on Farcaster and posted a video from the walk on Drakula, a Web3 video platform.
As an active contributor to the rising tide, they were responsible for creating content, distributing a range of tokens and seeking new voices to share with their audience. It wasn’t hard finding these folks; talent was abundant on Farcaster.
Since starting on Farcaster as FID 1,215,111,111, their community had grown significantly and they couldn’t reply to everyone anymore.
Their AI moderator replied to and tipped most comments to their casts, while FID 1,215,111,111 replied to a handful the AI mod suggested. The biggest challenge was to avoid tipping the bots, but thankfully, bots had started adding “bot” to their replies to make it easier to tell them apart. AI had turned out to be more friend than foe.
TFID 1,215,111,111 checked trending casts, their favorite channels and their feed before stopping for a stretch and water break. Then, they replied to their texts and called their parents.
The sun beckoned them outdoors, so they threw on their fave Base ballcap and tended to the garden. It was a good thing they’d taken a break. It was hotter outside than it looked and the plants had been thankful for a drink.
The dose of sunshine energized them.
Afterward, FID 1,215,111,111 planted themselves back in front of their standing desk and switched from Farcaster to Paragraph. After a few centering breaths, they reviewed the drafted article, made a few edits and scheduled it. The congratulatory confetti that exploded across the screen never got old.
This would be article number 100 and while they hadn’t announced it, FID 1,215,111,111 had partnered with one of their favorite artists to create a commemorative NFT for the first 100 people who minted the article. It would be airdropped to their wallets after the 100th mint.
The airdrop would also give minters access to the artists’ galleries, and irl and url events worldwide. Or if they weren’t a fan of the art, they could exchange the NFT for something that better suited them.
To end the day, FID 1,215,111,111 viewed some videos on Drakula, read several articles on Paragraph and reviewed new Farcaster notifications. Then they closed their laptop with a sense of accomplishment.
It was always hard to pull away, but that day, they were meeting a friend at an NFT-gated listening party for Beyoncé’s latest album and they couldn’t be late.
