How to grow Farcaster in the post social network era
This post is taking part in the Farcaster 2026 writing contest. Consider upvoting here if you’re Kiwi News user or Purple DAO member! Or like my cast here.
Hi frens,
Let’s face it. Farcaster is declining, and it’s time to embrace change.
We have so many social platforms out there. For Twitter-like text-based services, there are Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, Lens Protocol, and Farcaster, etc., and it seems really hard to pick the best one to land on.
We’ve seen Twitter (now X) users fleeing to Mastodon, or more recently Bluesky, which was born out of Twitter, so people probably wouldn’t have much trouble or concerns. Bluesky is growing.
We’ve seen Meta has been successfully building Threads as a user-generated public content and algorithm-based platform. Threads is fun and addictive, and it doesn’t feel like Twitter at all when you’re using it. Threads is growing, too.
I tried and had trouble staying in either Lens Protocol or Farcaster ecosystem, both emphasized decentralized features. So I would like to give some external perspectives as below, and try to be honest.
Growing a social platform, the wrong way
Growing a social platform isn’t just about building features.
Years ago, “Google+” proved that it was the wrong way to go. During an interview with Charlie Rose, Facebook emphasized building social technology and partnership strategy to “Connect the world”. That led to Facebook’s global dominance in social platforms.
Some years later, Facebook’s Messenger made similar mistakes by trying to copy WeChat’s success of mini apps. It didn’t go well. Facebook largely overlooked the historical process that led to WeChat’s dominance in China.
Here’s an open question left for you: Is Farcaster’s frame making the same mistake?
Growing a social platform, the right way
Growing a social platform should be about building the community. And we should define the experience of using Farcaster. Steve Jobs talked about it a lot: You've got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.
The social age has entered its mature stage. It’s already a competitive field and tools are fragmented. And even in the crypto communities, we have been widely using Twitter, Telegram, Discord, or even Discourse for governance. Communities choose what works for them.
To be more specific, we don’t follow tools. We follow the community. So did the scientists.
What benefits does Farcaster bring for communities? It’s not clear. Let’s look back at what Farcaster has offered:
Farcaster involves a registration fee (and the onboarding experience was awful), so it doesn’t compare with Twitter or Bluesky. But that could be a great start to build high-quality communities.
Another unique feature is there are multiple Farcaster clients or apps, so it’s possible to build a client that meets specific community needs.
We should combine these two features to make wonderful applications for the communities, or even by the communities!
Twitter in its early days, shaped itself by learning from a lot of innovations in its ecosystem. Farcaster should shape its core concepts by learning and supporting the ecosystem, including establishing a fair and sustainable business model for its partners. Let’s say, any great third-party clients deserve a share of registration revenue from referrals.
After all, the official Farcaster has been emphasizing too much on Warpcast. Most third-party clients are half-baked because there’s no longer a gold rush for the social age. Grants from Purple DAO or funding from Farcaster should serve as the fuel to drive growth.
Proposed steps
So how to get started? Here are some starting points:
Wanna be a better Twitter? Ask the crypto community what’s missing in Farcaster. Even if they’re asking for Twitter Space feature, Warpcast could easily implement it with Agora, like Clubhouse did in a week.
Wanna be a better Discord? Farcord is probably underestimated, and Channels should be improving accordingly.
Wanna be a better Telegram public group solution? Ask the community what they need, and work on that!
And I propose a strategy framework:
Always start with community needs.
Refine and clarify the branding, and define the boundary between Farcaster and Warpcast.
Support, work, and grow with the ecosystem.
This letter isn’t just for the 0.x ETH prize of the writing contest mentioned in the beginning, but for the future of multi-million dollar business. Or billions.
Your friend,
Denken