I’ve had a lot of fun building on Farcaster. So much so, that I often describe it as a “hacker’s paradise” or “what I wished I had when I first learned to code.”

I hope others are able to enjoy it as much as I do. Here’s a short-list of loose tips that have been helpful for me:

  • If you’re new, look for a project with a community that’s buzzing, has resources in some form, and is trying to attract developers.
  • Build things that the project’s devs aren’t building. I created MoxieScout because the Moxie team explicitly said they were Frames-only for launch.
  • If you can, share frequently as you’re building. This both helps you build momentum and keeps the community up-to-date. It’s hard to overshare, tbh.
  • Use the Farcaster lego blocks.
  • Be a reply guy for your work. Open your DMs, reply to comments, help others.
  • Use Bountycaster to get help with things you’re not good at or want feedback on.
  • Play the Farcaster meta-games like Degen tips, etc. to help understand how the ecosystem works.
  • Look for programs like the Superfluid Frontier Guild, where you can earn a bit simply by using a particular tech (and you still get to keep the IP).
  • If you build something that you think will be commoditized (e.g., Moxie stats frames), make a canonical version and Open Source it.
  • Be as upfront as you can with your intentions for building. In a space where everyone seems to be teasing this or that, down-to-earth is appreciated.
  • Don’t ever do anything that would sacrifice your reputation.
  • At the same time, recognize that with limited liquidity, many “games” are PvP. If you’re going to play these games, at least be aware of what you’re getting yourself into.
  • Farcaster is social. Write more. Reply more. Share more.
  • Deeply consider how your project will get attention. One of the best ways is to find communities that will be excited you’re building for them.
  • Use the attention you get from building products to deepen relationships with other Farcaster users you admire.
  • Farcaster is visual. Make more videos. Screen Studio is the way to go.
  • If you’re new to web3 building like I was, combine “boring web2 tech” w/ as much crazy web3 or Farcaster-native tech as you can find. For monetization, for example, use hypersub > stripe, tokens > cash.
  • Porting over successful web2 stuff to Farcaster is also great.
  • Setup a “reputational flywheel” by building things that are valuable to the community, and then using your reputation to have stronger starts on new projects.
  • Don’t feel compelled to financialize everything. Just make valuable stuff.
  • Optimize for what will help you continue. For me, this is fun. For others, it’s beauty or even money.
  • If you have feedback for other builders that is genuinely helpful for them, clean it up and send it over. This is a great way to meet other builders and many are very appreciative.
  • Look for groups where other people you admire are members, and figure out how to create do work for that contributes to their cause (like Purple DAO).
  • Earmark some of your revenue to buy in to others’ projects. You’ll get to know the community better and develop a deeper understanding of the space.
  • Be part of sub-communities, but don’t be exclusive to sub-communities (this is how I like to do things, I know it’s not for everyone).
  • There are lots of opportunities for earning enough to cover your costs. Look into Rounds, Bountycaster, Hackathons, etc. Many of these can be stacked, so you can do all of them at the same time.

Have fun!