Before I started writing this, I took a look at Paragraph's most apparent competitor, Substack. I also went back to my old homebase, Medium, where most of my publications, except for a couple of HackerNoon articles I wrote, have disappeared.
Let's start with Substack. Honestly, I don't think I've ever accessed the site directly. I've always subscribed to writers from a secondary source (i.e., Twitter/X). I don't have the app (actually, I wasn't aware there was an app). I purely rely on email notifications about the publications I follow to keep up to date. They have grown through a sort of ambient discovery that is difficult to achieve.
That said, my first impression when going to their site was, "Wow, maybe I should download the app." Without diving into the details, the overwhelming theme that resonated with me was that they are absolutely nailing discovery.
So why wouldn't I just switch to writing on Substack and try to build an audience there? For one, I want my work to be onchain. As mentioned above, Medium deleted all my self-published articles, presumably because I stopped paying their monthly subscription. Would those reappear if I start paying again? Can I recover them somehow? Web3 offers me at least immutable access to my previous writing.
Furthermore, I have no interest in soliciting monthly subscriptions from readers of my work, and I would never consider paywalling my content. Ridiculous. Paragraph offers monetization incentives that more closely align with my personal mantra. But that ideological alignment comes at the cost of discovery.
Discovery is the flywheel. If people can’t stumble into new writing they love, they won’t stick around. And if writers can’t get discovered, they stop writing. Easier said than done, but here are my ideas.
One of the most challenging aspects for me as a writer with fewer than 100 subscribers and limited consistency (mostly due to low engagement and, consequently, low motivation) is getting people to read my work. Most will likely see my writing posted on Farcaster as a link to the Paragraph mini app. That seemingly minor friction point usually means most prospective readers will scroll right by.
There is very little reason to scroll Paragraph the way one would scroll social media. Substack recognized this and created a short-form feed that draws dopamine-chasers to a writer's broader body of work. They have a video feed that aims to have a similar effect. You can even video chat and DM with writers right from the platform. Paragraph doesn’t need video chat or DMs, but it does need a short-form hook to pull readers into long-form.
Paragraph's For You feed is not really "for me." When I visit Medium, the articles are so uniquely tailored to my interests that I feel compelled to read every single one. So much so that once I get paywalled, I'm almost convinced to re-subscribe (I never do, mostly out of spite). It feels like it draws from a long history of reading Medium articles, as well as the content I've produced on the platform.
The algorithm feels shallow. It seems like a mix of pseudo-relevant articles and content from people I follow on Farcaster and those I've subscribed to on Paragraph. I don't feel that instant desire to jump in and consume.
The Explore page is essentially the For You page wrapped in a different UI. It would be helpful if there were categories to search through or a way to curate what I'm being fed. I don't feel like I can fall down a rabbit hole of exploration and discover new ideas or alternative perspectives on things I am already aware of. This lack of explorability gives me the feeling that there's not much to explore in general, and so it's time to bounce.
Ultimately, all the suggestions I've made fall back to the same underlying theme: discovery. Make it easy for me to discover new content to read and for others to discover the content I write. Monetization aside, this is the flywheel of attention necessary to drive a platform like Paragraph to broad popularity and achieve escape velocity. Attracting writers beyond our bubble is the only way Paragraph breaks out.
Paragraph doesn’t need to copy Substack, but it does need its own engine of discovery. Without that, even the best writing will stay locked in the bubble.
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Nicky Sap
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Congrats to the winners of our Remix contest! 🥇 $500 USDC - @nickysap 🥈 $200 - @farcasthoe 🥉 $100 - @stellaachenbach We got a treasure trove of feedback - huge thank you to everyone who remixed & share their ideas and thoughts. Links to posts in comments below ⬇️
https://paragraph.com/@48hrs/discovery-is-the-flywheel
https://paragraph.com/@farcasthoe/elevating-paragraph-on-farcaster-building-a-thriving-ecosystem-for-writers-and-readers-1
https://paragraph.com/@stellaachenbach/journaling-or-my-paragraph-wishlist
congrats to these legends 🔥🔥🔥
This is super cool! How many remixes did you get in the end?
Yippieh 😘
Congrats to the winners 🏆🥳 I wish I won, but it was fun giving this a try. Here's my entry anyways 😜 https://paragraph.com/@web5manuel/remixit?referrer=0x2a2fd20D9a92464FA3A99bDEDBb8c655ebAefCDe
Thank you so much
Luky man
Back with the 47th edition of Paragraph Picks, highlighting the top six remixes (so far!) of our recent announcement post. Writers have been sharing their ideas for how to make Paragraph better. As a reminder, the top 3 remixes with the most support as of noon ET this Friday (8/29) will earn $500 USDC, $200, and $100. Check out the top remixes so far, support the ones that resonate with you, and remix our announcement post (linked below) for a chance to earn rewards. https://paragraph.com/@blog/a-better-way-for-ideas-to-strengthen-and-spread
@stellaachenbach shares a list of improvements for Paragraph, including better discoverability, token integration, more focus on mobile UX, and reader highlights. "Every creator I have been talking to struggles with those two: discoverability and monetization." https://paragraph.com/@stellaachenbach/journaling-or-my-paragraph-wishlist
@samchalom reframes Paragraph’s Remix feature as a creative lifeline for new writers, turning the fear of the blank page into an invitation to join a living, collective conversation. "Maybe originality is not about creating something that has never existed, but about taking part in a conversation that never ends." https://paragraph.com/@ayastudio/blank-page-to-remix-a-path-for-new-writers
@nickysap makes a compelling case that Paragraph’s long-term growth depends on solving discovery, arguing that without better ways for readers to stumble into great writing, even the best writing will stay locked in a bubble. "Discovery is the flywheel. If people can’t stumble into new writing they love, they won’t stick around." https://paragraph.com/@48hrs/discovery-is-the-flywheel
@jpfraneto.eth shares a rapid fire list of ways Paragraph can level up, from fixing mini app bugs to enabling customization, gamification, global print editions, and deeper onchain interoperability. "get writers paid: i don't really know the answer to this, but the first time i streamed on retake made me 450 usd. this is epic." https://paragraph.com/@kithkui.eth/8-ideas-to-disrupt-substack
I love this new Remix feature, but regarding the opportunity to earn rewards by remixing the post, how are the prizes determined? The original post says that whoever has the highest market capitalization at the end wins the top three spots, but the first place winner is the same wallet that bought that token. What I mean is that it could be easy to manipulate the system to get into the top remixes. I could do the same with mine and position myself, but that's not the idea, especially if we're basing it on the content that's shared most, not the currency itself. I know it's not my contest or my money, and you are completely free to choose the winners you want, but in my opinion, the winners should be chosen based on the quality of the writing and whether their remix is based on the content of the original, not on market capitalization.
I don't disagree per se, but how do you define quality?
Yes, this is complicated because quality is very subjective. The reality is that when it comes to written content, everyone has their own essence, and every piece of writing has its own quality, unless the content is very brief. So, thinking about it carefully, defining it by quality would be very complicated. A good metric would be by number of readers, but these are just thoughts and ideas, although I understand that the least complicated way is by market capitalization in each piece of writing.
I m on my 3rd draft over a week and hoping this will be my debut on paragraph. ⭐️
Wordcel platforms thrive or fail based on discovery. If there's nothing to read, readers bounce. If there are no readers, writers bounce. Some thoughts on how that might be solved enclosed. * Written for @paragraph's remix contest :)
Good read · 👓 🔵
Thank you 🙏