I was reading an article by Juampi the other day about how Talent Protocol could fix airdrops for projects, and it got me thinking. While this approach is a massive step in the right direction, I wonder if it goes far enough. So, as a thought exercise, I decided to take a stab at fixing the airdrop problem myself.
I've been vocal in the past about Web3's incentive problem. There's a persistent belief that the only way to attract and engage users is by rewarding them with free tokens—essentially cash.
In my last post, I criticized this ideology and shared examples where it falls short. What I didn’t do, however, was dive into a solution. So here it is.
First, we need to stop outright promising—or even hinting at—possible airdrops. As I shared in my previous article, surprise rewards on the back end do less harm to intrinsic motivation than rewards dangled upfront.
Why?
When we know a reward is coming, our thinking narrows. We focus only on what we need to do to earn and maximize that reward. This stifles risk-taking and diminishes intrinsic motivation. Worse, research shows that behavior stops when rewards stop.
So, shifting to surprise rewards after the work is done is step one toward improving Web3 incentives. But we can go even further.
B.F. Skinner’s research offers key insights here. In his famous experiments, Skinner discovered that unpredictable reward schedules were the most effective at reinforcing behavior.
In his “Skinner box,” animals—usually pigeons or rats—pressed levers or pecked disks to receive food. The twist? Rewards weren’t guaranteed. Sometimes the lever produced food, and sometimes it didn’t.
The result? Animals kept engaging with the lever far longer than they would under predictable reward systems.
Why? Unpredictability fuels anticipation. The brain craves the maybe. When rewards are uncertain, the possibility of one becomes more enticing, keeping behavior alive longer.
This unpredictability principle has shaped everything from dopamine-triggering phone notifications to loyalty programs that use surprise perks instead of boring, predictable points. The less predictable the reward, the stronger the motivation to chase it.
In crypto, we should think about:
Delaying rewards until after the action is complete.
Introducing unpredictability so rewards remain engaging and variable.
One app doing this well is Firefly. Their "12 Days of Lucky Drops" campaign nails the unpredictability piece. For 12 days, users have a chance to win—but not every time. The anticipation keeps users engaged daily. While 12 days might not be enough to create a sticky habit, the incentive scheme is clever: it’s not just mass airdropping tokens to everyone.
Another example is Farcaster, where creators get paid unpredictably for good content with strong engagement. There’s a delightful randomness to it—users can’t predict which posts will earn rewards, which keeps them posting consistently and staying engaged.
Sure, there are potential issues, like people spamming content to “game the system.” But these can be addressed by limiting how often the same user wins or adding quality filters to weed out low-effort posts. Overall, it’s a strong approach: rewards come after the work is done, and the unpredictability keeps things exciting.
Talent Protocol offers another promising angle by helping score users, but I see it as a starting point rather than a complete solution. By combining their scoring system with delayed and unpredictable rewards, we can create stronger, more sustainable incentives for Web3.
The future of the internet deserves better than cash-for-attention. Let’s keep iterating.
Great article here.