When the Moxie Protocol launch was announced a couple of months ago, I called it the most exciting development I've seen in my 3+ years in crypto.
After a month of close observation following the launch on July 29, 2024, this month I decided to start a 30-day experiment on Farcaster: the Moxiesplaining Journal.
It's a daily window into my observations, learnings, and the view of Moxie from where I sit as a writer + editor.
This post is a collection of the first week's journal entries (days 1 through 7) exactly as they appeared on Farcaster. Click on the date to read the relevant threads.
Day 1: The Big Picture
Ever since Moxie launched, I've often said that "Farcaster has become my un-job."
“Unjobbing,” in my lexicon, is positive-sum and socially beneficial. It includes:
- Opportunities to do work that gives back to creatives as much as (or more than!) it takes.
- Increased freedom for creatives to align themselves as they'd choose to anyway, regardless of employment prospects or paid gigs.
As Moxie continues to work in the background to financially reward quality contributions to the Farcaster network, it helps free up more time for unjobbing.
I’d like to live in a world in which everyone who wants to can “roll their own” un-jobs into a sustainable livelihood.
I'm excited about the inroads Moxie is making toward that world.
Day 2: Want To, Not Have To
As Moxie builds an economic engine for Farcaster, it can help create more opportunities for “unjobbing”: permissionless work based on alignment instead of employment.
I didn’t ask the Airstack team for permission to start a Moxiesplaining journal. I’m simply writing what I want to write. It’s opt-in. It's inspired by my alignment with the Moxie vision.
That's why I call Farcaster my "un-job."
If people respond, I’ll receive Moxie rewards, which in turn can help free up more time for alignment-based work.
Non-coercion is baked into the design.
I find great magnetism in work that flows from “want to, not have to.”
Day 3: Rethinking Narratives
Observing Moxie Fan Token value flows is prompting me to rethink the mental models of “supporting creators” and “monetizing an audience.”
Fan Tokens don’t fit charity or patronage models. Buyers aren’t donating or becoming patrons.
Big Moxie rewards earners who don’t yet have Fan Tokens are getting nudged to launch them, because benefits can flow to their followers and the FC network when they do.
Holding Fan Tokens isn’t a loyalty test, either.
It’s OK to sell; it's necessary to realize gains. It’s part of the mechanism design. Creators receive a 2.5% fee from every sale.
They also benefit from holding other entities’ Fan Tokens.
So how much of buying/selling Fan Tokens is motivated by altruism, and how much by self-interest?
It's not obvious.
Perhaps that's the point.
Day 4: Valuing Attention
The 90-9-1 rule of participation inequality in social networks is well-known. 90% lurk; 9% contribute occasionally; 1% create.
While creators (1%) get the fanfare, all these roles contribute valuable time + attention to the network.
Moxie Fan Tokens can:
- reward the value contributed by occasional contributors + lurkers
- reduce the grind for creators
Any of these roles can buy (or be gifted) Fan Tokens to align their self-interest with the success of entities in the network.
Everyone can opt into the rewards loop. Not just top creators.
This reduces systemic pressure to compete for limited attention.
Lurkers who don't want to be creators can hold Fan Tokens and just enjoy lurking.
Creators + occasional contributors who hold Fan Tokens can contribute as they see fit, and take breaks when they want.
Brilliant.
Day 5: Creative Livelihood
For 25+ years I’ve been calling attention to extractive patterns that constrain writers’ options for a sustainable livelihood that allows them to focus entirely on writing.
After watching countless bait-and-switch patterns that prey on writers' hopes of making a decent living yet leave them with mere scraps, I lost hope for significant improvements in my lifetime.
So it’s notable that my first words upon learning about Moxie were:
“Don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about anything else I’ve seen in my 3+ years in crypto.”
Moxie rewards creative work in ways that open new paths to sustainability.
I view my Fan Token holdings as a "plug" into network effects that can accrue to users. Not extractive entities.
Here's to a world in which more writers have sustainable incomes so they can just write.
Day 6: The Moxiesplaining Begins
Rising star creator @thecurioushermit has mentioned that my newsletter persuaded her to join Farcaster, and she later purple-pilled and onboarded several other newcomers.
Our exchange in DCs from mid-July (shared with her permission) is where the Moxiesplaining began, so it's worth revisiting as part of this 30-day journal experiment.
Danica: "...there's a big-deal launch coming up in 10 days that I'd recommend you follow. I suggest you learn as much as you're able to about it. I expect it will have far-reaching effects on the Farcaster ecosystem."
Gwynne: "I'd noticed Moxie being mentioned in quite a few casts, so I'd already opened a tab to start looking into it! The more I'm reading about Moxie, the more fascinating it is, especially for content creators!"
(Bonus mention of "Fast Rope Into Farcaster," the canonical newbie reading I always recommend by @cameron).
Day 7: No-Shame Moxiebaiting
Last week Far Scores got an upgrade: Far Boosts, at a rate of +1 boost for every 100K of Moxie TVL in Fan Tokens.
Has this change eased up Moxiebaiting of the harmful/disruptive sort?
I hope so. Because there's a more subtle point to be made about pursuing engagement from high Far Score casters in hopes of earning Moxie.
My current Far Score is 1.188 organic + 7.295 boost = 8.483.
Maybe that’s high enough to attract some Moxiebaiters?
In case it is: I don’t want anyone who’s engaging in good faith to be shamed for having financial motives for interacting.
We're playing positive-sum games here; we want the network to win. If replies are interesting and not a burden on people's time, who cares whether the motives are "pure?"
Save the shaming for those harming the network. Leave good-faith Moxiebaiters alone.
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Moxiesplaining Journal Day 11: Value Flows to the Whole Network It’s notable that 10% of all Moxie Everyday Rewards always flows to the FC Network token, and this percentage is not adjustable. I view this as a way of recognizing that true positive-sum value creation happens in context over time. Never in isolation. Besides the visible work done by high-profile casters + creators, lower-profile background roles like curators, channel mods, + lurkers/readers also contribute valuable time, attention, and continued effort that helps the network succeed. Instead of revenue-maximizing by capturing hidden surplus value created by these roles and leaving them with nothing but scraps, Moxie returns value to them. To see this it's important to consider the big picture: how all elements of the Moxie Protocol and token *interact*. They work in tandem over long time horizons. (Moxiesplaining Journal is a daily window into my observations, learnings, and the view of Moxie from where I sit as a writer + editor).
ICYMI, yesterday's Moxiesplaining Journal entry spawned some good discussion in the thread: https://warpcast.com/danicaswanson/0x66fd485e
if you turn every 10 entries or so into a paragraph I'd collect it. So many nuggets here, hard to keep them organized for my Gen X brain🤣
Thanks for reading! GenX brain here too, so I've already gathered the first two weeks' entries into Paragraph collections of 7 days each. 😄 If there's enough interest, at the end of the month I could pull all 30 entries into one post for the collectors. https://paragraph.xyz/@danicaswanson/the-moxiesplaining-journal-1?referrer=danicaswanson.eth https://paragraph.xyz/@danicaswanson/the-moxiesplaining-journal-2?referrer=danicaswanson.eth
Thank you for doing this, it’s helpful to understand who all this works together.
Gad to hear it's helpful. The writing process helps me better retain what I'm learning, and I'm hoping that this kind of learning in public can serve as a complement to the more technical explainers and how-tos.
It is really helpful. You know what they say, the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. (My iPad is possessed and makes up its own words, I swear 🤣)
I'm tipping: 2 $HUNT via Abundance Ecosystem on /impact /impact lets you earn curator rewards while supporting your favorite creators & builders on Farcaster
I'm tipping: 3 $HUNT via Abundance Ecosystem on /impact /impact lets you earn curator rewards while supporting your favorite creators & builders on Farcaster
Moxiesplaining Journal Day 13: Meta-Reflections I do most of my best work slowly, behind the scenes, and out of the spotlight, so I’m unlikely to become a high-volume, high-visibility sort of caster. Yet I’ve set up the Moxiesplaining Journal as a daily experiment because: - I'm inspired by the long-term Moxie vision, and - I want to contribute *something* Moxie-related every day that might benefit the FC network. So rather than wrangling with ponderous deep-dive essays that take weeks or months to write (which is where my writer-mind tends to go instinctively if I'm left to my own devices), I’m building daily habits + learning-in-public muscles this month. In any case, I imagine most of those who hold my Fan Tokens trust that I’ll keep contributing value to the network that compounds over time, regardless of my current rank on the daily earnings leaderboards. (Moxiesplaining Journal is a daily window into my observations, learnings, and the view of Moxie from where I sit as a writer + editor).
ooh i didn’t realize you were doing these, will check them out and follow along.
Hope you enjoy! You can catch up on the first week here. Every Saturday I'll post a collection of the full week's entries in a new Paragraph post. https://paragraph.xyz/@danicaswanson/the-moxiesplaining-journal-1
awesome thank you, love me some good organization 😍
I appreciate these immensely, esp since I tend to move very fast and on instinct in my writing. Having a counter balance in style on the timeline that makes me stop, sit and reflect is incredibly valuable. @july does the same for me, well at least when he isn't shitcasting ✌️ 😂. Appreciate you both. Aloha from Hawaii nei.
Thanks for the kind words! I, too, appreciate your style and @july's. I know I couldn't keep up with either one of you in terms of pacing, even if I were on FC 24 hours a day. But that's perfectly fine. We all have our strengths. There's room for all kinds of Ⓜ️oxie Ⓜ️axis here. 😄
EXACTLY! That's what makes me so bullish on the model. Room for everyone. Also, thank you for putting me in the same category of July, which I am not. lol I"m not reflective enough. I'm just a talker! ✌️ 😂
Moxiesplaining Journal Day 9: Fan Tokens Reward Reciprocity So much of the world is overrun by financial patterns that incentivize + reward extractive behavior and glorify the individual. Moxie Fan Tokens, by contrast, are designed to incentivize + reward positive-sum *relational* patterns. While tokens may be created out of thin air, sustainable wealth is created out of “deep connective tissue”: long-term relations of trust and reciprocity. It's short-sighted to pursue financial gain in ways that damage or disregard the role of the social fabric. Fan Tokens are the foundation of Moxie because they reward *building* and *sustaining* healthy relations over time, instead of extracting from them. I view my Fan Token holdings as a way of aligning myself with this kind of deep-rooted reciprocity. --------- (Moxiesplaining Journal is a daily window into my observations, learnings, and the view of Moxie from where I sit as a writer + editor).
For those who missed Day 8 (The Moxie Dictionary): https://warpcast.com/danicaswanson/0x904d108d
If you missed any of the first week's entries, you can catch up on @paragraph (with direct links to relevant threads). https://paragraph.xyz/@danicaswanson/the-moxiesplaining-journal-1
cc @ro
Thanks for reading and tagging, Phil! Casts have a short half-life and it's nice when it gets extended a little bit... lol.
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Moxiesplaining Journal Day 8: The Moxie Dictionary The Moxie Dictionary is a new project to track, define, and organize emergent Moxie-specific jargon: neologisms, slang terms, wordplay, etc. Thanks to @kenjiquest for the idea. To those who've been asking "Wait, what's Moxiesplaining? What's Moxiebaiting?": I'll have more precise answers for you soon. The Moxie Dictionary will be part of the Moxiesplaining Journal to start, so the community can comment on proposed definitions before they're settled. Starter list: - Moxie Maxi - Moxiesplaining - Moxiebaiting - Moxicurious - Moxiemoron What other Moxie lingo should be included? Feel free to tag me to call my attention to candidates for inclusion in the dictionary. Note: If the definition of the word isn't clear from context, be prepared for some nit-picky questions. :) https://warpcast.com/kenjiquest/0xc6ef1a4f (Moxiesplaining Journal is a daily window into my observations, learnings, and the view of Moxie from where I sit as a writer + editor).
I've collected all entries from the first week of this 30-day experiment on @paragraph: https://paragraph.xyz/@danicaswanson/the-moxiesplaining-journal-1?referrer=danicaswanson.eth
A Moxie Dictionary serves as a perfect companion to your Farcaster Scenius Lexicon piece. You and your archiving spirit serve communities (first FC and now Moxie) well.
Thanks! I did think about the congruence of this project with the Farcaster Scenius Lexicon. The Moxie Dictionary is narrower in scope, and I can plug it right into the Moxiesplaining Journal project for the time being. We'll see where it goes next.
Moxiebombing Moxiekazi mojo https://warpcast.com/alkohlmist/0xc5a68e3d
want to highlight Moxiesplaining Journal (week 1) from @danicaswanson! I think many creators can relate to hear thinking and journey with moxie https://paragraph.xyz/@danicaswanson/the-moxiesplaining-journal-1
Thanks for reading, and thanks for the boost! I'll be releasing another collection of these each week for the duration of the 30-day experiment.
This is a good read
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Dive into @danicaswanson's "Moxiesplaining Journal," revealing the insights gained from a 30-day experiment observing Moxie's launch. From redefining creative work to exploring monetization models, discover how Moxie nurtures unjobbing and empowers creatives in the evolving crypto landscape.