Welcome to Farcaster 101, a 12 part educational series designed to introduce marketing professionals to the fundamentals of Farcaster. Presented by GM Farcaster in partnership with Snickerdoodle, this series will help you understand what makes Farcaster unique and how to grow your brand presence on the platform. Each webinar is accompanied by a blog post summarizing key insights and additional resources. Plus, we offer weekly office hours for personalized support.

Module 5: Culture and Vibes

In Module 5 of our Farcaster 101 series, we’re diving into what defines the Farcaster experience: its unique culture. Up to this point, we’ve focused on the platform's technical side —the Farcaster protocol, creating an account, sending your first cast, exploring frames, and navigating the app ecosystem—but understanding Farcaster’s culture is just as crucial. It’s what drives community engagement and shapes how users succeed and find their place.

This module helps you understand Farcaster culture with discussions about:

1. What culture is

2. How the founders shaped the early culture

3. Scenius

4. Farcaster influencers

5. The impact of crypto culture and memes

By understanding the Farcaster culture, you’ll learn methods that will help you thrive on Farcaster, whether you’re a new user or looking to grow your presence.

What is Culture?

Before diving into Farcaster’s specific culture, let’s define what we mean by culture in general. At its core, culture is the set of unwritten rules and shared practices that guide how a group of people interact and operate. It’s the underlying expectations, behaviors, and values that may not be formally stated but influence everything from communication styles to how decisions get made. In Farcaster, this culture shapes how users connect, contribute, and navigate the platform.

How the Founders Shaped the Early Culture

Farcaster's culture is shaped largely by how its founders, Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan, found their first ten thousand users. While Farcaster was still in beta, before it was open to the public, you had to reach out directly to Dan for an invite. Dan didn't ask who you were, where you went to school or where you worked. He asked, "What are you building?" He selected for people who had proven they could contribute, deliberately choosing builders who were passionate about creating and sharing their work. This approach set the stage for a culture based less on credentials and more on what you create.

Farcaster's vibes have "builder energy": a mindset that values experimentation, risk-taking, and the courage to share unfinished work. An emphasis on “building in public” has become a defining feature of Farcaster’s culture. People on the platform openly share ideas, showcase projects, and discuss challenges and wins, inviting the community into their creative processes.

Scenius: Collective Genius

Farcaster’s community operates as a “scenius,” a term coined by Brian Eno to describe the collective genius that emerges within a vibrant scene. Just as Silicon Valley became a hub of innovation through a network of people and ideas, Farcaster’s early adopters have created a unique environment where creativity, rapid feedback, and idea-sharing flourish. Here, when one builder succeeds, the entire community benefits, reinforcing a culture of mutual support.

Influencers of Culture

We highlight some of the key individuals who help shape Farcaster’s culture—those who contributed to its early development and community dynamics. While not an exhaustive list (by far!), it includes influential voices like Farcaster founders Dan and Varun, Base founder Jesse Pollak, Zora founder Jacob, Neynar founder Rish, Bountycaster founder Linda, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, new Farcaster stars Ted, Nonlinear, and Cameron. We also highlight some key groups like Purple, GM Farcaster, Base, and popular Farcaster native tokens like degen and moxie.

The Impact of Crypto Culture

We next explore the influence of crypto culture and memes on Farcaster’s community dynamics. As a social network built on crypto rails, Farcaster naturally carries forward many cultural aspects of the crypto space—openness, innovation, and privacy being central. Humor and memes play a large role in the Farcaster culture as well, with some turning into Warpcast features like the wowow reaction.

What's Next

Farcaster culture was shaped early on by focusing on builders and the builder energy continues today. By understanding Farcaster's culture, you'll be able to figure out how you can best contribute to the platform. Module 6 is a continuation of Farcaster's culture and vibes, with a focus on case studies and specific examples.

More Resources

• Aneri's reasons to build in public

• Read more about Farcaster as a Scenius

• Learn about a Farcaster meme via howtoeat.kiwi

• Cameron wrote a popular guide that explains Farcaster to new users

• Playlist with all Modules of Farcaster 101 that have been released to date