As a Nigerian, I'm used to being treated differently, in a negative way, in culturally diverse spaces. But I never let it get to me because I am Nigerian and I can't do anything about it.

Moreover, I believe that as long as you're valuable, you can stand out no matter where you are. Good examples include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Tems and other exceptional Nigerians doing cool and great things.

However, because of Farcaster, I have been forced to reanalyse this belief of mine. Now, this post is not to put down the network. I am immensely grateful to be paid weekly for being active on a social network. In fact, Farcaster is the first and only app so far to pay me. Nevertheless, this payment will not stop me from calling out unfairness and perceived elitism.

Recently, Pichi wrote an extensive Paragraph post on the algo not being for you. She highlighted the unfairness which accounts that have been with Farcaster from the jump face on the leaderboard. This post is to agree with hers, but from the perspective of a member of the minority group of Farcaster.

I realised recently that I am now an OG albeit a noob OG. What I mean is if I engage with your posts, you will get high points but not as high as if OG accounts with sizeable following and influence engaged with your posts.

At first, I was happy. "I am now a high-quality user! Yay!". Then the happiness soon disappeared because I realised there's another side to the coin. OG accounts can give high points but if they are not affiliated with other OG accounts, they will not get high points in return.

This has always been the point gaining system on the Farcaster leaderboard. High-quality users have to engage with your posts before you are seen as a real person and, therefore, a high-quality user as well. I was fortunate to be introduced to the lively side of FC by an OG but not many people enjoy this benefit.

My first solution was to strive to be valuable. By "be valuable" I mean to create content that is either entertaining, informative or educative. Then I noticed another problem: Farcaster OG accounts are predominantly run by U.S. citizens or people deeply rooted in Western culture. It makes sense—Merkle is based in San Francisco. So, as a Nigerian, things often get lost in translation when trying to relate to these people.