# The Future of Social Networking: A Deep Dive into Farcaster’s App Landscape

> An open protocol for a sufficiently decentralized social network

**Published by:** [papajams.eth](https://paragraph.com/@papajams.eth/)
**Published on:** 2023-04-07
**Categories:** social graph, deso, web3, protocol, technology
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@papajams.eth/the-future-of-social-networking-a-deep-dive-into-farcasters-app-landscape

## Content

Castaways #183 — Owned by nonlinear — Created by 0xen.eth — Farcaster Logo Theme Farcaster is experiencing a Cambrian explosion of creativity, utility & innovative variety with the applications being built on (and by) its ecosystem. As a sufficiently decentralised social network the opportunities for developers to create unique experiences and tools for its growing user base have quickly accelerated its functionality. It is also exponentially growing more interesting/fun to engage with a high calibre of engaged builders that are experimenting with whats possible. anku @whoisanku Farcaster is building a social media protocol which is sufficiently decentralized for social applications purpose. Here are some of the interesting infos of what Farcaster has to offer 10 20:37 • 17 Oct 2022 I went down the rabbit hole with most apps on the network available from April 3rd 2023 to April 7th 2023, starting with this Github app list by a16z.Farcaster Applications https://searchcaster.xyzWhat: Search all casts (posts) for keywords, filterable by popularity & casterHow: web application written in Python using the Flask web framework UX/UI: purple favicon, purple branding juxtaposed against white textFeel: Dynamic, the content is searchable in real timeBuilt By: Greg Skriloff, on farcaster @greg / on twitter @gregskril https://farapps.farcase.xyzWhat: Highlighting the best apps and builders in the Farcaster communityHow: web application written in typescript (compiles to plain JavaScript code). Users can add and update apps themselves in Github by editing the apps.json file. Follow the same structure as the previous apps, open a pull request, and once merged it will be automatically added and deployedUX/UI: White background, with blue buttons Feel: Static, the apps here don’t change or update depending on new entriesBuilt By: Tiago, on farcaster @alvesjtiago https://discove.xyzWhat: Creates feeds (coves) based on interests (e.g. books, podcasts etc)How: keyword search function linked up to farcaster api UX/UI: white backdrop, pink/black/purple buttons, rankings e.g. trending & newFeel: Real time updates, notifications pulled in automatically from FarcasterBuilt By: david@discove.app / @df Farcaster / @davidvfurlong twitterFeedback: When I try scroll down a fair bit it snaps me back up to the original search query (and results) preventing you going too far down through older content Farcasting No 1 open edition mint by @dwr (midjourney), proceeds to purple DAOhttps://alertcaster.xyz (waitlist)What: follow topics, discover conversations on Farcaster via alertsHow: Alertcaster Bot replies to matching cast with 'cc @yourusername'UX/UI: simple landing page, purple and white (waiting list)Feel: Notifications of keyword matches inside FarcasterBuilt By: Andy, @andyjagoe https://fardrop.xyzWhat: Create an allowlist of your Farcaster followersHow: Type in farcaster username to populate sheet of wallet addressesUX/UI: simple purple, white, black interface, easy download list & merkle treeFeel: Efficient, easy add on is a list of things followers are allowlisted forBuilt By: Greg Skriloff, farcaster @greg / twitter @gregskril https://launchcaster.xyzWhat: Way to share and discover new projects in Web3.How: tagging @launch in a cast creates an editable producthunt-esque eventUX/UI: simple, white background, purple textFeel: Mintable launch pass (free) for access, reddit style boards of infoBuilt By: farcaster @pugson / on farcaster @jayme / on twitter @jaymehoffmanhttps://mirror.xyzThe Boom of Farcaster's Developer CommunityFarcaster is one of the hottest decentralized social media apps with a loyal user base and a well-built protocol. And in the face of turbulent times at Twitter, Farcaster's developer ecosystem is booming like the early days of Twitter.https://castrss.xyzWhat: RSS feed for Farcaster based on usernameHow: reader checks for updates that are displayed on a feed list / inboxUX/UI: simple white background, orange text, textbox Feel: Ports into telegram, feedly, or you can copy RSS / Web Feed URLBuilt By: Shawki Sukkar, on farcaster @shawki / on twitter @shawkisukkar https://instacaster.xyzWhat: indexes all images posted by Farcaster users in an Instagram-like feedHow: built on Next.jsUX/UI: simple interface and feed of images, no interactivity, read onlyFeel: a little dry, cooler if organised around popularity/on-chain/tags/keywordsBuilt By: Zach Terrell, on farcaster @zachterrell / on twitter @zachterrell57 https://pincaster.xyzWhat: way to save casts, share collections, & explore topics on FarcasterHow: built with Ruby on Rails and Postgresql. It uses Graphql and React for the Frontend of the admin dashboard and is hosted on Render. The casts are indexed using Tinybird. The explore and public pages are built with Next.js hosted on Vercel, consuming Pincaster APIUX/UI: a little hard to get started for a noob that’s never used shortcutsFeel: empty till set up, needs vid tutorial + example of what success looks likeBuilt By: Carlos Matallín, on farcaster / on twitter @matalloFarcraft NFT: earnable by engaging with the Farcaster community by @markcareyhttps://sharecaster.xyzWhat: rich media previews of casts sharable on Twitter, Telegram, etcHow: Next.js and React, as well as SupabaseUX/UI: white & purple theme, links include username, images + cast snippetsFeel: love the build in public angle & minimum zeitgeist product ethos (MZP)Built By: Michael Pfister, on farcaster @pfistaFeedback: When I load a sharecaster into medium or paragraph.xyz the textbox that it wraps the content is great but has the potential to evolve and come to life more. https://bebcaster.xyzWhat: Communities platform built on Farcaster + BEBverse protocolHow: Built on top of Beb (https://beb.xyz/) as a subdomainUX/UI: dark/black with purple buttonsFeel: Has been shut-down temporarily, @cryptojcdenton to revive soonBuilt By: JC Denton, on farcaster @jc @beb https://farcarte.xyzWhat: Map view of the farcaster community (akin to little atlas)How: Seems you need to mint your location? UX/UI: Map aligned to location & interests (love) e.g. tennisFeel: Stopped updating circa 3 months ago? IRL POAP link would be coolBuilt By: dimalaba.eth, on farcaster @dmlb https://fcast.meWhat: Easily link to Farcaster profiles in-app/browser e.g. fcast.me/papaHow: linked into apple maps (the legal button goes to their T&Cs)UX/UI: clear explanation, MZP, cleanFeel: Does what is says on the tin, no frills, job doneBuilt By: clay, on farcaster @clayallsopp https://screenshot-essay-caster.vercel.appWhat: Read screenshot essays (alt to twitter threads) posted on Farcaster.How: TypeScript, JavaScript, CSS, Next.jsUX/UI: Dark background, purple text, red favicon, Feel: mention "screenshotessay" in cast, indexer updates every thirty minsBuilt By: Yash, yashkarthik.eth, on farcaster @yashkarthikFarcaster x Noggles: free open edition NFT mint on Zora by David Furlong @dfhttps://farcasternews.xyzWhat: Discover top links discussed on Farcaster.How: Currently migrating to the new Farcaster contractsUX/UI: Currently migrating to the new Farcaster contractsFeel: Currently migrating to the new Farcaster contractsBuilt By: Looks like it's Katsuya - farcaster @kn ?! https://perl.xyzWhat: cluster of tiny blogs (mobile only)How: needs mobile number to access + invites for waitlist to write UX/UI: really clean, fixed number of collectible orbs (kudos) for posts Feel: Bitesize fully formed thoughts Built By: on farcaster @ace @peter / on twitter @alexyoungkwon @pkayfire https://app.yup.ioWhat: Curated content feed of Farcaster, Lens, Mirror, NFTs, Twitter, etcHow: JavaScript TypeScript Go CSS SwiftUX/UI: Light white/grey tones (darkmode available): aggregator interfaceFeel: Personalisation not yet locked in (wide berth of stuff across many chains/platforms it doesn’t seem to work together), cool idea might be to look at NFT/POAPs in my wallet and serve up related content e.g. for me this would be music and podcasts for instanceBuilt By: nir.th, on farcaster @nir / on twitter @nir_III https://eventcaster.xyzWhat: Social & events Calendar built on FarcasterHow: mention @eventcaster in farcaster & its automatically addedUX/UI: White background, purple font + faviconFeel: Easy to use + feature/support rich: calendar, newsletter, guide, etcBuilt By: Matthew, on farcaster @matthew & Tiago, on farcaster @alvesjtiago https://trendcaster.xyzWhat: Track trends associated with your wallet/accountHow: JavaScript; TypeScript; CSS; ShellUX/UI: Updated every 24hrs with trending words, profile + cast counts Feel: Unclear if this is for me personally or for the ecosystem at large, lots of potential here to toggle what time window it covers & monitor the kinds of music, writing, products, profiles etc are popular/trending e.g. What Blur and Gem/Openseapro are to NFTs, Trendcaster is to social graphsBuilt By: Madhur Shrimal 🔵, on farcaster @madhurwe-check-cast: experimental celebration of the farcaster community and checks by @chriscocreatedhttps://castalytics.farcase.xyzWhat: Analytics of popular casts + tracking activity on farcasterHow: NFT gated API (farlock)UX/UI: white backdrop; black/orange/green charts, blue text/tables, varied!Feel: quirky categories e.g. most replied to, mentioned, commented on usersBuilt By: Tiago, on farcaster @alvesjtiago https://requestcaster.xyzWhat: a list of feature or product requests from the Farcaster communityHow: mention “RequestCaster” or “Request” in a cast (indexed every 30min)UX/UI: wonderful, white background, purple/black text, clear use case & infoFeel: Smooth, everything you need on one page, frictionless, MZPBuilt By: Jack Yeh, on farcaster @jacky / on twitter @jckyeh https://stochaster.xyzWhat: “Find a new Farcaster to follow on every refresh” (discovery)How: “We're currently down, but we'll be back soon!”UX/UI: “We're currently down, but we'll be back soon!”Feel: “We're currently down, but we'll be back soon!”Built By: Cameron Armstrong, on farcaster @cameron https://www.farcaster.networkWhat: Stats & graphs to analyze protocol-level trends across FarcasterHow: N/A built on private Github repositoryUX/UI: Seamless, compact, dark background with white & purple textFeel: cool random metrics e.g. Market Cap → "Buying Power" which removes illiquid/hard to evaluate NFTs and focuseson liquid ETH + ERC20s to determine the economic power & influence of the network.Built By: Greg Skriloff, on farcaster @greg and Zach Terrell, on farcaster @zachterrell https://sqlcaster.xyzWhat: experimental way to explore messages (casts) on FarcasterHow: Static frontend, client-side fetching page; auto generated REST API backend accepting SQL queries via ROAPI hosted on Replit.UX/UI: direct and straight to the point, could be warmer, white back, black textFeel: super sparse, LOVE the “i’m feeling lazy” option to get noobs startedBuilt By: Charlie Harrington, on both farcaster & twitter @whatrocksE.g. This SQL query retrieves the top 5 users with the most recasts and returns their avatar URLs, display names, and the total number of recasts they have received.https://citycaster.xyzWhat: telegram groups of farcaster users demarcated by cityHow: TypeScript, SCSS, JavaScript, React (Next.js) deployed on Vercel UX/UI: clean, crisp, white background, flag favicons, purple logoFeel: simple, uncluttered, could imagine overlap & integration with discove’s “coves”, farcarte and fcast maps Built By: Matthew, on farcaster @matthew https://raycast.com/gregskril/searchcasterWhat: Not farcaster specific: extension highly recommended by buildersHow: Basically ChatGPT, for more conversational coding helpUX/UI: chrome extension, downloadable applicationFeel: well fundedBuilt By: Petr Nikolaev @pitnikola & Thomas Paul Mann @thomaspaulmann [twitter @’s] https://unlonely.appWhat: Web3 livestreaming platformHow: Non-Fungible Clips for decentralized communitiesUX/UI: Colourful rainbow aesthetic landing page, twitch-esque stylingFeel: Vibrant, fun, can pay in creator token to control stream + chatBuilt By: Brian Guan (br1an.eth) - on twitter @bdguan / on farcaster @briang and Grace White, 0eggs.eth on farcaster @graceon / on twitter @gracewhiteguan https://purple.construction What: Nouns-style DAO focused on supporting FCHow: goal to proliferate and expand the Farcaster protocol/ecosystemUX/UI: classic characteristic nouns font, daily mint (purple square NFT), treasury with proposals/initiatives that are positive sum Feel: welcoming Built By: communityPurple Token purchasable at auction for DAO Membershiphttps://www.alphacaster.xyz What: DAO experience that combines governance with socialsHow: advanced features (e.g. voting, mobile app) only available to beta testers currentlyUX/UI: white background, blue/green/red/black detailing, Feel: playful, experimental, evolvingBuilt By: Bill Zheng billzh.eth @billzh and @16 (message to become a tester) https://sealcaster.xyzWhat: Cast anonymously to FarcasterHow: Connect wallet, verify Farcaster access, cast using burner walletUX/UI: Deep purple and dark background with white font Feel: CIA/SPY vibe, love it! Great examples + ZK badges with SealCredBuilt By: @borodutch https://paragraph.xyzWhat: Create, publish and share web3-native blogs & newslettersHow: turns subscribers into members via NFTs (audience ownership & community) to supercharge growth & earning potentialUX/UI: intuitive, works well, easy to publish off and on chain + build subscriber base Feel: not dissimilar from medium or mirror except lots more web3 functionality & experimentationBuilt By: Colin Armstrong @colin https://www.hashcast.xyz What: Find casts on different topics according to tagsHow: TypeScript, CSS, JavaScript, React (Next.js) deployed on Vercel UX/UI: different shades of purple background with black text + pfp’s; a little buggy with sometimes slower loads & crashes as it’s so new!Feel: extension of Searchcaster and farcaster-indexerBuilt By: Satyajeet Pal, farcaster @pal twitter @tripalthreat (“with 🟪 “: possibly means purple DAO funded)Airstack.xyzWhat: Airstack APIs enabling data-awareness + interoperability across web3How: web3 ecosystem integrations, public marketplace of queries and APIsUX/UI: in private developer beta with form for accessFeel: slightly foreboding, amazing diversity in the team, excitableBuilt By: Jason Goldberg @betashop + team https://jam.so What: App with read/write capabilities (on iOS, Android & desktop/browser)How: A showcase of airstack tech pulling in data from multiple API’sUX/UI: Darkmode: deep purple theme. Lightmode: white back, purple Feel: Incredible features e.g. cast with photos/GIFS + longcast.jam.so/jjIT58Built By: Jason Goldberg @betashop and Airstack with True Sparrow. Tyler Scharf 🦇🔊 @tyscharf Nice! It's a great community, lots of interesting convos going on. Much cleaner in terms of signal/noise Go hard the first 3 days, you'll get recasted by the welcome bot for better exposure. 1 15:59 • 7 Oct 2022 ThoughtsIt's incredible that an app like Jam, which just launched, could feasibly supplant the Warpcast application built by the founding team to explore farcaster. That speaks to the capacity for the developer community here to shape the experience in delightful, unconventional, ways. https://sharecaster.xyzDan RomeroBig update from the @jam team! - 1st general purpose Farcaster app on 3 platforms that can fully replace Warpcast with Log in with Farcaster - Permissionlessly created longcast-works natively in Jam, gracefully falls back to a link in Warpcast (blue bubble / green bubble!) https://warpcast.com/betashop/0xde50ceThis Vitalik take about Farcaster being "too polite" was fascinating too as it speaks to a distinct differentiator relative to twitter. The only way to participate in the ecosystem is to be invited and vouched for (I messaged @dwr requesting access, shared some content, and was swiftly in).https://sharecaster.xyzVitalik ButerinWhat do people think of the idea that Farcaster might be *too polite*? Like, people love to rail against the toxicity of twitter, but ultimately it's a PvP MMORPG and lots of people really enjoy the PvP - if not participating, then at least seeing some fireworks in the background...The a16z connection here is a sound match up with insights gleaned from investments like clubhouse that are directly applicable. Having held stock in many historically important companies (such as Facebook, Groupon, Twitter, and Zynga) they are playing very close attention to social .On CollaborationThe overlap between Citycaster’s city-based Telegram groups, Discove’s interest-based feeds (coves), and Farcarte’s map view exemplifies the potential for collaboration and integration between Farcaster community-built applications which seek to service similar needs. Through these tools users are able to seamlessly discover and connect with like-minded individuals in their local area, fostering a sense of community and belonging. On PersonalizationThe signal from followed accounts isn’t as high as alternatives - as we’ve learned from the effectiveness of Facebook/Instagram's algorith vs. TikTok's. Collectible assets or AI could offer new engagement avenues for apps like Yup.io and Trendcaster which with this protocol configuration could choose to tailor content based on a user’s on-chain activity, such as their NFT or POAP holdings. This personalized approach might enhance the overall user experience by providing relevant and meaningful content that aligns with each user’s preferences and passions. On Onboarding An onboarding process for newcomers is so useful in ensuring that users can quickly understand and utilize the features of an app (especially noobs like me). Apps like Farsearcher.xyz have a clear and intuitive search interface, accompanied by easy-to-follow instructions and tooltips that guide users through the process of finding content on Farcaster. This focus on user education helps remove barriers for newbies, enabling them to make the most of the app from the start.Chris Carella @ccarella "The Survey" open edition free mint for followers of @surveyFarcaster was launched by Dan Romero & Varun Srinivasan in August 2021 with $30M funding. It sits in a diverse social protocol/graph competitor landscape e.g. DeSo, RSS3, Lens, & Mises.Papajams.ethFarcaster @papa [https://www.discove.xyz/@papa] Lens @papajams [https://lenster.xyz/u/papajams] Twitter @papajimjams [https://twitter.com/papajimjams]

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