3: Dan Romero - Why Information Should Flow on Protocols

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Dec 2, 2024

Dan Romero, CEO and co-founder of Farcaster and former VP at Coinbase, dives into the nuances of decentralized social networks. He discusses the chaotic nature of content distribution on platforms like Twitter and the need for improved algorithms to support user intelligence. Romero shares insights on building community-driven projects within crypto, the importance of pseudonymity, and balancing decentralization with growth. He reflects on his career arc and the evolving dynamics of communication in today’s digital landscape.

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ANECDOTE

RSS History

Dan Romero's background is in blogs and RSS readers, using the same OPML file for 20+ years.
He highlights the ability to transfer this file to any RSS reader, demonstrating data portability.

INSIGHT

Twitter's Rise

Twitter's success over RSS stems from its interactive nature, specifically its notification system and dopamine-inducing feedback loop.
This fueled engagement and virality, ultimately outcompeting RSS.

ANECDOTE

Distribution's Importance

Distribution, not just good tech, is crucial for success, exemplified by the 'Field of Dreams' fallacy.
Effective marketing and sales efforts are essential.

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Dan Romero (Farcaster, X, Website) is the CEO and co-founder of Farcaster, an open Twitter/X-like social network protocol built on blockchain rails.

Before co-founding Farcaster in 2020, Dan previously worked at Coinbase as a Vice President, among many other roles. He joined the company as the 20th employee in 2014 and left in 2019. He's thought about and used Twitter-like networks for nearly two decades and is passionate about open information flow, market-enabled progress, and individual freedom.

Timestamps:

(01:39): We were promised flying cars and all we got was 140 characters
(8:48): Bring Your Own Algorithm (BYOA), RSS, Elon, and The News Channel-ification of Social Networks
(35:54): The Field of Dreams Fallacy: If You Build It, It Doesn't Mean They'll Come

[Farcaster & Crypto-Focused Section Begins]

(44:25): Status as a Service and Building the Home for Crypto Status
(55:03): What is Farcaster?
(59:34): Why not counter-position against Elon?
(01:03:42): Programmable social and “Open APIs”
(1:14:22): The Future of Farcaster
(1:18:01): Farcaster's Value Capture
(1:25:01): Sufficient Decentralization
(1:28:44): Why Dan has created NFTs but not tokens

[Farcaster & Crypto Focus Ends]

(1:29:53): Product Market Fit, Focus, and The Idea Maze
(1:37:01): Dan's career arc, contrarian paths, distributed systems, and creative destruction
(01:44:09): Coinbase: pre-2017 learnings, hypergrowth, comparisons between building a culture and social network, and anti-lessons
(1:49:20): Brian Armstrong and fostering repeatable innovation
(1:52:24): What do you wish Balaji [Srinivasan] could work on?
(1:53:20): Group Chats and the pendulum between private and public discourse
(01:58:55): Power: Elon, Zuck, Trump?
(2:00:24): Politics, Populism, Going Direct, and the Podcast Era
(2:08:48): What have you changed your mind on this year?
(2:10:22): Final Questions

Full transcript.

Links & Resources

RSS+ by Dan Romero
The Rise and Demise of RSS by Sinclair Target
Status as a Service (StaaS) by Eugene Wei
The idea maze by Chris Dixon
Balaji Srinivasan's paper on the idea maze
The only thing that matters by Marc Andreessen
v2 frames
FC AI/zk trends