# Top stories on Kiwi News, week 27 2024

Mon 1 to Sun 7 July 2024
Page: https://news.kiwistand.com/weekly/2024-W27

The 20 top stories on Kiwi News from Mon 1 to Sun 7 July 2024, ranked by upvotes, comments and clicks, with 37 comments in total. Most-shared sources: app.t2.world, open.substack.com, x.com.

Summaries are AI summaries of the linked article.

## 1. Farcaster should be aggressively focused on social values over financial values 

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Farcaster-should-be-aggressively-focused-on-social-values-over-financial-values?index=0x66863e64c160b5ff7e940dc2ca370412f72227550e490852500cc80141a18689b5afa7a3
- Source: https://warpcast.com/polynya/0xbeef00dd
- Submitted by misha, 12 upvotes, 10 comments

The author, who quit a large Twitter audience to join Farcaster a year ago, argues that Farcaster should focus aggressively on social values over financial values in design, engineering and marketing. The post says the early "list" of recommended accounts made sense but should become opt-in, because engagement inequality is very real. It also claims that financial incentives make a handful of users very active while most others are bots, and it notes that this focus would conflict with the financial emphasis, unless the target market is degens.

## 2. Why build a web3 social app?

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Why-build-a-web3-social-app?index=0x668456cbab96c22fdd7a14417a2e798f43de916dd614ff41a05f14d8f29ea1fe3c78afc0
- Source: https://app.t2.world/article/cly3zeo2q26516920mcj71zlxae
- Submitted by zinkk.eth, 13 upvotes, 1 comment

Web3 social apps have grown slowly and remain mostly within crypto enthusiast circles, and the author argues they will take off eventually, "when" rather than "if." The article cites high switching costs, the need for network effects, and a harder setup for users, such as installing a browser extension and storing a seed phrase. It names persistent problems in decentralized social media, including spam, speculation, abuse moderation, privacy, and monetization. It presents Lens and Farcaster, plus ZK-based projects like Rarimo, as examples of the approaches being tried.

## 3. farseer: Another kind of Farcaster hub

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/farseer-Another-kind-of-Farcaster-hub?index=0x66866602378090fb374eb1212afba2a18a80fac785e4a8c97d9a14bc8f41dbd4e4d5add7
- Source: https://github.com/noctisatrae/farseer
- Submitted by noctisatrae.eth, 12 upvotes, 6 comments

farseer is a lightweight re-implementation of a Farcaster hub that does not require syncing to operate and can be extended through plugins. Users can bring their own database, logic and infrastructure to harvest protocol data. The project offers a Docker setup that starts the hub with default behavior and plugins, or a manual route that requires Go 1.22+ to compile the binary and plugins. Configuration is handled through a config.toml file, which sets the public IP, gossip port, bootstrap peers, and per-plugin options such as the PostgreSQL plugin's database address, allowed message types and tracked FIDs. Plugins export a Handler struct with functions for message types such as cast adds and reaction adds.

## 4. Leaving the Goldilocks zone

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Leaving-the-Goldilocks-zone?index=0x6687b2ca8ed9d60556dcb5dee95c97a02cdd03def0af50ca708e322eb3f7198db72a7b26
- Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/bootstrappingkiwi/p/leaving-the-goldilocks-zone?r=3ptcv&showWelcomeOnShare=true
- Submitted by tim, 8 upvotes, 0 comments

## 5. The future of social networks won't be built by developers

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/The-future-of-social-networks-wont-be-built-by-developers?index=0x6685c3c3a3fe1ebbb9b5bc125464e7226fa186f89680be022348add0755a02283e88b6be
- Source: https://app.t2.world/article/cly62udrq2874701xmch830sryk
- Submitted by 0x45cC...BF22, 7 upvotes, 0 comments

Giacomo, writing as Jaack, argues that social networks will be shaped by people's understanding of identity and society rather than by developers building technology, since social networks are a people problem rather than a tech problem. He presents blockchain's hard code as a shift from human-enforced consensus toward software-enforced rules, which he says enables truly global, interconnected societies. He describes a future in which identities are fluid and interoperable, and in which niche interest groups can form easily. The post was written for the t2 x Kiwi Writing Contest.

## 6. Steam users have spent $19 billion on games they’ve never played

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Steam-users-have-spent-dollar19-billion-on-games-theyve-never-played?index=0x6682e6fa3b62e891ca4e6d8de43636293e546bc60ce7e2241372b994e7c9b4b31ff948b5
- Source: https://www.pcgamesn.com/steam/pile-of-shame
- Submitted by frotograf.eth, 8 upvotes, 5 comments

Steam users have spent an estimated $19 billion on games they have never played, according to research by PCGamesN and SteamIDFinder. Public accounts, about 73 million of them in SteamID Finder's database and roughly 10% of all registered accounts, hold about $1.9 billion (£1.4 billion) in unplayed purchases. Multiplying that figure by ten to account for private profiles gives the $19 billion total, which exceeds the gross national product of Nicaragua, Niger, Chad, or Mauritius. Users can check their own unplayed library value through SteamID Finder's Steam Profile tool.

## 7. the meaning of meaningfulness

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/the-meaning-of-meaningfulness?index=0x6683427623979727d7bc66af89b81d444a625a4c0bf004590b2c0c590d4bd12430573556
- Source: https://app.t2.world/article/cly1plong1427571zmcrxb5r5j3
- Submitted by m-j-r.eth, 9 upvotes, 1 comment

The author argues that a decentralized social network can only succeed if it is commercially viable and grounded in ordinary users' everyday behavior, not just in a niche group's lofty purpose. They say social networks are built on "yappers," whose universal impulse to talk drives engagement, and that founders who bootstrap only from their own friends and family will not reflect the wider mesoscale. They also note that the network must offer frequent, consistent experiential rewards, citing Luis von Ahn and Duolingo as an example. Examples of early activity they cite include the cabin.city "supper club" and Farcaster LA's long-distance walk-and-talks.

## 8. web3 social apps should not be so crypto-centered

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/web3-social-apps-should-not-be-so-crypto-centered?index=0x66826ba19308eaabc57421c5b90a89a1db8a3efef19d8a09c423403ff2d8257967444abb
- Source: https://x.com/meowllark/status/1805666118947787011?s=46
- Submitted by macbudkowski.eth, 7 upvotes, 2 comments

## 9. Does the current culture value decentralization?

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Does-the-current-culture-value-decentralization?index=0x6682b357bb8222e2a8d87811d46697fdd501e36f317555cb41640eda669045b09aed66c3
- Source: https://hey.xyz/posts/0x05-0x264a-DA-3d891d3e
- Submitted by 0x3582...CC24, 6 upvotes, 1 comment

## 10. Privacy Ranked: Bird's Eye View

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Privacy-Ranked-Birds-Eye-View?index=0x6689902465c5bc74cf2bdbf2506bc7b67ddbf56d7d8f489ed6da6b1a47c3caf2a0adef6f
- Source: https://rebelnet.me/news/0x2bcf08e8749b29ab50
- Submitted by simplifiedprivacy.eth, 5 upvotes, 6 comments

## 11. I Tried Dozens of Onchain Social Apps, Here's What I Found

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/I-Tried-Dozens-of-Onchain-Social-Apps-Heres-What-I-Found?index=0x668726a673ac10cdbb1372db9f60e2322b37dd7880b9c64621525436e267524c133c53b1
- Source: https://app.t2.world/article/clxxpu1vv1279561zmc43zggiln
- Submitted by imhentai.eth, 6 upvotes, 1 comment

The author argues that onchain social apps have not gained mass adoption because their user experience still fails in three areas: interaction, financial, and content, and because most projects are speculative or imitations of Web2 apps. Financial UX is cited as a problem because Zora and Sound price in ETH and advertise "free" collection while users still must pay gas fees in an unfamiliar currency. The piece also says speculative apps such as Bitclout, friendtech and pumpfun typically fade within a few years, and it points to Polymarket's web2 login and fiat payment options as an example of good UX. Steemit, which at its peak had 1 million daily transactions and 60,000 DAU, is cited as an example of retention failure.

## 12. Philosophy for Builders

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Philosophy-for-Builders?index=0x66880a331cb1a532145f0fc03aec18bf0499e82a3d7118dcfa2394b821bd1c77e4d67958
- Source: https://app.t2.world/article/cly8ncf1k72951820mct0gme49g
- Submitted by ehcarpenter.eth, 7 upvotes, 0 comments

The author argues that builders of Web3 social platforms, protocols and tools should design from behind John Rawls' "veil of ignorance," so that the systems they create give equal opportunity and maximize the outcome for the least advantaged. Drawing on Rawls' maximin principle, the post uses a ten-person media ecosystem example to argue that rewarding writers and readers fairly serves everyone better than a purely equal split. It applies this to Warpcast, where it says that concentrating $DEGEN tip allowances among the "Top 1000" users, while many need 10,000 $DEGEN to tip at all, fails Rawls' principles.

## 13. ERC-5564 and ERC-6538 (Stealth Addresses) finalized

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/ERC-5564-and-ERC-6538-Stealth-Addresses-finalized?index=0x6685eef6ae92b72cc8142b25da220efddf69eeb35d291ac18b414b4df1bedb837e83e1e5
- Source: https://research.2077.xyz/blog/eips-for-nerds-6-erc-5564-and-erc
- Submitted by 0x3582...CC24, 6 upvotes, 0 comments

## 14. The Hot Start Problem

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/The-Hot-Start-Problem?index=0x668a5c5b591c582754acca96103ad0e3bada6ac43ea6ee0d169c48cb7cd2a56354cc097e
- Source: https://www.masonnystrom.com/p/the-hot-start-problem
- Submitted by rvolz.eth, 6 upvotes, 1 comment

Crypto startups that launch a token before finding product-market fit face what the author calls the "hot start problem," which shortens their window to build organic traction before token rewards diminish. The article says Tina, a friend and fellow investor of the author, coined the term. It argues that the problem is easier to overcome in passive networks, such as staking, liquidity provision, and DePIN hardware, than in active networks like gaming or gig work, where premature tokens often obscure true product-market fit. It also cites second movers such as GMX and dYdX, which used tokens to overtake earlier perp exchanges.

## 15. The Privatization of Orderflow and Resurgence of the Fat App Thesis

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/The-Privatization-of-Orderflow-and-Resurgence-of-the-Fat-App-Thesis?index=0x6687fc6d7ae1ef677a34a7c5b1941703b916b929144345efd5b52f010a9ab3ca0ece4f55
- Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/nystrom/p/the-privatization-of-orderflow-and?r=3ptcv
- Submitted by tim, 5 upvotes, 1 comment

Order flow on Ethereum is increasingly privatized and captured by applications, which the author says supports the "fat app thesis" that value will accrue mainly to the application layer. Per Orderflow.art data as of Aug 19, Ethereum saw over $12 billion in order flow volume over the prior 30 days, with twice as much coming from proprietary applications. Telegram bots accounted for about 17% of transactions and 6% of trading volume as of July, per Dune, while Uniswap Labs' applications originated about 16% of the $8 billion in private order flow volume over the last 30 days. The article also cites Worldcoin's share of Optimism mainnet activity and Pudgy Penguins building their own chain as evidence of the same trend.

## 16. Why haven't decentralized social networks taken off yet?

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Why-havent-decentralized-social-networks-taken-off-yet?index=0x66856609a4b4162b017b34e46306df5097ec50699495f599bc2dac8f6c4d6cfdb75e1ff2
- Source: https://app.t2.world/article/cly4j2cu64403581xmc4ghce1dv
- Submitted by @jadams2k18, 5 upvotes, 0 comments

The author argues that decentralized social networks have not taken off mainly because blockchain use requires learning complex terms such as wallets, private keys and smart contracts. Hive is given as an example, where users earn cryptocurrency through community voting, but volatility in token value and the power-based consensus of networks like Hive are cited as further obstacles. Lack of interoperability between platforms such as Whaleshare, Blurt, Rhabits and Cbnt is also described as a problem.

## 17. Monetizing Content in the Web3 Era of Social Media

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Monetizing-Content-in-the-Web3-Era-of-Social-Media?index=0x6686b921bcff85ab477a9520d89ee9a0bcf411fa831e9114fdf05b05f9f19cb9d6082624
- Source: https://app.t2.world/article/clxyuajev6498151zmcyfljg84y
- Submitted by jampol.eth, 5 upvotes, 0 comments

The article argues that social networks now let creators earn income directly, without relying on third-party advertising or sponsorships, and it highlights tools on Lens Protocol, Farcaster and X. On Lens, it describes Collect Modules that turn posts into NFTs, tipping, and $BONSAI, a token airdropped to active users, with creators such as Jessyjeanne reporting about $2,500 in subscriptions. It says Farcaster's $DEGEN tipping has let some creators earn a living, and that Bitfloorsghost raised $170,000 through tips. For X, it describes monthly payments tied to ad revenue, which require Premium, at least 5 million impressions in 3 months, and 500 followers.

## 18. Cross-app wallets are live

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Cross-app-wallets-are-live?index=0x668237795c0c10bfd78e0e66517b707ea48e0b5eb37ee8289cf7ecef159f614801e76351
- Source: https://www.privy.io/blog/cross-app-wallet-launch
- Submitted by tim, 4 upvotes, 0 comments

Privy has launched cross-app wallets, which let teams make the embedded wallets created in their app available to other apps, and developers can ask users to connect an embedded wallet from another app with a few lines of code. Users must consent to every cross-app action. At launch, five providers are available to integrate on day one: Zora, OpenSea, Fantasy, Icebreaker and Adimverse. Connections are app-to-app for now, a design choice Privy made to prioritize high-intent connections before launching a more global version of the system.

## 19. zk-ECDSA (2022)

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/zk-ECDSA-2022?index=0x6687b3d71d1c3ed164ccaff17844f573621b10a0805955a10fbdcaad0065f1ec9c11315d
- Source: https://0xparc.org/blog/zk-ecdsa-1
- Submitted by sileo.eth, 4 upvotes, 2 comments

## 20. Our favorite submissions (so far!) from the Kiwi x t2 x Lens writing contest

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Our-favorite-submissions-so-far-from-the-Kiwi-x-t2-x-Lens-writing-contest?index=0x668693bf2344fec9670396ea8b7623a90714f9990d113f7fe62b372fe9b8a8cc1f8d6ebc
- Source: https://x.com/KiwiNewsHQ/status/1808837207563579772
- Submitted by macbudkowski.eth, 3 upvotes, 0 comments