Adam Mosseri: A creator-led internet, built on blockchain

Adam Mosseri’s Creator‑Led Internet (on Blockchain): My No‑BS Review, Key Takeaways, and FAQ

What if you could take your audience with you—no matter which app you post on?

That’s the promise behind Adam Mosseri’s TED talk: a creator‑led internet built on open, blockchain‑powered rails where you actually own your identity, your audience, and your earnings. I watched it with a critical eye and a practical mindset. Here’s what matters, what’s hype, and what you can start doing right now.

What’s broken with today’s internet for creators

Today’s social web runs on platform power, not creator power. If you’ve ever had a post flop for no obvious reason, lost reach after a policy tweak, or felt stuck on a network you don’t love—this is why.

• Platforms own your audience. Your followers live inside each app. If you leave, they don’t come with you. When Vine shut down, entire careers evaporated overnight.


• Algorithms control your distribution. One change and your reach can crater. Think “Adpocalypse” on YouTube—brand safety shifts hammered creator revenue in 2017 (The Guardian).


• Policy whiplash hits your income. In 2021, OnlyFans announced a content ban, then reversed it—creators still lost sponsors and momentum. Twitch, X, Instagram… we’ve all seen sudden reversals.


• Geopolitics can erase markets. When India banned TikTok in 2020, creators lost distribution and deals in a day (BBC).


• No portability, no leverage. You can’t easily export followers, comments, or payments. If a platform suspends you—even by mistake—your business is on pause.


• Middle‑class creators get squeezed. A tiny slice of accounts capture most reach and revenue. Many “full‑time” creators still rely on side jobs because monetization is inconsistent and centralized.

If a platform can shut you off, you don’t own your business. You’re renting it.

That’s the pain Mosseri wants to solve: creators owning their relationships through open, portable systems so no single company can cut the cord.

What I’ll help you solve in this guide

I’m keeping this simple, practical, and bias‑checked. Here’s what you’ll get as you read on:

• A clear summary of Mosseri’s argument—minus the buzzwords.


• What’s real vs. wishful thinking in a creator‑led internet.


• How this maps to tools you can use today (portable IDs, open social graphs, wallet‑native monetization).


• Trade‑offs Mosseri didn’t linger on—spam, moderation, UX, and regulation.


• A practical path to start owning your identity, audience, and revenue without burning down your current channels.

No cheerleading. If something’s clunky, I’ll say it. If something works, I’ll show you how to test it safely.

Who this review is for (and what you’ll get)

• Creators: You’ll see how to make your audience portable, reduce algorithm risk, and create monetization that follows you across apps.


• Marketers and brands: Learn how loyalty can live in wallets, not just pixels—and how to run campaigns that aren’t trapped in one feed.


• Founders and devs: Spot where the real product gaps are (UX, safety, analytics, payouts) and where open protocols already give you leverage.

Quick warning: this isn’t a fairy tale where everything becomes decentralized tomorrow. But there are smarter ways to build your audience today so you’re ready if the ground shifts.

So, what exactly did Mosseri argue—and how does it stack up against tools that actually exist? Let’s break that down next, in plain English, with examples you can try this week.

What Adam Mosseri actually argues in this TED talk

Here’s the pitch, stripped of fluff: a creator‑led internet built on open protocols (yes, blockchains) where you actually own your identity, audience, and earnings. Platforms become interchangeable apps sitting on top of shared rails—so your followers and income don’t vanish when an algorithm turns cold or a policy changes overnight.

“Creators should own their relationships with their audience.”

I like the clarity. It’s not “let’s make a new app,” it’s “let’s change the layer under the apps.” Think portable followers, interoperable content, and programmable monetization—the stuff that makes switching platforms as simple as switching phones, without losing your contacts.

The problems he calls out

He’s not wrong about what’s broken. The pain points are familiar, but the details matter:

• Platform lock‑in: Your audience is stuck inside closed feeds. If your account gets flagged or throttled, years of work can disappear. Remember the YouTube “Adpocalypse”? Many creators lost income overnight because of policy shifts they didn’t control.


• Algorithm roulette: One feed tweak and your reach drops by half. Facebook’s 2018 news feed change is the classic example; publishers and creators saw engagement crater after a single update.


• Fragile income streams: Revenue is tied to a single company’s payouts, rev shares, or opaque rules. If ads slow or a creator fund sunsets, you’re exposed.


• No portability: If you’re banned, shadowbanned, or simply want to move, your audience can’t come with you. That’s not a “brand” you own; that’s a rental.

Why blockchain is his proposed fix

Not because “crypto is cool,” but because a public, shared data layer changes incentives. Here’s how he frames it—and how it actually maps to tools you can touch:

• Ownable identity: IDs that aren’t controlled by any one company. Examples: ENS for names, DIDs, and social IDs on open graphs like Farcaster or Lens. Your handle can travel across apps.


• Portable audience: Follow graphs live on a shared protocol, not inside one app’s database. Post on one Farcaster client (e.g., Warpcast), get discovered on another—same audience, different interfaces.


• Interoperable content: Store posts, media, and metadata on open networks like IPFS or Arweave so any app can reference them. No more re-uploading the same asset 10 times.


• Programmable monetization: Payments and perks are code, not policy. Examples:
  
  
  
  • Sell memberships or collectibles on low‑fee chains (e.g., Polygon) that unlock access in any app that checks the token.
  
  
  • Automatic revenue splits to collaborators with smart contracts (think releases on Mirror or custom split contracts).
  
  
  • Global payouts in stablecoins like USDC or via Lightning for micro‑transactions.
  
  
  
  


• Aligned incentives: When identity and audience live on open rails, platforms compete on service (better discovery, better tools), not on lock‑in. If they treat you poorly, you leave—and your audience comes along.

He also nods at real improvements on hot‑button issues. Energy is the big one people raise; Ethereum’s 2022 switch to proof‑of‑stake cut network energy use by ~99.95% (see the Ethereum Foundation’s post‑Merge update), which changes the conversation from “is this wasteful?” to “how do we use it safely?”

What he admits is hard

This isn’t a fairy tale. He calls out the friction that keeps normal people from touching crypto today, and he’s right to:

• Scams and spam: Open rails invite bad actors. Fake airdrops, phishing, and impersonation are still too common. Expect wallets and clients to ship stronger verification and reputation layers.


• UX and key management: Seed phrases and gas fees scare people. The fix is already forming: account abstraction smart wallets, passkeys, and sponsored transactions that hide the crypto jargon.


• Moderation at scale: Open graphs don’t mean open spam. Safety will look like shared data, app‑level curation: anyone can read the network, but each app can filter, rank, and block with community‑driven rules.


• Regulation and compliance: Taxes, KYC/AML, sanctions—none of this goes away. Apps on open rails still need user protections and local compliance.


• Costs and performance: Base, Optimism, and Polygon bring fees way down, but we still need reliability during traffic spikes and simple fee abstractions for non‑crypto users.


• Privacy trade‑offs: Public by default is powerful—and risky. Expect more selective disclosure and zero‑knowledge features so creators can share what’s needed and keep the rest off‑chain or encrypted.

As he frames it, this is a direction, not a switch you flip. The promise is clear: if creators own the rails, we finally stop building careers on rented land. The catch is obvious too: can the tech and the apps meet normal users where they are without breaking the openness that makes this worth doing?

Here’s the real test I’m about to run next: which parts of this vision are already working in the wild, and which parts are feel‑good talk? What’s strong, what’s shaky, and what’s actually usable today? Let’s look at that now.

My review: what’s strong, what’s shaky, and what’s real right now

I’m rooting for an internet where creators actually own the relationship with their audience—and I’ve spent enough time in the weeds to know what’s working and what still hurts. Here’s my no‑BS take on the promise, the pitfalls, and what you can reasonably expect next.

“Own the relationship, not the reach. If you lose the former, the latter was never yours.”

The strongest ideas

The signal I’m excited about: portable identity and audience on open rails, with monetization that doesn’t depend on a single app’s mercy. This isn’t theory—there are working examples today.

• Portable identity that travels with you:
  
  
  
  • ENS and Farcaster IDs act like your username for the open web. You can log into multiple clients with the same identity and keep your followers.
  
  
  • Lens Protocol lets your handle and social graph show up across different apps (e.g., Hey, Phaver), so you’re not starting from zero every time a new app pops.
  
  
  
  


• Interoperable content and “composable” feeds:
  
  
  
  • On Farcaster, one post can surface across multiple clients; devs plug into the same graph to build niche interfaces without fragmenting your audience. Frames turned posts into mini‑apps, which boosted engagement across the network, not just inside a single walled garden.
  
  
  • On Lens, your posts and follows are on an open graph, so discovery features in one app can benefit your visibility in others.
  
  
  
  


• Programmable monetization that actually pays:
  
  
  
  • Zora and Mirror make it trivial to mint collectibles, passes, and fundraising posts. Fans buy once; you recognize them everywhere.
  
  
  • Sound and 0xSplits show how revenue shares settle on‑chain in seconds—no invoices, no “net‑90.”
  
  
  • Token‑gated perks via Collab.Land or Paragraph give holders VIP rooms, bonus content, and live access—portable across Discords, newsletters, and sites.
  
  
  
  


• Costs and speed are finally reasonable:
  
  
  
  • Layer‑2 networks like Base and Polygon made minting and transacting cheap and fast, which is why onchain social is seeing real usage rather than just demos (see a16z’s State of Crypto 2024 for the trendline).
  
  
  
  

There’s proof that portability + programmable money can unlock healthier creator businesses. When fans become wallet‑recognized members, you can reach them across apps and reward them instantly—with zero permission from a platform.

The red flags or blind spots

This vision is bold, but there are real potholes on the road.

• Moderation at scale is messy:
  
  
  
  • Open graphs mean open spam. Protocol‑level data is neutral; the “safety” layer moves to clients. That’s powerful but inconsistent. What one app blocks, another might show.
  
  
  • Farcaster’s client‑side moderation improves fast, but you’ll still see scammy bait and low‑effort engagement farms until better network‑wide reputation forms.
  
  
  
  


• Phishing and scams follow the money:
  
  
  
  • Wallet‑connected socials invite fake airdrops and malicious links. Frames tightened sandboxes and signing prompts, but bad actors adapt quickly. Treat anything “free” with the same suspicion you’d have for a random Google Doc link.
  
  
  
  


• Onboarding still makes people sweat:
  
  
  
  • Seed phrases, chain choices, and gas—still a maze. Account‑abstraction wallets (e.g., passkey logins via Coinbase Smart Wallet or Privy) reduce friction, but cross‑app UX is not yet grandma‑proof.
  
  
  
  


• “Open” from big platforms often means “open‑ish”:
  
  
  
  • Expect identity hooks or collectible pilots, not a surrender of the feed. Remember when Instagram tested “digital collectibles” and then sunset the feature? That’s the reality check on incentives.
  
  
  
  


• Data durability is a shared responsibility:
  
  
  
  • Putting a hash on a chain isn’t enough. If your media isn’t pinned on IPFS/Arweave—or a reliable CDN—links rot. Open ecosystems need boring infra: pinning, indexing, and robust backups.
  
  
  
  

None of these are dealbreakers. They’re the engineering and incentive puzzles that decide whether “creator‑led” becomes a daily habit or a niche hobby.

What’s realistic in the next 12–24 months

Here’s the runway I expect, based on how fast the tooling and incentives are moving:

• Hybrid is the default:
  
  
  
  • Mainstream apps add wallet logins, collectibles, and verifiable fan badges while keeping core feeds centralized. Think “portable perks,” not “portable everything.”
  
  
  
  


• Niche communities go fully on‑chain:
  
  
  
  • Music scenes, gaming guilds, and indie education cohorts run their identity, access, and revenue on open protocols using tools like Sound, Paragraph, and Zora—small but sticky economies.
  
  
  
  


• USDC becomes the creator payout rail:
  
  
  
  • L2 transfers settle in seconds with minimal fees; split contracts auto‑route rev shares to collaborators. Expect more “pay your editor in real time” workflows via Superfluid and 0xSplits.
  
  
  
  


• Reputation and anti‑spam layers mature:
  
  
  
  • Wallet reputation scores and attestations (e.g., Ethereum Attestation Service) help clients filter bots and boost trusted creators—without a single company acting as arbiter.
  
  
  
  


• Portable proof of fandom becomes normal:
  
  
  
  • Fans earn on‑chain receipts—POAPs, stamps, or collectibles—that unlock cross‑app access, discounts, and recognition. Shopify already supports token‑gated commerce; expect more brands to follow.
  
  
  
  


• Creators run “multi‑client” by default:
  
  
  
  • Post once to an open graph; let different apps compete to distribute it best. Your link‑in‑bio points to an ENS, Lens, or Farcaster profile instead of a single platform profile.
  
  
  
  

If this sounds like a lot, it is. But the playbook is getting simpler—and you don’t have to migrate your life overnight. Want the exact steps I’d take this quarter to start owning your identity, audience, and revenue without breaking your workflow? Keep reading—next up, I’ll spell out a short, practical checklist you can run this week.

Practical takeaways for creators, builders, and brands

If you want real leverage, start owning pieces of your stack that no algorithm can yank away—your identity, your audience list, and your monetization rails. You don’t need permission, and you don’t have to switch everything at once. Small moves this quarter can compound into freedom later.

“Own the relationship. Rent the reach.”

For creators: actions to take this quarter

Here’s a short, realistic plan I’ve tested and seen work—even if you’re not “crypto native.” The goal is simple: make your audience portable and your income less fragile.

• Claim a portable on‑chain identity (10 minutes)
  
  
  
  • Grab an ENS name for your brand or creator handle (yourname.eth). It’s a wallet‑native username you can use across apps.
  
  
  • Optionally add a social handle on open social: reserve your Farcaster username via Warpcast or a Lens handle at Lens. These connect your identity to portable social graphs.
  
  
  
  


• Cross‑post to an open social protocol (1–2 posts/week)
  
  
  
  • Keep your current platforms, but start mirroring to Farcaster or Lens (Hey). Even one weekly post builds a footprint that no single app controls.
  
  
  • If you’re on Farcaster, try a Frame (interactive post) to collect interest or direct fans to a signup without link friction.
  
  
  
  


• Mint a low‑stakes collectible for true fans (one afternoon)
  
  
  
  • Launch 100–500 editions on Zora or Manifold on a low‑fee chain like Base or Polygon. Think: behind‑the‑scenes photo, a B‑side audio, or a “founding fan” badge.
  
  
  • Price it accessibly ($1–$5) or make it free to claim for 24 hours. This builds a portable, verifiable list of your real supporters.
  
  
  
  


• Collect email + wallet sign‑ins (ongoing, simple)
  
  
  
  • Use Paragraph or Bonfire to let fans subscribe with email or wallet. You’ll own both lists and can export anytime.
  
  
  • Wallet adoption is no longer fringe—see Coinbase’s latest data on mainstream usage: State of Crypto.
  
  
  
  


• Reward and organize your community (1 hour)
  
  
  
  • Drop a POAP to people who show up to lives, spaces, or premieres. It’s a portable “proof you were there.”
  
  
  • Token‑gate perks using Guild (Discord roles, secret channels) or offer paid tiers via Unlock Protocol.
  
  
  
  


• Split revenue with collaborators automatically (set‑and‑forget)
  
  
  
  • Use 0xSplits so payouts route to collaborators and editors on autopilot. It’s cleaner and builds trust.
  
  
  
  


• Safety basics (20 minutes)
  
  
  
  • Create a fresh creator wallet; keep a hardware wallet for high‑value items, and use a low‑risk wallet for routine mints and sign‑ins.
  
  
  
  

Micro‑plan you can actually follow:

• Week 1: Claim ENS + Farcaster/Lens handle, set profile, pin links.


• Week 2: Mirror 2 posts to open social; tease a small collectible.


• Week 3: Drop the collectible (24–72 hours), collect emails + wallets.


• Week 4: Send a “holders‑only” perk; set up Guild role and 0xSplits for your next collab.

When you can take fans with you anywhere, algorithm changes feel like weather—not eviction notices.

For devs and founders: where to build

This shift rewards infrastructure that makes portability safe, easy, and measurable. The biggest gaps you can fill right now:

• Wallet UX that feels invisible
  
  
  
  • Email/social logins to smart accounts with passkeys and session keys: Privy, Dynamic, Magic, Web3Auth, Coinbase Smart Wallet.
  
  
  
  


• Moderation, trust and safety for open feeds
  
  
  
  • Reputation and attestations via Ethereum Attestation Service (EAS), sybil‑resistance checks with Gitcoin Passport or BrightID.
  
  
  • Spam/threat intel pipelines (think: wallet risk scoring + content heuristics) that apps can adopt on‑chain and off‑chain.
  
  
  
  


• Revenue rails creators actually use
  
  
  
  • Subscriptions/memberships: Unlock; streaming payouts: Superfluid; seamless fiat on‑ramps/off‑ramps (e.g., Stripe’s USDC support).
  
  
  
  


• Cross‑protocol analytics and attribution
  
  
  
  • Understand audiences across wallets and apps: Airstack, Covalent, Flipside, Dune, creator‑focused Bello, and on‑chain attribution like Spindl.
  
  
  
  


• Content storage + portability
  
  
  
  • Durable storage with cryptographic provenance: Arweave or IPFS via Pinata. Make the “save once, use anywhere” path a one‑click button.
  
  
  
  


• Consentful messaging
  
  
  
  • Wallet messaging that respects opt‑in and rate limits: XMTP. Give brands and creators inboxes that travel with fans across apps.
  
  
  
  

If you smooth the ugly edges—signing, safety, and analytics—apps on open rails can finally feel mainstream.

For brands and agencies: what to watch

Think of “portable audiences” like a new channel. The playbook is loyalty first, ads second.

• Adoption signals
  
  
  
  • Growth of open social graphs (Farcaster, Lens) and wallet‑native subscriptions/newsletters.
  
  
  • Creators running recurring tokenized drops instead of one‑off “NFT moments.” Momentum matters more than headlines.
  
  
  
  


• Pilot ideas that actually map to KPIs
  
  
  
  • Wallet‑native loyalty: issue a branded collectible pass that unlocks discounts, early access, or VIP channels. Shopify already supports token‑gating.
  
  
  • Portable campaigns: a single on‑chain reward redeemable across multiple apps—Discord role via Guild, exclusive Farcaster channel, and a limited shop discount in one flow.
  
  
  • On‑chain collabs: co‑branded editions with creator revenue splits on 0xSplits so payouts are transparent.
  
  
  
  


• Fraud and measurement guardrails
  
  
  
  • Use sybil resistance (e.g., Gitcoin Passport) before rewards are claimable; add velocity and duplicate checks.
  
  
  • Attribution and LTV across wallets/apps via Spindl + analytics stacks (Airstack, Covalent).
  
  
  • Respect consent: opt‑in wallet messaging via XMTP; no airdrop spam. Fans remember how you show up in their wallets.
  
  
  
  

The upside: portable loyalty lowers reacquisition costs and builds durable signal. The risk: treating wallets like email in 2012. Please don’t.

Quick gut check: Do you actually need “crypto” to benefit from portable identities and collectibles, and is a platform like Instagram really moving this way? I’ve got simple answers and no buzzwords next—ready for the straight talk?

FAQ: Straight answers to what people are asking

I’ve been fielding the same questions since the talk hit my inbox. No fluff, just what you need to make smart moves without getting burned.

“Own your audience or someone else will rent it back to you.”

Is Instagram really moving to open protocols?

Short answer: not fully, not fast. Expect experiments around collectibles and identity hooks, not a full-on flip to decentralization.

• What to watch: Threads’ ActivityPub testing (federation with the fediverse) is the clearest signal of “open” thinking—still limited, but real.


• Reality check: big platforms test portability where it boosts growth, but they rarely give up control of core feeds.

Do I need crypto to benefit from this?

No. Think of it like new internet plumbing. You can use:

• Wallet sign-ins (e.g., passkey wallets) to prove identity and keep an audience list portable.


• Collectibles as memberships or tickets without “trading coins.” Fans claim with a tap; you get a portable list.


• Email + wallet together: own the list now, keep an on-chain mirror for portability later.

What does “portable followers” actually look like?

On open social graphs, your identity and follows live on shared rails. If you switch apps, your audience comes with you.

• Today’s example: Farcaster lets me post from different apps (clients) while the same followers see it because the follow graph is shared.


• Another example: Lens profiles are on-chain; multiple apps read the same graph, so you don’t rebuild from zero.

How would monetization work without platform lock-in?

Payments become programmable and portable.

• Direct sales: sell limited digital items or access passes; buyers own them in their wallet.


• Automatic splits: revenue can auto-route to collaborators in one transaction.


• Gated perks: token/NFT holders unlock content, Discord roles, or discount codes across apps.

What about scams and moderation on open networks?

It’s the toughest problem—and solvable in layers.

• Client-side filters: each app applies its own spam filters, mute/block lists, and trust scores.


• Reputation signals: age of wallet, verified socials, known badges, and allowlists cut junk fast.


• Your checklist: post from the same verified handle, pin official links, require allowlist claims, and use wallet gating for DMs/comments to keep bots out.

What if I lose my wallet or get hacked?

Use modern wallets with recovery baked in.

• Smart account recovery: add “guardians” (friends/devices) or recover via passkeys—no seed phrase panic.


• MPC and passkeys: wallets like passkey-based or MPC wallets let you restore with your device login + backup.


• Best practice: keep a low-permission posting key and a separate vault for high-value assets; rotate keys if anything feels off.

How much does it cost to mint or run on-chain features?

On modern chains and L2s, usually cents.

• Layer 2s (e.g., Base, Optimism, Polygon, Arbitrum, Zora): typical actions are pennies to under a dollar, depending on traffic.


• Tip: for fan collectibles, use L2s or networks designed for social so claims are cheap and instant.

Isn’t crypto bad for the environment?

The tech moved on. Ethereum’s switch to Proof‑of‑Stake cut energy use by about 99.95% (source: Ethereum Foundation, referencing independent analyses). Most modern networks use similar low-energy models.

Is this legal—and what about taxes?

Generally, yes, but mind the details.

• Legal: selling digital collectibles/memberships is broadly permitted; avoid promising profits or “investment” language.


• KYC/AML: if you run your own marketplace, you may trigger compliance duties. Using established providers can help.


• Taxes: treat sales as income; track revenue and cost basis. Local rules vary—talk to a pro.

Which chain should creators consider?

Use what your audience can actually touch.

• For social and low fees: L2s like Base or Optimism are popular; Polygon is widely supported for consumer apps; Solana is strong for cheap, fast drops.


• Rule of thumb: go where wallets are easy, fees are tiny, and the apps you want already live.

How soon does this go mainstream?

You’ll see more hybrid models over the next 12–24 months—portable identities and collectibles inside familiar apps—while niche communities go fully on-chain. A broader shift (true portability across major networks) feels like a 3–5 year arc.

Will this make social worse to use?

Only if UX is ignored. The best apps will feel more familiar: passkey logins, one-tap claims, normal usernames. The “blockchain part” runs under the hood while you keep your voice, your fans, and your freedom.

Can I try any of this without risking my main brand?

Yes—start in a sandbox:

• Claim an on-chain username separate from your main handle.


• Run a free collectible claim for a small fan circle on a low-cost network.


• Test wallet sign-in on a private page; compare conversions to email-only.

If you want a short, no-BS list of tools to test and a 30-minute setup plan, want me to hand you the exact links next?

Tools, links, and next steps (quick hits, not a resource dump)

I don’t want you spinning in research mode. Here’s a tight plan to watch the talk, get a portable setup running, and ship something your fans can touch—today.

Watch the talk and try a portable setup

Start here: Adam Mosseri: A creator‑led internet, built on blockchain (TED). Then block 90 minutes for a hands‑on run:

• Claim a portable identity (10 minutes)
  
  
  
  • ENS for a human‑readable name (e.g., yourname.eth). It travels across apps and can link to your profiles and website via ENS text records.
  
  
  • Farcaster handle (fname) for an open social graph you can use across multiple apps.
  
  
  • Optional: a Lens handle for creator‑friendly social features on-chain.
  
  
  
  


• Set up a wallet with easy sign‑in (5 minutes)
  
  
  
  • Coinbase Smart Wallet (passkey/email login, no seed phrase), Rainbow, or MetaMask. This is your portable key to identities, posts, and collectibles.
  
  
  • Pick a low‑fee network for experiments: Base or Optimism keep costs tiny.
  
  
  
  


• Post on an open social app (10 minutes)
  
  
  
  • Farcaster via Warpcast. Share a short post that points to your ENS and website. Add “Frame” support later if you want interactive posts (think mini‑apps inside a post).
  
  
  • Lens via Hey (simple, creator‑centric). Cross‑post the same content to feel the portability.
  
  
  
  


• Collect fans with both email and wallets (15 minutes)
  
  
  
  • Use Paragraph to capture email + wallet in one place. You’ll thank yourself later when you switch apps and keep everyone.
  
  
  • For wallet‑native DMs and announcements, set up Converse (on XMTP), so fans can receive messages no matter which app they’re on.
  
  
  
  


• Ship a tiny collectible drop (20 minutes)
  
  
  
  • Mint a free or low‑cost digital collectible on Zora, Manifold, or Mirror. Use Base to keep gas negligible.
  
  
  • Limit it to 100 claims for your core fans. Promise a future perk (token‑gated stream, early access, or discount) so it’s not just a souvenir.
  
  
  • List or showcase on OpenSea and mention on Warpcast or Hey for discovery.
  
  
  
  


• Gate a perk for holders (20 minutes)
  
  
  
  • Use Guild or Bonfire to token‑gate a private chat, Google Meet link, or download. Instant utility makes your collectible meaningful.
  
  
  
  


• Verify and secure (10 minutes)
  
  
  
  • Add social links to your ENS text records so fans can authenticate you across apps.
  
  
  • Attach a basic anti‑sybil proof with Gitcoin Passport if you’re gating perks to real fans.
  
  
  
  

Rule of thumb: don’t spend more than the price of lunch on your first test. If fans engage, scale. If not, iterate without pain.

Handpicked resources I recommend checking (light list)

These aren’t rabbit holes—they’re the fastest routes to real results:

• Portable identity: ENS, Farcaster (Warpcast), Lens


• Wallet + sign‑in UX: Coinbase Smart Wallet, WalletConnect


• Messaging that follows your fans: XMTP, Converse


• Collectibles + releases: Zora, Manifold, Mirror, Sound


• Token‑gated perks + loyalty: Guild, Bonfire


• Low‑fee chains for creators: Base, Optimism


• Analytics (optional but handy): Dune (prebuilt dashboards often exist for your contract or platform)

How I test tools

When I vet creator tools, I use a simple, practical filter. You can copy it:

• Security: audit status, permission scopes, and whether you can revoke access. If a tool wants unlimited spend, hard pass.


• Costs: check mint fees, platform cuts, and chain gas. Base or Optimism usually keep gas cents‑level for basic drops.


• UX: passkey or email wallet sign‑in, QR support, and no seed phrase if possible. If your fans can’t use it, it doesn’t exist.


• Uptime: public status page or at least a transparent record on Twitter/Discord when they have incidents.


• Community health: active Discord, helpful docs, and real creators shipping—not just devs talking to devs.


• Portability proof: ENS + wallets recognized across multiple apps; content and audiences not trapped in one dashboard.

Red flags I skip instantly:

• Closed data silos that don’t let you export or reconnect your audience elsewhere


• Unclear fees that hide 5–15% “platform” cuts in fine print


• Forced custodial wallets with no path to self‑custody later


• “Too good to be true” token rewards used to mask weak product‑market fit

One small note on results: creators who add a wallet‑claim step alongside email typically see fewer total signups but higher retention on the next release because wallet addresses are portable and harder to fake. That portability is the whole point—you can switch apps without losing the people who matter.

Want to know which of these tools actually move the needle for the creator economy and which are just noise? I’m breaking that down next…

What this means for the future of the creator economy

We’re headed for an internet where your audience doesn’t vanish when an app tweaks a policy or buries your feed. If identity and social graphs sit on open rails, platforms become interfaces—useful, competitive, replaceable. That shift flips the power dynamic. Instead of “growth at any cost” to feed a single feed, creators will optimize for quality, portability, and direct relationships.

We’re already seeing the edges of this:

• Social portability in the wild: Threads started testing federation with ActivityPub—meaning your followers can exist beyond one app. Bluesky’s AT Protocol lets accounts move between hosts without losing followers. Farcaster opened “Frames,” turning posts into interactive mini‑apps that work across clients, a taste of what composable distribution looks like.


• Money flows that follow you: Smart contract splits are normal on tools like 0xSplits and music platforms like Sound, so collaborators get paid automatically and transparently. Token‑gated perks via Guild or POAP let your true fans unlock access across Discord, web, and events—without you rebuilding tiers for every app.


• Faster, friendlier onboarding: Passkey wallets and account abstraction are finally usable. Coinbase Smart Wallet, Privy, and ERC‑4337 push us closer to “sign in with email, no seed phrase, no gas” experiences—critical if mainstream creators are going to bring audiences on-chain.

The net effect: platforms won’t win by trapping you; they’ll win by offering the best curation, safety, analytics, and monetization services on top of shared data layers. Think of email’s open model—where you can move from Substack to Beehiiv overnight and keep every subscriber—applied to identity, feeds, and revenue.

“Don’t build on rented land” stops being a warning and becomes a default setting.

My bottom line for creators

If you want an edge, act like portability is inevitable and position yourself now:

• Own your name and your graph: Grab an open ID (ENS, Farcaster, Lens) and post at least once a week on an open feed. Treat it like an insurance policy that can turn into a growth channel.


• Make your top 1% feel seen: Ship one programmable perk each month—token‑gated live sessions, early drops, or on-chain tickets that unlock future surprises. This compounds loyalty fast.


• Keep two rails at all times: Email/SMS for reach you control, wallet‑based memberships for perks you can automate and port. If one rail breaks, the other carries you.


• Automate your splits: Use smart contracts so collabs, editors, and musicians get paid instantly, forever. It saves time, prevents drama, and attracts better partners.

What I’ll be watching next

• Real portability moments: A creator moving 100k+ followers between apps without churn. Threads fully federating, or Farcaster/Lens exporting graphs across clients.


• Onboarding that feels like Netflix: Passkeys by default, gasless transactions, and wallet recovery that normal humans trust.


• Safety that scales: Open reputation and attestations (see EAS), smarter anti‑spam rails, and moderation marketplaces that communities can plug in on day one.


• Brand budgets following wallets: Campaigns that target wallet cohorts across multiple apps with verifiable engagement and on‑chain ROI, not screenshot metrics.


• Policy guardrails: Clarity on portable social data and consumer protections, so big platforms feel safe exposing the exits.

Conclusion

Platforms won’t disappear. They’ll be forced to compete on service, not captivity. That’s good news if you make things for a living. Own your identity, keep your audience portable, and use programmable perks to reward the people who actually keep you afloat.

Directionally, this is the right bet: blockchain isn’t a magic wand, but it’s the best tool we have for audience portability, transparent payouts, and fairer economics. I’ll keep stress‑testing the stack and sharing what holds up (and what doesn’t) at cryptolinks.com/news—so you don’t waste time or trust the wrong setup.