**TLDR ** In summary, this aims to finance a dedicated developer for the Farcaster community ecosystem by focusing on four key end-user projects, offering a unified bootstrap template set, and maintaining a bi-weekly budget tracked and refundable through the Juicebox DAO. Our ultimate objective is to enhance and expand the open-source environment on Farcaster.

Problem Discover & Definition

Why does it matter?

The growth, involvement, and innovation of the Farcaster Ecosystem depend on the development of new tools and applications, not only by experienced developers but by people who offer fresh perspectives on how to utilize the service. Enabling these people creates more engaged users, new products, fresh perspectives, and an extended base of agents of invite.

What are the objectives?

Users

Provide 4+ end-user open-source tools for the Farcaster community, enabling users to interact with the protocol in novel ways.

follow tracking

provides context to the otherwise numeric result, which drives quality and understanding.

cast line interface

provides compute power behind the cast line, enabling a more powerful cast experience.

cast scheduling

enables consistent activity and utilization of peak activity periods.

command line interface package

increases access and usage, a continuously requested product.

Developers

Create a cohesive open-source set of templates for developers to bootstrap their applications.

Web app with feed and filtering

Showcase many features and provide a base for builders to start from.

Farcaster login integration

To simplify the process of understanding auth, allowing a deeper focus on the end product.

To ensure new developers are utilizing a safe implementation and secure key storage.

Hubble implementation and deployment

Provide simple deployment instructions, listed as a goal in the Hubble repository.

Update developer documentation across repositories.

The need for better docs is noted in the Hubble repository and Farcaster-py repository.

Purple

To pilot the establishment of a dedicated builder program within the Farcaster ecosystem.

On-demand builder, as needed, when needed.

External publications about Farcaster.

I am a 2-time award-winning author on hackernoon with ~600 views/ article.

Establishing oversight for a future builder program.

Support the project-oriented prop house.

Why are we doing this?

Increase the number of native Farcaster and internal warpcast tools vs. external clients.

To enable new developers as engaged community members with a strong base of support.

To provide a cohesive narrative around templates and documentation across the ecosystem.

Provisioning the simplest, cheapest, immediate onramp to complex implementations (Hubble).

To take action on the same issues I faced as a new builder in the ecosystem.

How can Purple oversee this?

We're breaking new ground with this- my background as a founder allows me to stay focused in turbulent environments with or without oversight. My intention is to work closely with the DAO community to set deadlines, change priorities, and create a framework that can be used in the future.

I am bringing a founder's perspective and energy to the program. That means I'm working full time++, weekends, and excited by the opportunity. I encourage Purple to work on forming its own oversight initiatives as the proposal progresses. I've also set the funding mechanism up through Juicebox DAO, which allows purple to vote to revoke funding should progress stagnate.

Superficial metrics can be tracked when possible, such as article reads, template integrations, builders supported, templates created, and lines of documentation rewritten.

Lastly, I am providing four clearly scoped end-user projects, including open-sourcing, extending the ditti cast-line-interface, rebuilding ditti.xyz follow tracking, building an extendable cast-scheduling CMS, and creating a command-line interface for viewing and casting to the Farcaster protocol from a terminal.

I would also like to engage the Farcaster community by scheduling bi-weekly or monthly conversations on the unlonely.app, which has long been an active part of the community.

The Builder (Alex Paden)

What is your familiarity with crypto as a builder & user?

I first became involved with Bitcoin in 2012 when I began using it for game item sales in Minecraft Factions. In 2016, I started the payment processor and e-commerce builder rocketr.net with anonymous internet friends, which bridged the gap between web2 and web3 payment options in pre-NFT digital goods commerce. I believe crypto provided the world with privacy and the internet’s rule of law. I am the 533 member of Farcaster, discovered it on my own accord, and have been active since (see farcaster.network).

How would you identify yourself?

I’m a founder, generally speaking. I care about engineering, product, and organization. Since taking on my second startup as a solo founder, I have put a lot of emphasis on knowledge and experience across the board.

What are you currently working on?

Recently I’ve spent the last month or so building out a farcaster bot that acts like a CLI and handles commands in a slightly more product-focused way. For example, @ditti replies to the parent of a thread when translating or threading it, rather than the bottommost part. I'm currently enabling the automatic text-to-image code to save a user's font preference with "@ditti save --font Roboto." That means GPT responses that are beyond the cast size limit are automatically converted using your own font choice.

I’ve also been building a lot of automation tools, follow by friends’ activity, holdings, etc. Those are paired with a social CMS I’m working on at ditti.xyz for follow-tracking and post-scheduling. I’m still planning my next startup, which is currently oriented around a reputation for Online Identity. I’d like to launch that on Farcaster eventually.

Funding Request

I'm requesting funding of 6.9 Ξ to cover the 3-month pilot program, which includes:

6 Ξ for my full-time salary (2.0 Ξ per month, 50+ hours/week)

0.9 Ξ for miscellaneous expenses, such as design, testing, database, compute, and security

Drafted Timeline

3 months = 13 weeks

Suggested that the projects are scoped to 1-2 week timeframes, with the responsibility of purple to engage in discussion for next priorities, and defunding if the timeframes are continuously broken. Subject to change at builder or purple discretion.

Week 0: Updating ditti bot for open-source, adding newly planned commands and user customization.

Week 1 & 2: Creating a safe and simple template (python and/or ts) for the new Farcaster login, working on documentation for said system. Simple cast scheduling project.

Week 3: open to builder discretion

Week 4 & 5: Rebuilding follow-tracking, include cast-scheduling with farcaster auth integration, preparation for open-source. ditti.xyz CMS

Week 6: Hubble deployment, simplest solution, simple usage.

Week 7: open to builder discretion

Week 8, 9, & 10: Custom command line interface (ditticast, open-source)

Week 11 & 12: open to builder discretion

Submitter's note: Kmac here. If passed the payout would go into a juicebox project https://juicebox.money/@shoni IF at at anytime during the next three months Purple is unsatisfied with the work product we may redeem/claim unused funds. This experiment is setup with 100% redemption rate, two week funding cycles (think pay periods), and a 3 day delay for config changes should Purple wish to 'rage' quit.