Before we get into any details here I want to be upfront that I know almost nothing about cryptocurrency, or finance in general. I hope this serves as a good introduction to BitClout, but do your own research beyond this article, and don’t take financial advice from internet beer enthusiasts.
I do know a bit about social media, and that’s what really caught my attention about BitClout when I heard about it. I created @BeerSelfie on BitClout a week ago, and I’m a bit addicted. The platform is very new, and not without issues, but I’m pretty excited about its potential.
What is BitClout?
Twitter + BitCoin = BitClout
BitClout is a social media network built on a cryptocurrency that launched this year. Every profile on the platform gets its own coin that anybody can buy and sell. The price of each coin goes up when people buy, and goes down when people sell.
You can control access to your coin with your Founders Reward percentage. This is a percent of every purchase of your coin that goes to you. The default is 100%, meaning your coin is not really for sale to anyone but you. Most accounts have their Founders Reward set to around 10%.
You can try to make money on BitClout by buying and promoting your own coin, or buy speculating on other profiles.
Social Media
The social media part of BitClout is mostly a relatively crappy Twitter clone. What sets it apart is the focus on monetization. You might think this would spoil the social interaction but I’ve found the opposite. The direct and instantaneous monetary reward of quality content cuts out a lot of the bullshit of other social media networks.
Crypto
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the currency part of BitClout. You can only buy BitClout with Bitcoin. Because of this, the value of BitClout is somewhat tied to the value of Bitcoin. Last week when Bitcoin dropped, BitClout value dropped as well.
Content
The content on BitClout is largely centered around BitClout itself. There are lots of people promoting their coin, and running contests and giveaways to get attention. There is also a focus on art and other creative content. It’s a great fit for artists as they can show their value as an investment by posting artistic content. Craft beer does not have much of a presence. I’ve yet to find a brewery on BitClout and there are only a handful of beer-themed accounts. I think the current lack of content diversity makes it ripe for the growth of niche content. I’m hoping to help build a craft beer community on the platform.
Currently BitClout only has a username search, and there are no hashtags or other tools for discovering content. This makes it tough to find accounts with similar interests, but I assume features will be added to improve that situation soon. In just the first week I was there some really useful messaging features and tools for sorting your coin holders were added, so things are happening fast.
Magic
This article is packed full of caveats about BitClout. Despite all of these issues, I’m really excited about this new social media network. The focus on rewarding creators really speaks to me. I’ve found the community to be super supportive of both my content, and my newbie questions about the platform. I’m confident that the issues with the platform will be worked out. The real value is the community that is blossoming there, and it feels like it’s becoming something really great.
@BeerSelfie Coin
OK, here’s my pitch for @BeerSelfie Coin. I plan to stay active and engaged on BitClout indefinitely. I’ve been plugging away at multiple other social media networks for years. I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to create content and build a community. The @beerselfie Instagram gets over one million impressions a month, so I’m confident about being able to build on the social media end of BitClout. For the financial side of BitClout I intend to keep things simple. I’m keeping my Founders Reward low and reinvesting all of it back into @BeerSelfie Coin. I don’t plan to sell any of my coins until it has significantly increased in value, and only a small amount at a time to help keep the value up. I also plan on warning investors in advance if I’m planning to sell coins.
Mostly I plan to focus on my strengths of creating content and engaging with the community. I’d also like to help increase the presence of craft beer on BitClout. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if I can help you get started!
I’m also working on a @BeerSelfie Coin Hall of Fame featuring coin holders’ beer selfies. Follow @beerselfie on BitClout and stay tuned for more information on that.
Getting Started
This is the closest I’ll come to giving you advice, so proceed at your own risk. I created @beerselfie coin with no money invested and have managed to purchase about six of my own coins, currently valued at over $100 each purely with what I’ve earned from Founders Reward. I don’t recommend doing this. You run the risk of people running up the price of your coin beyond what you can afford. In my case as soon as I lowered my Founders Reward percentage from the default 100% down to 10% a few accounts “pumped and dumped” my coin, leaving the price low and my wallet full of Founders Reward money. That worked out ok, but it’s probably a better idea to keep tighter control of your coin. Your best option seems to be to keep your FR high until you’ve established your account a bit by posting content, gaining some followers, and building trust. You can take this time to invest in yourself by buying your own coin. The more of your coin that exists, the higher the price. You want to buy that initial, cheap coin yourself before you open it up to others.
Buyer Beware
I’ve been focused on BitClout as a creator, building value in my own coin. I can’t offer much advice on the investing side of things. One thing to watch out for is the dreaded “rugging,” where an account buys lots of their own coin, then sells them all and disappears once others invest. The coin price plummets, leaving the coin’s investors with a big loss. This is a big problem on BitClout with people creating anonymous accounts, or even impersonating people or businesses that aren’t actually on BitClout. Do your research on accounts you’re investing in. If you are selling your coin you can avoid destroying people’s trust in you by only selling a bit at a time, or giving your investors advance notice. Apparently, there are lots of other scams on BitClout as well, but rugpulls are the most common and visible.
One more huge caveat: there is currently no way to exchange BitClout coins for other currencies built into BitClout. This has caused people to assume BitClout is a scam, as money could go in, but not out. This concern seems to be addressed now, as multiple third-party exchange services are now available. I haven’t tested any of these services out yet, but they’re reportedly pretty seamless, with low fees. BitSwap was the first to show up, and it allows you to sell BitClout for Ehereum.
What’s Next?
I assume BitClout will continue to flesh out features in the near future. Content search, hashtags, and pinned content are rumored additions. There will also be tools to help you award your investors, like exclusive content. Hopefully a built-in cash out option will be added. There is currently not an official BitClout app, only a web interface. There are a few unofficial apps, but I imagine an official one is on the horizon. For me, I’m just having fun exploring and learning about BitClout. It’s a little bumpy but the frontier always is.
Here are a few resources that might help you out:
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