The Ultimate Guide to Friend Tech
This hot new social media platform uses cryptocurrency to incentivize growth, reward creators and build communities. Here's how it works.
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I've joined Friend Tech, a social media platform that allows users to purchase 'shares' in creators, granting them private access to VIP chats. My official name is AlecTorelli.
I just spent $500 on it. Here's why.
First, think of Friend Tech as paid access to your favorite people. Only 'key' or share owners can interact with others.
The essential question and the core value offering of Friend Tech is:
'How much would you pay to have a private VIP chat with your favorite people?'
Watch the full video here:
Here's where it gets interesting. It seems that Friend Tech uses what's called a 'bonding curve', which increases share prices exponentially.
This is a double-edged sword. For those who buy early, share prices are cheap and they can profit.
Total Value Locked ($) Since Friend Tech Launch
Naturally, this creates serious speculative demand. High share prices are hard to sustain as speculators sell to take profits. For those who have followed my journey for several years, Friend Tech reminds me a lot of Bitclout.
Be careful when buying shares.
How Friend Tech Works
Friend Tech uses Ethereum as the cryptocurrency of the network. It connects directly to your Twitter so users can see and verify the profiles of the people whose shares they are purchasing.
To create an account, you need an invite code. Each new account is granted three, and more are generated as they are used. For those wanting to join, here are some Friend Tech invite codes:
ft-nl4byatx
ft-wnrza0j6
ft-s0zns9wz
ft-wifuotsg
Note: I’ll update these codes as they are used. If these codes expire and you need another one, simply DM me on Twitter, or IG or leave a comment here.
Once you create your account, you must deposit Ethereum (via a wallet like Metamask) to fund it so you can buy shares. From what I've observed, you can sell shares and cash out the ETH back to your wallet at any time.
Here’s a simple tutorial for how to get started.
Not into cryptocurrency? You can use Privy to seamlessly use Friend Tech without even knowing you are using crypto. It’s awesome!
Why I Spent $500 on Friend Tech
As was the case with Bitclout, I believe it's best to buy one's own shares if they are intending to use the platform. This is essentially like owning 'stock' in your own account.
If you provide value through chats and grow your account, you will own shares in it!
Naturally, there's a push-pull component here. You don't want to buy a bunch of shares, pump your account, and then dump 100% of your shares on your holders.
You want them to benefit as well in a win-win dynamic, so be mindful.
I purchased $500 of my own shares on Friend Tech. I want to create a floor price on my shares for my holders, stabilize the price, and let them know that I'm investing in myself. I also had to act fast.
People were snipping up shares the second I created an account (I tweeted that I needed an invite). Most importantly, I'm okay with losing what I invested, and I believe people should think with that mindset before acting.
Besides, there's some novelty to it. I like speculating on new projects and keeping up to date with how things are evolving in crypto.
Friend Tech Economics
Friend Tech charges a 10% transaction fee to buy and sell shares. 5% goes to the creator, giving them an incentive to utilize their account. This is paid in ETH and can be cashed out immediately, but doesn't affect the share price.
The ‘tax’ allows creators to monetize their time and create a win-win synergy with their holders. 5% goes to the Friend Tech treasury.
Check out this page for full details of Friend Tech’s adoption stats.
I am concerned about sustainability as I wrote about in a recent Tweet. The TL;DR is don’t risk what you can’t afford to lose.
Benefits of Friend Tech
"Key" holders can chat with their favorite people on a daily basis. As you can imagine, one can get creative with the value they offer in their chats. Perhaps they give niche-specific tips or a first look at what they are investing in.
Chats also contain an element of prestige and novelty in that you are not only connecting with others but are sure they have overlapping interests as the tech requires crypto to utilize.
Some creators are even returning value to their ‘key’ holders by offering giveaways. For example, a poker player can randomly give away 1% of their next tournament buy-in to one of their Friend Tech key holders. Who knows, I may do this in the future!
Risks of Friend Tech
Friend Tech is new and by no means guaranteed to succeed. It could easily fail. I would NOT recommend buying a share to speculate that it will go up in hopes of selling it later. Please do not buy my shares in hopes of making a profit.
I'm on the platform for now because it's fun and novel, but if it fails to gain adoption I may not use it long-term.
'Keys' do not grant you any ownership in the creator. They only grant you access to chat with them at the creator's discretion.
Second, Friend Tech does not have a public privacy policy. This has caused some to raise questions about how the data is being used.
If you use Friend Tech, I believe a best practice is to create a fresh wallet that is only used for it.
How to Grow Your Friend Tech
The best way to grow your Friend Tech is the same you would any other social media platform - provide value to your followers.
The fundamental question to ask yourself is, why would someone want to be in a group chat with me?
Although chats can vary in theme, I recommend creating a focus and attracting like-minded people to your group. This will allow others to network through your community.
Second, you can offer incentives for people to join. If you are an artist, for example, you can offer a custom piece of work to your top Friend Tech holder. You can do giveaways to random holders for your upcoming prints.
There are many ways to grow your Friend Tech, and the use cases are still being explored. Get creative.
Friend Tech Airdrop
Friend Tech has a dedicated ‘airdrop’ section with a points ranking system, invite codes, and rank.
Many are speculating that they will issue a token in the future, and the more rewards you accumulate the more tokens you will receive. Naturally, these tokens will have a dollar price, and since many in crypto like to speculate, the airdrop could be worth a large sum.
I’ve received several airdrops in the past, some worth thousands of dollars, like ENS (which I immediately sold for Ethereum).
While I’m not personally using the platform exclusively to receive future tokens, I do believe it’s an added benefit to those who grow a following early and refer others. I think of it like a freeroll in a poker game.
Final Thoughts on Friend Tech
I was very early to Bitclout and watched the platform get hyped and ultimately fail to gain adoption.
Whether Friend Tech will follow in its footsteps or actually succeed is yet to be determined. The app is slow and has limited features.
I like that they use Ethereum instead of their own currency, as it avoids additional speculation and gives creators confidence they are getting paid in a solid currency.
The bonding curve is a double-edged sword I have mixed feelings on. Some will profit, while others will 'buy the top' and lose.
I don't believe Friend Tech should be used for speculation, but only if one sincerely wants to utilize the feature of connecting with others.
As is always the case, the odds are that it fails to gain mainstream adoption but remember, you can sell shares and ‘cash out’ at any time.
Nevertheless, I'm enjoying using it for now.
I'll be chatting with my holders about crypto, poker, investing and answering any questions they have.
You can follow me on there at 'AlecTorelli'.
Have questions about Friend Tech? Drop them here in a comment.
Alec