[ From 200 to 2,000 Followers ] Today, I want to share a somewhat boring story. However, it’s a necessary discussion for many who are experiencing a ‘Yap’ phase right now. Thanks to @SentientAGI, it seems like I’m having a bit of a breakthrough lately, so I feel like I need to talk about this now or never. I especially hope that those with small accounts or those who have just started will take a moment to read this. > First of all, I finally surpassed the seemingly distant 2,000 followers! 👏 It’s all thanks to you. Thank you. 1⃣ May 2025, starting with 200 followers ▪ May 9, 2025 Impression “1” Daily impressions in single digits. 200 followers. Most of them were even ghost accounts. It was originally an account for participating in events. Of course, it’s my main account. ▪ May 14, 2025 Impression “300” I think I started ‘Yapping’ around this time. After that, nothing much happened. Then, I managed to secure the famous ‘Loud’ and became one of the few Korean rankers (around 300th), which led to a surge of followers towards the end. 26th +142 27th +205 28th +68 29th +186 30th +354 During the Loud period, I gained a whopping +955 new followers. Honestly, meeting Loud was a stroke of luck. 2⃣ June 2025, 1,100 followers ▪ Fragmented Impressions Despite the increased followers after Loud, my impressions hit rock bottom afterward. It’s only natural when you think about it. The players who participated in Loud - Some started Yapping for other projects - Some just quit altogether This is natural due to the nature of Yapping, which is project-based and operates on a ‘one by one’ basis. Followers tend to interact actively only if they are working on the same project. Especially for small accounts, it’s inevitable that the lack of followers becomes noticeable. ▪ Securing a Position Once a project wraps up, a Dip inevitably follows. Even with 1,100 followers, there were days when my daily impressions dropped to 500, indicating how deep that Dip was. The days when impressions spiked were mostly due to securing a project and entering the leaderboard. In particular, at the end of June, I secured @anoma and entered the leaderboard (7D, 30D). Anoma later selected the TOP 100 and offered rewards, resulting in a mindshare of over 11%. Securing such high-hype projects leads to many people running together, significantly increasing followers. Of course, only some of these people remain. This is unavoidable. However, securing a large project tends to retain relatively more followers. (The importance of securing good projects) From this point on, what’s needed is time. There’s no other way. It’s a cycle of dipping down and securing projects repeatedly. The important thing is that through this repetition, followers gradually remain. As you progress through projects, you can unknowingly raise the baseline a little bit. 3⃣ July-August 2025, the barrier of 1,700 → 1,900 ▪ 1,700 followers Having gone through several projects, I seem to have steadily built up to the 1,600-1,700 range. Each project I undertook added a few followers. Securing a position is more important than I initially thought. This is one reason why small accounts should focus on just one project. While rewards are important, to retain followers, you need to go deep with one. In fact, until this point, I hardly received any rewards except for Loud. (Stop the negativity!) ▪ The barrier of 1,700 → 1,900 The problem is that I really couldn’t break through the 1,700-1,900 range. Most people say that this range is tough, which makes me think it might represent the active number of Korean Yappers. From this point on, the growth becomes really slow. ▪ But the Dip always exists To make matters worse, at the end of August, a really deep Dip hit again. I really struggled during this time. The exposure itself, for some unknown reason, was completely shattered. I feel like my follower count has risen to a decent level, but despite being on the leaderboard, my exposure is nonexistent. It’s maddening. I think it’s a time when anyone would consider quitting. (I had many doubts myself.) - Some say Twitter’s algorithm is “trapping” Yappers - Some say the number of Yappers is decreasing - No matter how much I improve the quality of my posts, the exposure doesn’t come, leading to a feeling of being in a “slump.” However, this too shall pass. 4⃣ September 2025, 2,000 followers I secured another massive project called Sentient. Just before Sentient, I had about 1,950 followers. While working on Sentient, I gained about 100 followers in just a few days. 5⃣ What I want to say ▪ Securing projects is really important. I was honestly lucky with Loud. In an atmosphere where everyone was doing F4F, it was an opportunity to increase followers outside the norm, and I think it’s a chance that won’t come again. However, securing large projects like Anoma or Sentient can also provide an opportunity to increase followers by about 100-150. ▪ Dips always exist. Especially for small accounts, Dips come frequently. Even with 2,000 followers, Dips will appear. This isn’t because of my failure or someone else’s fault. It’s due to the nature of Yapping, which is project-based. However, when a deep Dip occurs, it’s easy to feel like I’m doing something wrong. As a result, many Yappers leave the scene without overcoming this phase. With time, when you meet good projects and connections, it will naturally resolve itself. Don’t look for the reason within yourself. It’s not your fault. 6⃣ About the future of Info-Fi ▪ I view @KaitoAI positively. Recently, more people have been viewing Info-Fi or the Yapping meta negatively. Many existing Yappers are likely concerned as well. During this time, I purchased a Yappibara to use as my PFP. Regarding recent opinions, I only partially agree. 1) Efficiency will decline from the peak in September-October (partially agree) Most whales will be listed in September-October. After that, we can only compete for a limited pie in the short term. If the market cools down, it will be even more so. Projects looking to list will naturally reduce the scale of rewards. All industries show similar patterns. 2) The Info-Fi meta will end (disagree) However, I find it hard to agree with this statement. Info-Fi has brought the Web3 marketing space into the limelight. Once an area is brought to light, it doesn’t easily revert back. The needs of projects and users align, so demand will inevitably continue. When the market turns bearish and rewards decrease, the number of participants will naturally drop. But think about it. When the market is bearish, risk-free profits can only be found in Yapping. ▪ Ultimately, consistency wins. As competition in Yapping intensifies, the number of people who can endure decreases. Ultimately, only those with a strong foundation or indomitable will can withstand this phase. Only those who endure this phase and build their foundation will benefit from the next upcycle that will eventually come. This is the essence of the cyclical industry. If you try to start again in the next upcycle, it will be hard to catch up with the foundation you’ve built during this time. Those who are currently benefiting from the upcycle have all built their foundation in the previous cycle. In fact, there were no rewards in the previous cycle because Info-Fi didn’t exist. However, even if a downcycle comes after October, as long as Kaito is alive, there will still be rewards, right? ▪ Don’t confuse equality of opportunity with equality of outcome. Sometimes, I see people raising such complaints. They say it’s an uneven playing field where large accounts take everything. To be honest, it’s really uncomfortable for me, even though I’m a small account. What these people want is equality of outcome. They want everyone to share equally regardless of performance. There’s a place just north of our country like that. If Kim Bunyoo were to shoot a TV commercial (which he probably couldn’t), which ad would be more effective: BTS coming out with the product and saying “Gm” or Kim Bunyoo explaining the product’s advantages? If I were the advertiser, it would be easy to think about where I would spend my money. I wouldn’t give money to someone like Kim Bunyoo. But Info-Fi does give money. In my view, Kaito is the least “tilted” advertising market. - Kim Bunyoo is not in the inner circle - Kim Bunyoo has no crypto base - Yet, he is provided with opportunities to rise like this. In such a good market, I won’t easily leave. I noticed that tagging @SonicLabs in such a long post gives rewards. Thank you for reading this long text. Go Soniclabs!