Original | Odaily Planet Daily ( @OdailyChina )

Author | Asher ( @Asher_0210 )

Since Kaito launched the "Yap-to-Earn" mechanism, people have been gradually inundated with posts about "analysis of upcoming TGE projects" when they are scrolling. Such content has fancy titles and seemingly rigorous logic, but in essence lacks insight and is highly homogenized. The interactions in the comment section are mostly formalistic and exist only to earn points and rewards, regardless of the value of the project itself.

Then, Cookie launched Cookie Snaps , with the slogan of "analyzing crypto projects and KOLs, and obtaining high-quality CT content rewards", and today Galxe launched Starboard to help projects screen, attract and motivate key contributors in a data-driven way. The emergence of this series of incentive mechanisms has led to a large number of KOLs competing to publish project analysis posts in an attempt to share token airdrops. As a result, a new term has emerged in the circle of posting and commenting: "Zui Lu" - easily getting project token airdrops by posting and writing reviews.

The project gained popularity, KOLs received a large amount of tokens, but "interactive retail investors" were struggling

Apart from anything else, through the model of "posting to earn points, points exchanged for tokens", these recently launched projects have gained enough popularity before the tokens are issued. From the perspective of the project, although the quality of the content of KOLs varies, they do continue to create exposure for the project, trigger discussions, and let the project be seen and spread in the community. Whether it is a "screen-sweeping" analysis post or a "copy and paste" investment research summary, the existence of these contents is itself a kind of marketing - they warm up the project and help the project seize the user's mind before TGE.

However, this model of "all you have to do is talk about it if you want to get a token airdrop" has attracted complaints from "retail investors" who focus on research and insist on interacting - "Years of on-chain interaction is not as good as a random tweet from a KOL" :

• "After looking around at the SOON airdrop this time, I found that most of them were done by Kaito. There are more and more platforms for airdrops now, and airdrops are increasingly leaning towards long-term operations such as "content + reputation". There is really not much time left for small retail investors who are purely for airdrops."

• "I am really envious of the income of various Yappers, which is several thousand PROMPT coins. This year is really the first year for talking. It is better to produce some articles on X platform than to work hard on interaction";

• “Currently, on-chain interactions are not as good as direct interactions with Binance Alpha. Staking funds are insufficient and the returns are limited. The testnet is the domain of scientists, so the conclusion is: maybe you can still do it with your mouth.”

• …

KOLs can easily gain favor and token rewards from project owners by using the "talk-talk" model, while retail investors who work hard and interact with on-chain projects for years are increasingly feeling marginalized and powerless. As project airdrops tend to adopt a long-term operation model of "content + reputation", retail investors who once believed in "hard work pays off" are losing their original advantages, and the window of opportunity left for them is gradually narrowing.

Traditional hair pulling has entered a new era of "mouth pulling"

Traditional methods of making money may have reached a turning point. In the past, the hard work of "using multiple accounts to hang scripts and interacting with each other" was often eliminated by the witch system in the end - not only was the work in vain, but not even a single hair was seen. I have been running a project for several years with high expectations, but in the end, I got a "reverse" ending, which was completely disappointing.

At the same time, platforms such as Kaito and Cookie have lowered the threshold for participation in the form of content points and influence rewards, with faster returns, lower costs and greater potential. In the new landscape, a high-quality post on the X platform, with pictures and opinions, can generate more value than a week of on-chain interaction. Perhaps we should not just complain about our lack of influence and ignore the new way of "rolling" that is quietly taking shape - after all, in the traditional interactive roll-up model, can retail investors really get a share of the studio's internal volume?

Question "Zui Lu", understand "Zui Lu", join "Zui Lu"

Nowadays, the "mouth-rolling" that posts on the X platform is actually a form of "rolling" boutique accounts. Only by following the trend and actively adapting to the new "rolling" model can we get more token airdrops. So, for us retail investors, it is better to start with the following points:

• If you usually like to post on X platform, you might as well apply for a blue label (monthly payment is $11), which is convenient for long posts (there is no limit on the number of words for blue label users to post content) and easier to attract other people's attention;

• Interact more often in the comment area of other KOLs with high traffic, gain a deeper understanding of the project, attract other attention, and increase the number of fans;

• For the current popular TGE projects, keep track of the latest developments and express your personal opinions.

Let’s work together to usher in the era of “mouth stroking” for all.