A few years ago, if you wanted to understand memecoin communities, you had to join their individual Telegram groups. In 2024, they went “mainstream” on X, formerly Twitter, developing their own communities and creating memecoin crossover communities on one of the largest social media platforms.
Why have they gravitated to X? If you check the size of the audience, the answer is clear.
On March 18, X posted a series of tweets to illuminate the number of people using the popular social media platform.
According to their tweet, “250 million people use X everyday. 550 million people visit the global town square every month.”
When memecoins want to speak directly to their audience, or “degens” at large, they obviously post memes, but clearly, not everything can be conveyed in a meme. They can post articles, though usually they don’t.
Memecoin audiences are immediate – they want to speak directly to their projects. And the platform has an answer for that – memecoins are taking to X Spaces.
How to Improve Your Twitter (X) Spaces
I am the co-founder of Lambow, the Base meme project for builders and entrepreneurs. I have also hosted hundreds of Spaces shows over the past 3 years – for Benzinga, Gotbit, Lambow, and as guest host for many other crypto and memecoin projects. I have hosted audiences of literally between 8 and 420,000 people.
Here is my list, in no particular order, of how to improve your own spaces and what to look for in a well-run show.
- Have a Clear Theme - There are hundreds of other Spaces shows people can tune into. Make your show’s mission simple and compelling and you will find your audience.
- Stop the Shill & Chills - I can’t really say these have no place, but I have found that the open-ended nature of these shows makes them drag terribly. If you are going to use this as your format, keep time limits on speakers so you can keep it moving along.
- Don’t Call it a “Call” – This is a mindset thing. Yes, it happens on the phone and others tune in to talk with you, but the comparison stops there. If you think of your Spaces show like you think of conference calls, you are going to end up with a show that feels like a meeting.
- Dead Air is the Enemy -. 5 seconds of dead air feels like a lifetime and invites your audience to tune out. If necessary, I will narrate what is happening or switch to a tangential thought about blockchain, but I do not leave my audience hanging by being silent.
- The Show Must Go On - I have hosted Spaces with food poisoning. I have hosted many Spaces where I was unaware of the guests, topic, or even that the show was happening until right before going on air. If you do your job, no one will ever know.
- Love your Guests - Excellent relationships with guests is a huge benefit when running a show. For me, the equation is very much like when I was directing theatre – you only succeed if your performers are succeeding. You look good when they look good.
- Mind Your Traffic Control - Again, very much like managing a stage show, you are there to facilitate other people speaking. I think of the panel as an orchestra of voices – the best shows play all the different notes guests have to share.
- Stick to Your Time Limit - I plan 1-hour shows and find that to be more or less ideal. Shows almost always run over time. But some of the urgency of the show is lost when you schedule a 4-hour show or a show with no clear end time.
- Always Be Learning - As a host, my job is to fill the panel with people who know more than I do. When I am asking the fundamental questions of my guests, I am fulfilling my role as host, to stand in for the audience and find out what they need to know.
- Know Your Topic - It’s not hard to be prepared – take 30 minutes to read the headlines and make some notes. Remember - you aren’t trying to come to a definitive answer on the topic, you are searching for the fundamental questions.
- Don’t Play with Trolls - When someone wants to derail the flow of your conversation by drumming up an argument with another guest or about something completely off-topic, mute them or remove them as speaker. It’s your duty to be in charge, and if you don’t, your audience loses out.
- Audience Size Doesn’t Matter - It’s nice when the big audiences roll in, but you have to put forth the best show possible no matter what. I’ve done shows with over 400,000 people tuning in -- it did not change my life. The biggest shows are not always the most rewarding.
- Love What You Are Doing - As host, if you aren’t having fun, neither is anyone else. If you can’t find something to love about doing the show, then find someone else to host for you and just produce the show.
- Stop Trying to be Joe Rogan - I’m fine with your use of cannabis. Some shows are fine with lots of profanity (I find it distracting, so I avoid it.) But if your opening line is, “F-ck, I’m so high” then try finding a new host to imitate. I am a big fan of Larry King and Conan O’Brien, and it does inform the way I ask questions.
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Be Relentless - When you are doing X spaces, you have no tech support. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong. But it isn’t really a problem until you as the host say it is. This is a long-term effort and ultimately your belief in your own show will serve you.
For memecoins, there is virtually no such thing as too much communication. If your supporters wanted to never hear from the founders, they could buy Apple or Intel stock. Your community has invested in your meme, your brand, and your founders.
Whether through Spaces, YouTube, or a blog, keep talking to your audience. Let them know what you are thinking and allow them to participate – fulfilling the Web3 promise of a two-way exchange between creator and audience. Keep your community close, learn from them, and let them help guide your ever-evolving narrative.
Greater devotion to building something real with your audience helping you from the ground up will ultimately help the memespace and give us more projects that are producing real value.