If you’ve been following Artfunder, you know that we recently embraced decentralization and the new crypto social network, BitClout. After covering the arts for over a year, we’ve come to believe that the crypto space is having a big positive impact in the arts economy and in the lives of many emerging artists. It’s a trend we want to accelerate.

(To mark our focus on the BitClout platform, we’ve begun minting #ARTCASH NFTs by various artists each week!)

However, members of our community have brought it to our attention that creating your first BitClout account (which includes a crypto wallet) is rather complex and even intimidating! ?

Today we’re providing an easy setup guide for quickly and securely creating your first account on BitClout.com using the Google Login option. We promise that it’s just as easy as setting up a traditional social account.

How To Create a BitClout Account

1) Go to BitClout.com and click ‘Sign Up’.

2) Choose your login method.

For most people with a Google account, we recommend the ‘Log in with Google’ option. It’s an easy way to get started that doesn’t preclude you from securing your assets in other ways later on when you’re more familiar with BitClout.

We highly recommend that you ensure your Google account is secured with 2-Step verification (eg. via Google Authenticator). We also recommend eliminating the risk of SIM Swap scams by completely removing your phone number as a security credential on your Google account.

Keep in mind that using the Google login option carries counter-party risk. In other words, if your Google account gets hacked, your BitClout account could be hacked as well.

Note: Crypto users who are comfortable managing a ‘seed phrase’ may want to select ‘Sign up with Seed’. We’re focusing on the Google method in this article.

3) Grant BitClout.com Google Drive permissions.

BitClout must have permission to store and access your seed phrase via a secure enclave of your Google Drive.

4) Secure your seed phrase.

A seed phrase is something akin to a backup code or password for your account which can’t be changed or expired. Since you’re using the Google login method, it’s logical (perhaps counterintuitively) to skip this step entirely. That is, to neglect to store and manage your seed phrase yourself. The reason for this is because storing your seed phrase in both Google Drive and in another secure location effectively doubles the ways in which your account could be compromised. Don’t skip this step unless you really trust your Google set up!

See this article on bitcoin.com for a few good ideas on how to store your seed phrase securely. A simple way to do this is to write it down on a piece of paper and then store your paper in a secure location.

5) Update your profile.

You should now see a screen like the above. Click ‘Update Profile’ in the left sidebar, and then ‘Get Starter BitClout’ to complete your account setup. You’re now almost ready to start updating your profile page with your impressive bio details and a snazzy photo.

6) Verify your phone number.

This step protects the BitClout network from spam. By completing this step, you’ll get a small amount of $CLOUT for free from the wizard @Merlin!

If you don’t want to use a phone number, you’ll currently need to find another way to fund your account with approximately $0.10 worth of $CLOUT (this requirement also combats spam). You can do this by navigating to the ‘Buy BitClout’ screen and purchasing some CLOUT with either USD or bitcoin.

Feel free to reach out to members of the Artfunder community to help you get rolling with some free starter CLOUT!

7) Complete your profile:

Click ‘Profile’ in the left sidebar to go to your front page, then click ‘Update Profile’ near the top right of the page. Add your content on the next page.

8) Set your ‘Founder Reward Percentage’

Aside from the common account tidbits you’d typically add to a social site (username, bio, photo, etc.), on BitClout you also set a Founder Reward Percentage (FRP). This is a fee that gets paid to you whenever someone buys your unique Creator Coin.

The price of your Creator Coin rises as it is purchased. So, a standard approach is to buy some of your own coins early on while they’re cheap. Another idea is to just use your FRP revenue to continually purchase your own coins over time.

Here’s a cool video by Andrew Arrow that does a great job of explaining how BitClout FRP dynamics play out in a few scenarios:

Hopefully that helps you to get rolling confidently on BitClout! You can read more about Creator Coins and Founder Rewards in the BitClout documentation. For further Artfunder perspectives on related topics, check out: How the Creator Economy Can Truly Benefit the Arts