A friendly take, trying to be helpful: I think there's a huge part missing in this worthy conversation and question:
Many people have missed the key to Bert and his success.
'Bert is great.' I agree. But why?
I've been drawn to Bert since day 1. I like dogs. I think Bert is cute and brings me joy. But that's not WHY I'm drawn to Bert.
If you try to sketch out things that make a great Farcaster, what would be in there:
* Supports the ecosystem
* Encourages people and lifts them up
* Engages in new technology and projects
* Goes above and beyond in support, help, jumping into things
That's why @bertwurst.eth is the number 1 account. With four paws and 2 opposable thumbs of Assistant #1, there are few, if any, accounts that are more supportive of the Farcaster eco than Bert. There are few accounts that have given more to crowdfunds, hypersubs, off handed tips than Bert. There aren't a whole lot that have tried more projects than Bert.
That's what people are missing. Sure there are lots of pics of the life of a dog, but they are also VERY clever and an example of 'great content' that is normie-centric, but behind the scenes there is a lot of 'building' going on and a handful of posts a week are killer---that most don't see because 'it's just dog pics.'
Is it strange for FC that a dog is number 1?
Only as strange as the fact that many of the best people here (and on the leaderboard are known by pseudononmyous personas--pugson, july, m00npapi, etc and I would say go look at their posts too.
Pick an account you love. I'll put the whole of Bert's work in casts and in DMs and behind the scenes up against it for a picture of a great Farcaster.
If we got a testimonial from everyone Bert has helped and supported. and gathered all the non-dog photo casts, I don't think there'd be a lot of questions about why he's #1.
Hope that helps. Not trying to defend, only explain what I think many are missing.
https://farcaster.xyz/dwr.eth/0xbdb2055f
https://farcaster.xyz/macbudkowski/0x3811a38e
