The evolution of web1 through to web2 has played a huge role in the concept of how the digital space has evolved. While the era of Web1 was termed “read only’,” Web2 became a phase, witnessing the integration of more contributors with regards to the web series. Succinctly, web1 and web2 seem to have a common denominator, which is the fact that they were both centralized. Web3 has taken on a better form, with many prospects for the future.
Although Google, Facebook, TikTok, and all the digital ads (also known as Web2) may seem overwhelming at the time, Web3 may become much more familiar as it’s gradually becoming the most recent buzzword in the tech space. The beauty, however, is that both developers and common people are increasingly adopting it.
A robust community is the foundation of every successful Web3 project. As the world of web3 develops employing slang that keeps the community optimistic, especially in difficult circumstances such as a bear market. They include terms like “Gm,” “WAGMI,” “HODL,” and “Wen mint?” This might not appear to be very inclusive to new Web3 users, but for the community members, their bond is what makes a project successful.
INTRODUCTION
Currently, there are a good number of brands that are building in Web3, delivering a variety of cutting-edge services, use cases, and functionalities. Even though they provide advantages, many of them frequently struggle to find widespread adoption. Some succeed and gain notoriety, but when the market turns negative, they finally disappear.
Overcoming this can be quite difficult, and many projects eventually leave the ecosystem after many tries and failures. There are a ton of methods you need to have in your toolbox if your brand or project has to grow and gain traction to attract users. Having a strong and active community is one of the key factors that give a brand or project an advantage in the web3 industry.
WEB3 IN A NUTSHELL
Web3 refers to the upcoming iteration of the internet, which is based on decentralization as opposed to centralization. The World Wide Web, as we currently understand it, is a platform that is owned and managed by a small number of businesses. These businesses have massive levels of influence over what we see and do online.
All of that changes with Web3. Web3 is powered by blockchain technology. This technology is not governed by a single organization. All network transactions are tracked by the blockchain, a decentralized public ledger. This shows that the network is completely open and transparent, with no single entity or person in control of it. Furthermore, it has been established that decentralized ownership systems are more resilient to censorship and other forms of control because there isn’t a single vulnerability that can be taken advantage of.
DOES WEB3 VALUE CULTURAL COMMUNITY BUILDING?
While it may not seem like the organized world of the blockchain and the idea of the community fit together, they are highly intertwined when it comes to Web3. Web3 is centered on the broader idea of decentralization, which supports networks where no one entity has control. Its operation depends on widespread user accord and agreement. Restoring people’s or users’ power will eventually birth a free and fair state where control over users’ data, creations, finances, and other things will be maintained.
At this point, it’s easy to carefully introduce the concept of community building in Web 3.
A community is a collection of people who share a common interest or objective. In terms of Web3, the trend is primarily centered around the community. Because having a community that embraces the fundamental tenets and mission of decentralization and also works together to support its objectives is essential to its success. With Web3, the focus is less on users and monopolies and more on people coming together as a community to make decisions rather than a small group of people doing so on behalf of the entire population.
WHY EVERY WEB3 BRAND NEEDS A COMMUNITY
Building communities has long been a crucial part of global business growth strategies. Since humans first started producing goods and rendering services, we have created a variety of strategies for interacting with the community, including PROs, welfare programs, education, and entertainment.
For example, every quarter, early businesses offered charitable services to orphanages, war victims, scholarship funds, TED speeches, etc. The objective is to mobilize support for them based on their altruistic endeavors in these communities. While some businesses have found this to be highly effective, the rise of Web2 has witnessed a change in how corporations draw in customers and create communities. With all the inferences that can be drawn, web2 firms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter may have had proper reasons for investing resources in creating a platform where communities could easily relate and communicate, as well as foster healthy relationships.
While the importance of community has been reflected in the business of Web2 brands, it is necessary for Web3 founders to further build on these structures, making it a vital part of the growth of its ecosystem and the behemoths of projects it will likely build in the future.
PLATFORMS FOR WEB3 COMMUNITIES
To successfully run a Web3 community, some salient social media platforms ought to be effectively utilized. Web3 communities may exist on blockchains in the future, but for now, centralized platforms offer the mechanisms that make communities more socially cohesive and participatory, resulting in making community creation easier.
The following are the top four social media platforms for web3 community building, listed in no particular order:
- Discord
- Telegram
DISCORD
Due to its integrated moderation systems, Discord is progressively replacing Facebook as the preferred community infrastructure for the majority of Web3 projects. When Discord first debuted in 2015, its main goal was to serve as a social network for gaming communities.
However, it has attracted the interest of millions from the Web3 industry. More so, it has great features like limitless file storage, verification, bot moderation, and sub-channels. Popular Web3 influencers have also stated that it will most likely be the best social media channel for creating Web3 communities.
Web3 projects can, for instance, construct token-gated channels on Discord that are only accessible to users who have their tokens. They can also carry out community events like giveaways, competitions, etc. with ease.
While the majority of DAOs run their protocols on blockchains, they do all their operations via Discord servers. Members of the FWB DAO, for instance, have access to various online forums where they may talk about topics like parenting, music, and the cryptocurrency market. They also have channels devoted to talking about missions, governance, etc.
Discord’s insights tab, which gives users access to useful data about the performance and engagement of servers, is one of its most crucial features.
This platform has a swift feel, unlike the others, it’s often referred to as crypto Twitter. To ardent Web3 lovers of the platform, one can readily agree that one of the main reasons why they frequently engage the platform each day is because they intend to keep up with the concise, decentralized view of what’s happening around the world.
The term “Crypto Twitter” refers to Twitter’s present role as the primary global forum for cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Building a Web3 community around it enables a project to gain traction and broadens its audience to more seasoned individuals in the Web3 sector. Furthermore, project features like hashtags, quote tweets, pinned tweets, threads, spaces, etc. might be useful community marketing tools.
Additionally, Twitter makes it simple for owners to gather information on the effectiveness and development of its community by analyzing the number of retweets, space visitors, likes, and replies.
TELEGRAM
Telegram is well-known for its limitless cloud storage and sophisticated community management capabilities. A Telegram group can have over 100,000 members and give them access to prior community discussions and crucial files, unlike WhatsApp, which is relatively limited in handling huge communities.
As moderators can impose partial/total bans or time-limit bans on defaulters like spammers and shills, Telegram’s moderation capabilities ensure that the community remains more focused on its intended goals. Since Telegram permits the use of bots to govern communities, everything is rather simple.
Furthermore, you can simply onboard more community members from various countries. Amazingly, there could also be synchronization of Telegram groups and channels by dividing them into various groups that are all connected to the primary channel for the project.
Web3 communities on Telegram typically focus more on gathering feedback and providing round-the-clock support by replying to community inquiries. It’s a good forum for community discussion about a project’s whitepaper and roadmaps.
Lastly, most Web3 projects have used Telegram to run airdrops in the past to make sure community members finish certain tasks. However, this strategy is less appealing now that it’s a common way for scammers to run fake airdrops.
Reddit is one of the social media networks that Gen Zers utilize the most. Users can upvote and downvote information on Reddit, where it appears in a format similar to a bulletin board. This aids in structuring conversations that will draw potential community participants.
Additionally, it helps you determine the kinds of content that are well-liked by your community. To buttress further this, if your materials receive a lot of upvotes, your project can quickly become well known.
Memes are also known to grow well on Reddit, making it simple to incorporate them to increase community involvement. On this platform also, AMAs can be hosted to discuss the Project and its features. As a result of this whole process interplay, the project will gradually garner more attention and reputation.
More so, one can quickly increase traffic to the community by responding to questions in certain subreddits that are pertinent to the project in less time than it will take on most other social media platforms.
COMMUNITY BUILDING IN WEB3
With novel business models, market trends, and customer behaviors that differ from those found in traditional marketplaces, the web3 industry is still very young. Decentralization and communal ownership are the cornerstones on which Web3 is based, therefore, regardless of their utility, all Web3 initiatives should be determined by their respective communities.
One of the beauties of Web3 community integration with regards to decentralization is that Web3 founders transfer responsibility from a small team in their basement to a varied group of people worldwide across multiple cultures with experience in various fields of life by ceding control to the community as Bondex does. Having an understanding also that cryptocurrency projects are designed with community incentives that expands naturally and independently, web3 seems to be a common ally. Aside from its utility, nothing draws individuals close to a project than a sense of ownership and belonging. This is what makes web3 so appealing. Without it, there is no guarantee that projects will stand the test of time, especially during a bear market.
To further buttress the idea of community building in web3, imagine that every Rolex timepiece was distinct and came with owners’ commercial rights. Also, visualize a state where the creators on YouTube acquire some kind of ownership over the platform as a result of their work. Compared to the reality of today and what these brands are currently experiencing, the network will be more significant and more long-lasting. Due to their sense of ownership over the platform, owners and creators will want to continue working on Rolex and Youtube even if a more inventive watch company or social media site emerges.
The crypto community’s use of crowdfunding and the development of various projects have made it today’s web3 space powerhouse. Bitcoin is currently the largest digital currency in the world, with over 50 million wallet addresses. Without a community of ardent supporters and miners, it would currently be worthless. The belief and arduous efforts of its community are reflected in the market capitalization of Bitcoin. Even Satoshi Nakamoto understood the value of a community, which is why, in 2009, he established the Bitcoin-talk forum.
HOW WEB3 VALUES AND REWARDS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY
Founders give back to their community in several ways to empower members who champion their Web3 initiative. They initially reward early adopters with incentives like airdrops that guarantee delivery of the finished product by retaining and energizing their members as they build. This is a reflection of how web3 founders and startups prioritize community at their early stage of development. In exchange, the community promotes the product on various social media networks, increasing the project’s visibility.
One key project in the crypto space that has successfully integrated the idea of community membership rewards is the Bored Ape Yacht Club. As an enterprise, it has grown significantly by using the influence of crypto communities (BAYC). 10,000 Bored Ape NFTs were included in BAYC’s April 2021 launch, and owners received commercial usage rights. That would be the equivalent of paying 10,000 people to sell and expand your NFT world while also enlisting their assistance.
The creators of BAYC, Yuga Labs, then focused all of their product offerings on Bored Apes owners, including Mutant Apes, ApeCoin, and other metaverse projects. Owners of BAYC NFTs have organized several community gatherings in New York, Hong Kong, and other locations due to the strong sense of community there. This was also done without the assistance of Yuga Labs, spending money on advertising, or receiving any VC funding. BAYC rose to prominence in the web3 industry through an effective community.
CONCLUSION
The power and influence that community building wields cannot be dissociated from web3 and a prospective budding system that can come from it. Ceding a reasonable portion of power and control to users has proven to be a way forward in the entire decentralized ecosystem.
Projects like Yuga Labs and Dogecoin truly led this revolution, among others, and the results are reflective. Communities offer genuine opportunities to all participants. They promote diversity and innovation, which are crucial when it comes to the creation of open-source software. Not only do communities try to draw in investors and developers, but they also try to inspire users who will be passionate about the project’s offerings and use cases.
Without further ado, effective community-building strategies will make for a more successful web3 brand.
