During the Cryptoholic podcast this morning, a vital question was raised by one of the speakers (Owen, if I am not mistaken) about building projects in the Web 3 space, and what should be founders' approach towards building communities and projects. Should they build with what they have now or for the future? This is a pressing question and hardly discussed in the Web 3 space and its challenges for every platform or blockchain. So in today's post, I want to quickly explore this issue and also invite you to join in on the conversation in the comment section.
CHALLENGES IN BUILDING ON WEB 3
Most Web 3 businesses or blockchains or communities have the common challenge of determining how to build and not necessarily what to build. Most founders would rather play the long-term game by building for the future. However, the issue with this approach is that there are no guarantees. Funding still plays a huge part in how far or strong a platform can grow and most blockchains or projects do not have the funding or even community to do so.
Now those who decide to work with what they have are faced with another challenge--their current user base. The Web 3 space attracts grifters and hustlers who only ate here for the quick buck and that impacts how they interact with a platform or blockchain.
For instance, the other day on Leo I was talking about optics and shit posts and how that affects the platform. I also mentioned how building relationships on Leo through meaningful exchange/dialogue can improve the overall experience of users and attract new players into the space. However, there were people who brushed this off and clearly stated what their aim was on the platform: to make money. They are willing to do so at the expense of the platform and everyone in it.
Now, it is important I state here that wanting to make money and putting good/engaging content are not mutually exclusive. Creators can do both. Rather most people prefer to engage in spamming and shit posting because they assume that gives than the numeric advantage to earn more.
For a platform like InLeo which, unfortunately, has some users who think this way, how do they negate? Do they work with the users they have and maintain a high standard for the long run by rewarding high-value content? The answer isn't as simple as you might think.
On one hand, maintaining the highest standard might seem the ideal position to take, but the platform has to also take into consideration that the major demographic willing to use the platform now is from third and second-world countries and these people aren't entirely on their platform for the tech and social experience and might not contribute in a way that's best for the platform if not incentivised.
BUILDING WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
I have written about how to use incentives to condition people to do the right things (for themselves and the community) and I will just touch on it briefly. The important point I want to make here is that everyone has a role to play in the Web 3 space and can work towards making it better. We should not adopt this annalistic approach to the space that forces us to become bad actors and play this zero-sum game. It doesn't take a lot of people doing the right thing to counter the actions of bad actors in the space.
My major submission today is that blockchains, communities and Web 3 businesses should work with what they have and channel the strengths and resources of their community or userbase into productive things that can grow their ecosystem and business. There are not the right users but great and pragmatic founders/community leaders.
To get the best out of people you want to learn what drives them and use that for the collective good. InLeo, has that figured in a way. For instance, there are initiatives for hustlers and creators. They usually overlap and I think in the long run the team the team needs to find a way to separate these two things, and the only way around it is to increase the standard for hustlers and creators to a point where no one can do both effectively. So those who want to make money and don't care about the creative process can stick to hustling (Zealy campaigns), while those who care about content, relationships and building brands can do that on the platform. The same applies to investors.
CONCLUSION
The problem with our space in the crypto space is that we try to make people jacks of all trades. We can simplify their expenses and input to get the best out of people in the space. It is not an easy feat but it is doable in the long run.
Check out this short thread on products with potential airdrops.