ff3 #2: The WAGMI principle
Why community building is central to Web3
ff3 is a movement that believes in the power of Web3, and the potential it holds for the next generation of founders, startups, and investors.
Spend some time on Web3 Discord channels or Telegram chats, and it won’t be long until you’ll see the same word popping up again and again—WAGMI.
In case you’re wondering, it’s an acronym for ‘We All Gonna Make It’. WAGMI may have started as a meme but has quickly become a central motif across the Web3 community. It’s a motto that Web3 followers chant and repeat, whether as a general greeting, a snappy sign off, or a response to any good news from the community.
It represents something bigger: the sentiment that this new iteration of the internet isn’t about individual gain, but rather about the success of the collective. Community is a core value of Web3—some would even go as far to say it's the very definition of Web3. Whether that’s tapping into the power of the collective to propel projects, or using decentralised technology to reward community members, it all harks back to nostalgic aspirations of the internet. A vision of the web as a shared resource which encouraged collaboration, cooperation, and open sourcing.
With these new dynamics, we could be seeing as fundamental a shift as the transition from feudalism to early democracy. Here’s why community should be the first thing you think about when building in Web3.
Replacing old broken communities
Humans are inherently social creatures. Since days of hunting-and-gathering, we’ve learned that our interests are best met as a collective. We’ve always found relevant ways of communing, whether that’s through religion, cooperatives, or more recently, Whatsapp groups.
And yet physical communities have been in fast decline in recent years. Religion, once a primary function for cohesion and community, has seen a slump in engagement: membership at places of worship in the US dropped below 50% for the first time in 2020, down from 70% in 1999. In the UK, years of underfunding has seen youth club attendance plummet.
This is in parallel with a decline in trust for major institutions, particularly government and financial institutions, especially after the 2008 financial crisis. While in areas of the world nationalism is solidifying, in many other respects it is eroding. Globalisation has created feelings of both global connectivity and statelessness: the former underlining the sense of commonality we feel with people on the other side, and the latter emphasising how difficult it is for certain groups to find belonging anywhere in the physical world.
And yet, humans are still tribal: they seek to belong. Many, particularly younger generations, have sought online communities. Even from the early days of the internet, forum sites like Reddit have had sustained popularity: but connections to these sorts of communities are transient, engaging users perhaps for short bursts until they find the next group to align to or cause to back.
Social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube have gathered users around shared interests through pages, groups, and channels. But even here there’s an inherent inequality in the dynamic. These platforms extract, rather than add to, the value of the community, profiting financially off creators, subjecting users to advertising, or harvesting our data.
The overall picture is one of an infrastructure which is no longer fit for purpose: neither for the interests of the community they serve, nor in their ability to sustain themselves in the long term.
Community first
Web3, as we discussed last month, promises to put right many of the failures of Web2. The solution being presented here? Flip the dynamics of the relationship, from one where a community is created to be profited off, to a place where communities generate and sustain value for their members.
Decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) are the blueprints of new community organising in Web3. Members gather together with a sense of collective purpose or intention. Two key types of DAO exist:
Ownership is at the heart of these communities. Web2 communities are inherently broken because their members feel little to no ownership over them: decisions are made out of their control, while users have little incentive to continue to engage with them. Web3 is characterised by ownership: members own a piece of that community, and are therefore incentivised to stay engaged.
For many of these groups, the concept of community ownership is powerful enough in and of itself. A group called PleasrDAO has the explicit aim of exploring novel concept of digital and community ownership: their most prolific example being the purchase of Wu-Tang Clan’s one-of-a-kind album Once Upon A Time in Shaolin (the concept which in itself is considered by many to be a natural predecessor to NFTs). Another interesting use case was ConstitutionDAO, a movement to buy one of the original copies of the US Constitution at auction. Although they lost out, the momentum behind the group, and their ability to raise $47 million, shows the enthusiasm behind these projects and what they symbolically represent.
One of the side benefits of ownership is financial reward—one of the reasons why some have dubbed these groups ‘socioeconomic networks’. Tokens are a popular way to incentivise members to first join, then engage, then grow the communities that they’re a part of. The growth of the community corresponds to a growth in value for members. Take Braintrust, where both creators and clients receive BTRST tokens for referring other clients or talent to the community: in return, they can spend these on enhancing the visibility of job posts, or to upskill themselves to elevate their profile.
Similar financial incentives apply to play-to-earn environments, such as Axie Infinity. Axie “rewards players for the time and effort they spend both playing the game and growing the ecosystem”. In the Philippines, where Axie is most popular, play-to-earn has become a primary form of income for swathes of players.
Incentives don’t have to be financial, though. That many tokens or NFT collections are ‘illiquid’ (people are reluctant to sell) points to the fact that many members are in it 1) for the long haul, and 2) for something more than money. This deeper interaction may take several forms. This might be through exclusive access or gated content. Temple, a fan membership platform built in our Venture Studio, uses a token-based system to enhance engagement between creators and their fans, offering closer access to their content. Think Patreon for Web3.
You may even see forms of physical interaction with the community. Friends With Benefits (FWB) offers token holders exclusive access to music nights and events. NFT collection/self-professed lifestyle brand Desperate Ape Wives recently hosted parties around the world for DAW holders.
Another benefit is governance: by having a stake in these communities, members have influence over decision making. This might be in a professional context: at Braintrust, token holders can contribute to discussions on improvements for the platform, propose changes, and vote on proposals.
There’s also an inherent accountability to these communities, unlike previous communities which have failed at preventing trolling, online abuse, and scamming. Blockchains ensure a decentrally agreed chain of truth—in short, that everything can be verified and traced back to you, irreversibly. You can’t just write or do what you want anymore without consequences.
Don’t underestimate the power of community
The momentum of Web3 communities underlines the notion that our lives and identities are increasingly hybrid (physical and online). Our digital assets represent more than just our eclectic taste in art (or our penchant for ape JPEGs), they represent our preferences, our values, and the communities we want to be associated with. You just have to scroll through Twitter, and see the number of NFT profile pics, to understand this.
Successful Web3 projects will be the ones who can successfully harness the power of the community. Community will be your flywheel for growth, marketing, hiring, and much more. It’s for this reason we see a community lead being one of the earliest hires for Web3 startups.
We’re even seeing the potential for how communities can become self-sustaining. VitaDAO is a collective for community-governed and decentralised drug development, specifically in the longevity space. Members can earn tokens through contributing funds, work, or valuable research data or IP assets; in return, they’re given governance and decision making power. Imagine a pharmaceutical company funded, owned, and operated by the same community. Pretty powerful right?
The potential of community building in Web3 is enormous. From a social perspective, we’re seeing brand new dynamics to incentivise community engagement and encourage interaction. It’s a recognition that these organisations rely on their community, not the other way round. And for professionals, we could be seeing the birth of new employment dynamics, already riding on the wave of the growth of the creator economy and the Great Resignation, where workers take back control of how often they work, and how fairly they’re compensated for it.
Or to distil this all down into a short, pithy motto…WAGMI.
📚 Recommend reads
On community building
Infinity Revenues, Infinity Possibilities (Not Boring) - the exciting world of Axie Infinity, and the incentives for community
Braintrust: Fighting Capitalism with Capitalism (Not Boring) - breaking down Braintrust’s tokenomics model and how it rewards members
Membership NFTs (natimuril) - NFTs as an alternative to tokens, and how they foster community
Web3 Social Landscape (Forefront) - new social dynamics of Web3 and the role communities play
Today’s Web3 Communities: The McMansions of the Internet (Dark Star)
Squad Wealth (Other Internet)
Joe Constitution (Joe Shmoe NFT) - an in-depth guide to creating functioning DAOs
General
w3.fund - general news and updates on Web3
🚀 Web3 projects & opportunities
Project Lime - we’re building a DeFi insurance platform in our Venture Studio, and we’re looking for a founder to lead the project. Find out more and apply here
Bad Influence - a new NFT collection from pop artist Jor Ros and teams behind Marvel and Assassins Creed
Cherry Crypto - a new fund supporting entrepreneurs building in Web3
D3 - a new news and media network built on the core principles of Web3
Bored Apes Yacht Club expansion plans - the flagship NFT success stories plots its plans for world domination, including an APEcoin and selling off plots of land
House of DAW - metaverse-native fashion brand, from the Desperate Ape Wives team
Let us know if there are projects, roles, events, or other opportunities you want us to shout about here
That’s all folks - thanks for reading! We’re building an exciting new Web3 community, and we want everyone to be a part. So if you enjoyed reading, please give this post a share.