Why community is key in Web 3.0

Ah, the days of watching the convex screen update downwards as your modem finally made that lingering tone, letting you know that the connection to a bulletin board system (“BBS”) was successful. Although mostly asynchronous, these communal BBS portals were the first online communities to evolve into local Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) before AOL mass mailing CD-ROMs.

Those are my Web0 memories from the early 90’s and each year has been an incredible journey as technology continued to expand our capabilities. Ways for us to share and surf the unified realm of human production are growing daily as technology advances, creating smaller and smarter devices. The limitless ability to connect, search and discover on the vast digital superhighway created mental paralysis in the Web2 social media era, causing people to band together en masse and choose hate as their common denominator.

Related: How to build a strong NFT community

As expected, this Icarus race to build massive online communities centered around dislikes and impersonal connections fueled groupthink for political elections and world news as they fly toward the impending tipping point.

Today’s connected technology is exponentially changing our boundaries of community. Madison Cansler, a digital social strategist with Mad Connects LLC, notes, “Web3 establishes a decentralized, digital highway where people can connect on their own terms to form communities that fit their needs and beliefs.”

The massive online groups in Web2 have begun to reveal just as many emigrations to smaller communities. This trend seems to mimic the expansion of American suburbs in the 1950s and the online BBS we connected to via modem in the 1990s. Both events were enhanced via technology, depending on advances in their respective “highways” and “vehicles.”

After World War II, the automobile saw explosive growth due to mass production assembly lines, developed by H. Ford, and expanded globally across many brands. In the United States, the establishment of the Federal Highway Act of 1956 continued suburban sprawl, and established manufacturing facilities pushed the need for more cars. People could now move out of the city, but still use cars to get back and forth to jobs still located in downtown areas. Improvements in vehicle technology, such as the ability to travel greater distances than ever before, were of course instrumental in the expansion of suburbia.

With today’s connected technology accelerating communication, we are now seeing virtual communities forming around the decentralization of information. Essentially, Web3 has established a decentralized digital highway for people to meet and connect with communities that suit their needs. This new digital era is enabling our world to bring back localism as we see Web3 communities emerge.

Related: Why a community-first approach to Web3 marketing works best

Communities are imploding

Starting in the 2020s, we witnessed a shift back to smaller local communities. This shift is especially true in the early stages of Web3, where groups are formed based on genuine connections and complementary skill sets. The Web3 movement is particularly similar to the 1990s, where the playing field was somewhat open to anyone with an idea and a computer.

Today we see that this access barrier is lowered by a single mobile phone or an internet cafe. Artists and technologists have been able to harness the benefits of Web3 and build a shared culture around the technology’s fundamental principles: openness, accountability and sustainability.

In a small but vocal corner of Web3, lies the emerging NFT market. The space has grown exponentially in recent years and has begun to make waves in the mainstream media. Due to a handful of successful and notable NFT projects, such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club founded by Yuga Labs, the space has migrated from innovators to early adopters. However, the speed at which projects are launched has been unprecedented compared to previous models, such as Web2 SaaS startups, and is critical to building and knowing your community.

Related: Web3 Is the Future of the Creator Economy

Types of NFT Community Members

Communities are critical in the NFT space, as they are your startup’s customers, supporters, and funders, and some make great “Frens!” — Yes, startups are now referred to as “projects” in the NFT space, as no one wants to overextend promises in this current reset of the technology playing field. It is important to note that “community” is a common term in the NFT world and can be further segmented into Fans, Adopters and Curators.

The fan community is a group of people who are committed and loyal to your project, its vision and its future. Fans are often the most vocal and active supporters of your project, because their belief in your work influences their belief in the future of blockchain technology.

The Adopters community includes those who join for early access to new features, customizations, unique IRL bindings, IP rights, and project tools. Many adopters from the BAYC community have launched restaurants and cannabis strains with a boring monkey as their mascot. These users have continued to raise awareness of the NFT projects and their individual brands. At Apefest 2022, even Snoop Dogg and Eminem showed their adoption of BAYC for their latest music single and the food trucks serving fans outside the festival doors.

Finally, there’s the Curation community, which focuses on pushing content and storytelling to help fuel the growth of your project. Curators may already be engaged in other communities and can bring additional awareness to the brand.

As an example, prolific NFT evangelist and MMA fighter, Keith Berry, is a strong proponent of Web3 communities. Berry is a well-known voice in the NFT space and believes the future is digital ownership. He openly promotes his vision on billboards and social media via his public art buying sites in hopes of bringing new artists to Web3. His ethos is also reflected by the entire team building a common Web3 ecosystem to integrate everyone on the new internet. Berry tweeted, “I’m aligned with the Royal Goats Club because I see longevity in the project and team. I know my audience connects with the vision and utility, so LFG!” Finding synergy leads to a strong bond between a curator and the project, which allows authenticity to prevail.

In conclusion, the most critical aspect of the NFT space is community. The adoption of NFTs will be driven by collaboration between fans, community members and ambassadors. You need to know your audience and how you want to help them achieve their goals, otherwise you’ll be spinning in circles without a compass! Without a strategic community plan and built-in audience, your project will likely be dead on arrival.

*Disclosure: Aaron has met and spoken with a number of people and projects quoted in this article. Aaron has advised the Royal Goats Club on long-term strategy and has a number of NFTs.