By Audo Kowitz, Chief Marketing Officer at Komodo
The community is the heart and soul of a blockchain project, providing a strong foundation that drastically improves the likelihood of a project’s success. The individuals who are part of a community help raise funds, create videos, and show other people how to use features of the technology. Community members often are the people who organize meetups, answer questions in Telegram and Discord, or amplify content on Crypto Twitter. Community members might contribute open-source code, build apps using the core technology, or evangelize the project.
The strength of a community’s network effect, moreover, is not only determined by how many people make up the community, but the bond between participants and the value of their interactions. The decentralized nature of blockchain ensures no single entity or individual is in control of a project. Instead, a community of diverse individuals is in the driver’s seat, working to propel the project forward. The future of any blockchain is dependent upon the promise that engaged and talented developers maintain the network. Blockchain communities are the face of the ecosystem, explaining to the world why people should be using a particular chain and its value to the world.
An American football team has 11 players. The “12th man” refers to the team’s supporters, suggesting that the fans have a role in encouraging or motivating their team to win. Members of a blockchain project don’t merely support the team but have a spot on the team. Communities have financed projects, crowdsourced ideas that turned into product updates, and developed long-term relationships that bring a project to life. A project is its community and vice versa. If concepts, products, entities, spanning all industries, not just within the blockchain space, intend to truly have an impact, they should consider building a supportive community.
For a project to flourish and grow, its community must be engaged and encouraged to meet, share ideas, and build. There are many ways for a project to encourage participation. As one example, internship programs offer younger members of a community hands-on learning experience. A good task for a green intern is to help spread awareness about a project.
The best aspect of crypto communities is that most have low/no barriers of entry and provide a clear path for anyone to get involved and gain experience. Because of blockchain technology, these projects have become like startups that can crowdsource funding. It is capitalism & free markets in their purest forms, without governmental red tape, regulation, and restrictions. This new system is what makes it possible for projects to reach fulfill their potential.
Crypto communities are also pushing the evolution of organizations further as people are experimenting with different organizational models and governance structures. The industry is accelerating innovation in many ways, not just in terms of technology. Today big companies put all their resources and research in 'intrapreneurs' and try to create an environment of innovation. Big companies should instead look at how innovation is being done in the blockchain space, where people come together spontaneously to solve complex problems together and build businesses of the future. In this way, crypto communities aren’t just important to the crypto industry. They are also starting to influence how the entire world operates, creating a model for how diverse voices can turn new, innovative ideas into tangible outcomes which benefit everyone.
About Komodo:
Komodo is a community-led blockchain project for passionate, dedicated, and inquisitive tech enthusiasts. The Komodo community helps shape the future of the project’s technology initiatives, marketing efforts, and overall strategy. Komodo’s AtomicDEX is an all-in-one non-custodial wallet and decentralized exchange that offers the industry’s widest cross-protocol support. Available on all devices, AtomicDEX supports 99% of digital assets in existence across 20+ blockchain networks. Users can trade BTC, ETH, ERC-20 tokens, LTC, KMD, and much more directly from their wallets. Komodo’s other open-source technologies enable developers to launch independent chains with UTXO smart contract technology and create robust cross-protocol DeFi applications such as multi-coin wallets, DEXs, and marketplaces.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.