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First impressions are everything for a startup to be taken seriously by top VCs and trying to grab the attention of new users.
But what if your project, or the industry as a whole, goes wrong? it was done. Instead of seizing the momentum driving the development of blockchain applications, too many have fallen into the trap of hype.
The crypto industry is littered with projects, protocols, and companies that have made gross mistakes, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of industry stakeholders and bringing the entire market to a standstill.
Bonnie Cheung is Head of Strategy at Sending Labs.
Founders now have a unique opportunity to learn from ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence platform developed by OpenAI, and its incredible success in shifting the AI development paradigm. While Web3 and AI face similar problems in the public eye, part of a general ‘tech rush’ against seemingly reckless innovation and wasteful spending, cryptocurrencies have been linked with his ChatGPT development. You can increase adoption by adopting an approach to branding.
diverging journey
The main obstacle to Web3 today is that the grand vision of unbroken computing and finance has overtaken pragmatic, user-centric development. It’s not a lack of enthusiasm for the technology behind it.
Many crypto founders and developers have a “north star,” which is often caught in the hype of bull markets and trends, leading to the most important part of building a product: people. It doesn’t prevent us from forgetting to make things we love and want. use.
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If we look back at the history of waves of adoption, only when the elements of interoperability and user experience (UX) come together does massive growth really happen. How a technology feels to potential users is important for nearly all new technology developments, especially abstract concepts like AI and Web3.
For years, consumers have used AI through Google searches and Netflix suggestions, often without even knowing it. But their interest in machine learning began after ChatGPT made headlines by demonstrating just how good generative AI could be.
Web3, by contrast, remains ambiguous. The vast majority of people can’t see or use most of its applications, and the project struggles to justify why anyone should care about it.
Here are three ways Web3 can adapt to rapidly changing environments when GPT-4 comes online.
1. Build a product within your industry instead of starting from scratch
Sure, it’s important to have a grand vision of what Web3 will look like, but not every company can carry the weight of the entire industry. Cementing a niche or “hero product” that contributes meaningfully to the entire ecosystem when a developer achieves what they set out to build can set a model for others.
During the last blockchain boom, too many projects sought to build inclusive ecosystems that essentially replaced banks and major blockchains. Of course, the idea that one company can overturn and replace an industry shaped by centuries of experience and growth is ludicrous. Web3 is not exempt from economic realities.
To really succeed in Web3, as in every other industry, founders must start with gaps that they can realistically address. For example, the starting point for Sending Labs was the founding team, who realized that Web3 had virtually no cohesive communication infrastructure, especially at the group level.
This created something of a catalyst to start building a product that specifically worked to solve this glaring problem in the broader context of Web3. Sure, we could have set our sights on developing an entire ecosystem from scratch. But when a technology like blockchain wallets already has a foundation, improving the foundation people are already using will help us achieve our goals as a company and ultimately move Web3 as an industry forward. It is a feasible method.
2. Don’t make the sector a selling point
If you’re making blockchain the main attraction for your product, you’re already shooting yourself. Just like there are no cogs turning behind ChatGPT, users don’t even need to know they’re using blockchain. is not. I’m not saying the underlying technology of your product should be secret or black box, but outsiders don’t have to have encyclopedic knowledge of blockchain processes to enjoy your product.
Making your sector a selling point also alienates outsiders who may not necessarily understand the underlying technology of your project. If you want to leverage blockchain to provide tangible utilities to your users, you can feel those benefits by using the product rather than reading about how blockchain is revolutionary in white papers. must.
By allowing the product to stand on its own while giving users the opportunity to learn more if they need to, we can make the connection with technology more substantial. Again, OpenAI doesn’t require knowing how its AI model actually works in order to use ChatGPT to outline an essay or come up with an eye-catching tagline.
3. Not All Web3 Products Should Target Crypto Outsiders
Most consumer-focused blockchain projects dream of becoming code-cracking projects with mainstream adoption. But before we transition to mainstream audiences, it is imperative to provide utility and novelty to a community that is somewhat familiar with or completely immersed in blockchain.
When crypto projects promise to bring “privacy-preserving” alternative Internet services to more people, they are clearly targeting the wrong audience. I don’t care if someone has never bought bitcoin. This is a surefire way to keep the project permanently on the drawing board.
Rather, in order to build Web3, innovative founders must meet the needs of consumers who already have some involvement with Web3 products. If your product is actually effective and provides utility to an audience that has already seen it all in cryptocurrencies and blockchain, they can vouch for it.
This kind of expert-level word-of-mouth adoption happens in every industry and new technology. Think about it: If you’re thinking of downloading a new investment app, perhaps it’s worth adding to friends who are savvy in investing and finance and have seen millions of different similar programs. The same principle applies to bringing people outside your industry into Web3.
Humans can curb the unstoppable momentum of technology
The design of Web3 as a comprehensive ecosystem presents unique challenges for startups in terms of creating products that address the Web3 as a whole. Building the train while laying the tracks is hard work.
Imagine building a train and contributing to the laying of tracks at the same time. It takes tremendous discipline and laser focus. This type of development model is sustainable because the project either lacks resources or is meticulously trying to solve all sector-specific problems rather than trying to solve one specific problem. not.
OpenAI didn’t create ChatGPT to fix the world or make everyone understand neural networks. It started with a single prompt that no one needed instructions to start using it, so audiences could experience for themselves how this simple prompt could make their lives better. Web3’s ChatGPT moment will come when we can do the same for Web3 users.
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Social media could drive the adoption of Web3, and the building blocks are already in place. Decentralization serves as the backbone for sub-sectors such as direct messaging, group communication, etc., and the commercial value of blockchain can all be built in an accessible way.
Creating an entire ecosystem and infrastructure from scratch is extremely difficult and challenging for a Web3 startup. It’s not enough to have a belief in building technically superior products. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from ChatGPT, it should always be remembered that users adopt your product when they find it fun and easy to use.
