Community Woes

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Discord as a community chat platform is entirely fascinating. Some thoughts on the evolution of chat platforms as communication outlets for web3 brands as we head into 2023. 🧵

I've been a user of @discord since April 1, 2017. Before my involvement in the web3 ecosystem, I used the platform for gaming, D&D groups, identity groups, and friend and tech communities. I get asked all the time about my opinion of Discord.

I've managed and designed over a dozen Discord servers for various communities and tried other platforms like Telegram, Facebook, Discourse, etc. While I don't claim to be a Discord expert, I'm adept at using the platform and maintaining it as a member of over 150 discords.

I have a lot of thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of such a platform for community gatherings. We'll discuss: 🤔 Why I like and dislike Discord for web3 purposes 〽️ Discord alternatives to try 💻 Where I see communities gathering in 2023

We know these advantages of using Discord for your community platform: Comprehensive moderation tools - through the use of bots Curating a community vibe through the use of gifs, reactions, emojis, photos, and PFPs Home base design is nearly unmatched by alternatives

The disadvantages or frustration is where most of the conversation is right now. People and projects see Discord as an unfortunate necessity so let's talk more about how I see those frustrations. Most of the frustrations being expressed are due to time or resource availability.

For many, a fast-moving chat platform creates psychological unease. By this, I mean that for those users who have busy lives and want to keep up with a conversation, it's nearly impossible due to how the chats are designed. Conversations and culture quickly become inaccessible.

In this sense, being an active member of more than 3-4 communities becomes overwhelming. Members can't keep up with conversations or events, no matter how dedicated they might be. To be clear, these downsides aren't exclusive to Discord.

Having an active Discord also requires a fully staffed community team for which founders may need more funds during a bear market or economic downturn At least one community manager, multiple moderators, and community builders - for a single year (should) be paid well over $200k

The problem with chat platforms, in general, is when founders recognize their importance yet aren't aware of everything that goes into creating and maintaining one effectively. This leads to mismanagement, frustrations within the community, and often bad actors coming in.

If you are creating a web3 brand where community is your utility, which is ok in my book, you must be prepared to equip your community team with the best resources and funding. Otherwise, your brand will fail, rug, or feel lost and misguided even with a half-baked strategy.

For web3 community teams exploring alternatives to Discord the field is getting spicy with entries like @geneva, @CommonGround_cg, @consoledao The problem with these alternatives is that they suffer from similar issues as Discord due to the UI and being just another chat room.

There is little need for a massively populated chat room for community gatherings. They aren't conducive to networking opportunities, they are overwhelming to most, and the UI/UX is trash for even the best platforms. However, if you ditch Discord you must replace it.

So - the question is, how does your community gather and find connections outside of Discord if/when it's no longer working? I and many others have talked about the need for a comprehensive community strategy that enables multiple avenues of connection and communication.

Web3 teams need to meet community members wherever they prefer to gather. For some that may be in specialized branded apps and sites, for others it may be a homepage where members can get daily/weekly news, or it may be a newsletter, Twitter Space, or intimate group chats.

I love creating experiences along the member journey that don't immediately scale - 1:1 sessions, recorded audio/video rooms, hybrid events that use web3 functionality and token-gating, branded landing pages, and vertical marketplaces for community activations. Experiment! 💖

Some truths: Some people dislike the current layout of how web3 communities are structured. Some founders in this space truthfully want a web2 experience on the blockchain and don't want to deal with community woes. I'm not sure how far either camp will go.

Put simply, understand the community and how we interact with members or get out of the way. There are plenty of ways community builders can and will accommodate accessibility. Still, people should at least try being part of these communities, even if that means leaving Discord.

Now, dealing with lower engagement on Discord isn't something you throw your hands up at. You can't give up there. Community team members can use their talents in other ways by creating unique experiences catered directly to the brand. Community builders are SO creative.

If you have questions about community platforms, I'm happy to answer in replies or privately. Please reach out if you are looking for someone to help with community strategy 🤝

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: typefully.com/rileybeans_eth/1goXUQk