Community: a blessing or a curse for web3 products?

Community is an integral part of each web3 project. And it should be like that. Web3 is all about decentralization and community. Users are not just passive consumers of content, but active participants in the ecosystem. They own their data and their assets, and they have a say in how the platform is run.

You might not remember, but about a decade ago, current web2 giants like most social platforms also had their active communities. I certainly had friends actively pitching the value of MySpace and Facebook (yeah, I just realized I’m old).

That changed when people realized they were being used as products and served to their idols as a free set of data to pass along and sell.

Web3 is here to change that narrative.

But there is an important error that I see many products repeat: treating communities as their main group of users and limiting product discovery and development to accompany their needs. This approach makes communities both the blessing and the curse of any web3 project.

Let's dive into why.

Your community are your power users

To conduct successful product discovery and UX research, you need to understand the struggles of your actual users. The average user of any digital product doesn't care about the tech behind it.

They don't know the founders by name and don't spend time on the company's Discord server. So, to find your users, you need to dig deeper than your community members.

Your community won't be objective

They’ll be enthusiastic supporters of your mission and huge believers in the company’s goals. They will be super eager to help and will do their best to make you happy.

Meanwhile, your true user often will be pissed at you because something doesn't work as they expected and they'll need some convincing to even grant you their time.

Your community is limited

There is only so far you can get with them. If you aim to achieve mass adoption and prove product-market fit, you need to think beyond your community.

You need to deliver real value to users who don't necessarily love you or believe in your mission. Solve their problems, and they might not even remember your company name afterward.

So what now?

While there is huge power in maintaining a thriving community around any Web3 project, we must remember that from a product perspective, the strategy should treat community members as one piece of the larger mosaic that is your audience.

Don't limit your product discovery and development to the needs of your community alone.

Explore, understand, and focus on delivering the actual, true solution for the actual, true problems.