From: thepipeline_xyz
The community plays a vital role in the success and sustainability of crypto projects, influencing everything from user engagement and product development to long-term vision and ecosystem growth.
Community as a Core Pillar [00:10:26]
For many crypto projects, especially early-stage ones like Pike Finance’s commitment to Monad, the community is an obvious and fundamental reason for early collaboration and support [00:10:26]. A strong, engaged community can even lead protocols to overlook perceived flaws, as seen with Solana, which, despite occasional issues, retains a loyal and rapid fan base of users and developers due to its performance [00:12:47] [00:12:54].
Community-Driven Initiatives
A testament to a project’s vibrant community is the spontaneous emergence of community-driven initiatives. For instance, the Pike Finance NFT collection was entirely community-driven from its inception, with the team having no direct involvement [00:20:51] [00:23:48]. The idea originated from a community member in a general chat, and another member, Mojo, took the lead, sharing sketches and actively soliciting feedback from the community to shape the collection [00:20:59] [00:21:40] [00:21:51]. This collaborative process allowed the Pikneans to come to life directly within the community [00:22:12].
Benefits of a Strong Community
- Identity and Belonging: NFTs, like the Pikneans, can serve as a “Universal identity layer,” allowing community members to connect, get excited about a shared interest, and express a sense of belonging [00:19:50] [00:20:02] [00:23:31].
- Organic Content Generation: A strong community organically produces a vast amount of content, including memes, art, songs, and other creative expressions [00:32:09] [00:32:19]. This user-generated content keeps the project top-of-mind for users without the team needing to spam official channels, fostering genuine engagement [00:32:26] [00:32:50].
- Elevating Community Efforts: Projects should actively elevate and amplify everything the community creates, from memes to nail art, as these efforts are unique and often beyond what the team could conceive [00:23:03] [00:23:22] [00:23:53].
- Quality over Quantity: Prioritizing meaningful conversations and active participation over sheer numbers helps maintain the quality of the community [00:29:11] [00:30:34]. This approach makes members feel special and ensures discussions aren’t diluted by bots or inactive users [00:29:56] [00:30:04].
- Long-Term Sustainability: Focusing on community building is a long-term game, contrasting with projects obsessed with immediate vanity metrics like TVL [00:26:16] [00:35:05]. This approach ensures sustained quality and growth [00:30:32].
- Shaping Culture: Communities shape the project’s culture, adopting internal lore and memes that the team should embrace and reflect in their messaging [00:36:39] [00:37:07].
Fostering Genuine Engagement
To build and engage community effectively:
- Initiate Dialogue: Avoid “GM” spam in chats and instead start meaningful conversations to entice people to get involved [00:28:44] [00:29:15].
- Value Contribution: Encourage members to provide value; those who do not align with the community’s ethos may not find it a suitable environment [00:29:49].
- Foster Relationships: Teams should actively participate and foster real relationships within their Discord and Telegram channels, making the community a place people want to “hang out” [00:36:05] [00:36:15]. This includes hosting events, games, and shared experiences [00:36:23] [00:36:29].
- Authenticity: Recognize that quick growth through easily botted quests leads to short-sighted gains and alienates core members [00:35:23] [00:35:46]. Real community cannot be faked with vanity metrics [00:39:00] [00:41:01].
- Targeted Growth: Projects don’t need to appeal to everyone. Focusing on those who genuinely care ensures a dedicated and passionate user base [00:40:21] [00:40:24].
Ultimately, a strong and engaged community is crucial for user acquisition and ecosystem growth, attracting builders and ensuring that applications meet user expectations, leading to a long-term and passionate base of supporters [00:41:22] [00:41:53] [00:42:09].