Notes from Blockchain 101, DAO 101, and NFT 101
These notes are my key takeaways from the web3 education series led by Wander Women DAO
Recordings can be found here: Blockchain 101, DAO 101, NFT 101
Blockchain 101
Blockchain is a way that stores data. It’s immutable (no one can change it), you don’t have to trust one company or group to manage it. It’s also transparent meaning all transactions can be viewed publically on the blockchain.
Blockchain is a technology that can be used in a lot of different fields. We can build smart contracts on it that automate transactions so it can be trustless.
There are many different blockchains and many different cryptocurrencies. Blockchains are like different highways and you need bridges to go onto the different highways.
We are using blockchain at Wander Women DAO. We want to make sure our treasury is secured, it’s transparent in where all the funds are going, and smart contracts are in place (for example, the community must vote on what we do with the treasury and it's not decided by the founders).
What can you learn next?
What helped me was first going through the definitions myself and doing enough research so that I can explain blockchain and web3 to someone else.
Some terminology to start with:
Web3
Distributed Ledger
Scalability Trilemma
Smart Contracts
What makes blockchain an innovative concept?
DAO 101
DAOs (Decentralized autonomous organizations) are a structure of an organization and a tool that companies can use to provide more access, transparency, flexibility, and ownership in their organizations.
Access: Anyone can contribute to a DAO. Conversations and discords are open, you don't need to get hired first to know what's happening
Transparency: Transactions are built on the blockchain. Anyone can see where the money is flowing. DAOs also have distributed decision-making power distributed and members or contributors vote on decisions all public on the blockchain.
Flexibility: Contribute as much as you want, no need to get tied up with one full time 9-5 job
Ownership: Contributors are owners. This is different from startup equity because tokens are liquid (no need to wait for sale or IPO) and it's not gated (you can support projects that you aren't employed at). Everyone has skin in the game wanting the project to succeed.
Access, Transparency, Ownership, and Flexibility are DAO values. You can be a traditional organization and adopt some of these values.
As a contributor, you contribute in any way depending on what the DAO needs. Any job at a company is typically needed at DAOs. DAOs need marketers, developers, community builders, copywriters, partnership managers, and more!
NFT 101
NFTs are Non-Fungible Tokens, meaning there's only one of them in the world.
If you're ever wondering why you would buy a jpeg or png, it's like saying why can't I take a picture of the Mona Lisa or download a high-quality version and put it on my wall? The key is that you don't OWN it. If you think about playing cards, Hermes bags, fine jewelry - people want to own the real thing. NFTs are like collectibles in the digital world
But many brands are not just using them as collectibles! NFT utilities for companies can include:
Access to gate communities. People pay to get access to exclusive or high-quality communities of people. Once you're in a community, you're more likely to help each other out because you have a sense of belonging. For example, there are entrepreneurship communities everywhere and with a higher fee to access, it guarantees everyone in the community is relevant to each other (e.g. must have 1M in annual revenue). This is similar to NFT communities, you join to access the people you want to access. Examples are: FWB, BAYC, WoW
Perks, Benefits, and Other products attached: Brands can attach a lot of different types of utility to each NFT. For example:
An artist might give NFT holders backstage access passes to a concert, a meet and greet, or invites to private events
World of Women gifts NFT art to all their holders each month
Curious Addys use NFTs as access passes to all their NAS Academy courses and tools like a portfolio tracker
Wander Women DAO will provide business education workshops and opportunities for remote work to NFT holders
Verify real-world products: Luxury goods can have an NFT attached to them, giving buyers verifiable ownership on the blockchain. Manufacturing companies can also tokenize their products to show the provenance of their goods
Verify Certifications: Institutions can give NFT based certifications and licenses to prove the authenticity of a person's background
Games: Games can tokenize in-game items for players and give them ownership over these items.
ICE Poker requires you to have an NFT in order to play in the game and you can lend out the NFT to other players and take a share of their Poker earnings.
What to look for in an NFT project?
If you're looking for utility, it's about what you get if you buy this NFT. This is similar to buying a course or a concert ticket. You are happy with what you get for the NFT and don't need the NFT to go up in value.
If you're looking to flip a project (make profit), then you need to get in early. But getting in early there's always the risk of it not mooning (going to the moon in price). You should evaluate these projects like an angel investor investing into a startup that hasn't had traction yet
Who are the founders?
What is their mission?
Can the team behind the project achieve it?
What are the chances of this having massive appeal (art, utility, mission, tech)
How to look for great projects
Follow NFT OGs or celebs in the space on etherscan (after looking for their wallet number)
Find communities you resonate with and vibe with with similar investment thesis. They will talk about other projects
Find the people you resonate with on Twitter and see what they're looking for