Web3 Project: BUIDLing with the Community vs. Building in Private

Receiving a great idea is just one part of many that ensure the reality of a big dream. It all starts from the perception and design but there is a long path to acctualization and it's the BUILDING phase. We can also encrypt the word to be read as BUIDLing. Many lofty ideas have been lost on the path to actualization because the wrong BUIDLing strategy was adopted. Some visionaries prefer to build with a team and community while others prefer to do their thing in private and pop the surprise when it's done. Either way is good depending on the product and resources that are available. There are however key considerations that could determine which BUILDing strategy would be best for a project.

For a web3 product, the considerations for BUILDing may be outrightly different. Developers that embark on pioneering projects within the web3 space are always faced with the dilemma of choosing between BUIDLing with the community and building in a discrete private environment. Let's look at each option with the pros and cons.

Building with the Community

Choosing to build a web3 product with a community means leveraging the power of collaboration. It allows for the participation of other individuals other than the visionary ideator. Below are the pros of this option of project development.

1. Inclusive Development

Building with the community is always an inclusive development. This is because community-driven projects often attract a diverse range of contributors, bringing varied skills and perspectives to the table. This can be done within the web3 environment in such a way that does not alter the main development as improvements and additions can be seen as a fork of the main branch. Allowing for an inclusive building gives room for innovation and a more resilient project that caters to a broader user base as many perspectives are brought to bear.

The Hive blockchain is a valid example of inclusive development. There are hundreds of communities/dapps that are building on Hive leveraging the Hive infrastructure. They create a unique use case and face for Hive. Some users have joined Hive all because of Splinterlands play to earn game and engaging the game is all they know about the game. Others have joined through social fronts like PeakD, INLEO, Ecency, and others to share/consume their text/video/graphic contents

2. Transparency, Trust, and Feedback

Building with the community engages the project's community from inception and it fosters transparency, building trust among users and contributors. Such projects can make their codes open-source so that other developers can iterate or tweak with. These projects make room for robust feedback and suggestions from the community which can refine the project through collective intelligence. INLEO development is such a great example that explores this feature. Users have pitched lots of features into the build of the leading microblogging and long-form content creation SocialFi alternative on Hive blockchain. The continuous feedback loops ensure that the project remains dynamic and responsive to user needs. This is because feedback can be seen as eyes from the rear.

3. Network Effects

Building with the community amplifies the network effects, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem around the project. This means that every participant in the project exerts a pulling force to prospective patrons of the project and this makes the project grow geometrically rather than linearly. The viral spread of ideas and adoption is often accelerated when the community is actively involved in shaping the project. The Hive Zealy campaign hosted by INLEO is a beautiful example where all Leo users become a marketer for the LEOverse.

Building in Private

When building in private, the creative and innovative lead retains the right to keep everyone in suspense until the project becomes a reality. Let's see the gains of the option when building a web product. Below are the pros of this option of project development.

1. Intellectual Property Protection

Building in private allows the innovator to safeguard intellectual property and prevent premature exposure of proprietary technologies. This strategy may be essential for projects relying on unique algorithms or groundbreaking innovations that are meant to beat strong competitors. On the other hand, keeping the development private shields the project from direct competition during its formative stages. This can be advantageous for maintaining a competitive edge until the project is ready for public unveiling.

2. Controlled Release and Hype Management and Swift Decision-Making

Private development of a product can allow for a controlled release, and this helps to strategically manage hype and expectations. Utilizing this approach can mitigate the risk of market speculation and ensure a more measured introduction to the public. Since there may be no back-and-forth iterations, building in a private environment can enable faster decision-making, unencumbered by extensive community consultations.

The Balance: Hybrid Approaches

The hybrid approach can be utilized to build some web3 projects. This has to do with the combining of the strengths of both community-involved development and private innovation. At the initial stages, the development can be private and later opened up to the community can offer the best of both worlds, leveraging secrecy during crucial phases and community support during wider adoption.

Final Words

Choosing between building with the community and private innovation is not one-size-fits-all. Creative leads and developers must be able to weigh the pros and cons of either option taking into cognizance, factors such as the project's nature, goals, expected lifetime, and competitive landscape. Key for either approach is to ensure that the project is value-laden and problem-solving if it must be embraced in the web3 world.

Which is your best side between BUIDLing with the Community vs. Building in Private??

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This post was created via INLEO, What is INLEO?

INLEO's mission is to build a sustainable creator economy that is centered around digital ownership, tokenization, and communities. It's Built on Hive, with linkages to BSC, ETH, and Polygon blockchains. The flagship application: Inleo.io allows users and creators to engage & share micro and long-form content on the Hive blockchain while earning cryptocurrency rewards.

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