Written on Apr 10, 2022

Aside from the Web2 projects I’m currently working on, I’ve been exploring something new for the last couple of months. You can say I went into the Web3 rabbit hole. Before I went deeper, I had a basic idea about what is Web3 and how it could change how we work but when I started reading and contributing to DAOs, I felt like they can be the core driver behind this change. This piece will be about what a DAO actually is and my journey so far in this exciting space.

What’s a DAO?

So, what the heck is a DAO? It stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. That probably still doesn’t mean anything to you. I know, it didn’t to me either.

The shortest and simplest definition of it is: ‘’An online community with a shared crypto wallet.’’ Or, to use a more Web2 expression: ‘’A subreddit with a bank account.’’

A DAO operates without hierarchical management and has no central leadership — the decisions are governed by the community. They are internet-native and run on smart contracts on the blockchain (usually Ethereum).

Any changes to the DAO are made by community proposals voted on by all members. The proposals must find a majority to be accepted. Voting is done online using software such as Snapshot. To have full access and vote, you usually need to hold their token. How many tokens you need to own depends on the DAO itself.

DAOs are very similar to cooperatives in their distribution of power among members. However, there are some differences between them. For example, a co-op has a “one member — one vote” system, while DAOs usually choose the “one token — one vote” system. In my experience with co-ops and DAOs, the latter offers more flexibility and is faster in decision-making.

DAOs today mostly operate on Discord. Most of them are very open and you can just jump in and see what it’s all about. It’s kind of like entering Google’s HQ and walking through the office space. While that’s almost impossible with normal companies, it’s common practice with DAOs. It’s really a plug & play system.

A great example of the potential of DAOs and community activation is ConstitutionDAO, which set out to buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution. Although they failed in their endeavor, they provided a glimpse of what can be achieved with an engaged community. Some numbers behind it:

• $48 million was raised by more than 17,000 unique people

• There were 21,000 members in ConstitutionDAO’s Discord channel

• 71,000 followers on Twitter

I won’t go into more details, as there are many good articles written about DAOs. Check out this DAO canon for more insight.

A Cabin in the woods

I started reading about DAOs in December 2021. Then I decided I wanted to learn about it first hand and join one. I was looking for a DAO, which is in some way related to travel, as that is the industry I’m most active in. It didn’t take long before I stumbled across CabinDAO, a community of cabins for Web3 workers. Their vision is to build a decentralized city for creators. They organize retreats for Web3 workers and DAO operators, giving them the possibility to connect and unwind IRL.

Since this was my first DAO, getting into Discord was a bit of a shock. Although Cabin provides a really good onboarding experience, it can feel overwhelming for Web3 newcomers. It also takes a while to understand all the Web3 terms like WGMI (we’re going to make it), etc.

To become a full member of Cabin and have the ability to vote, you have two options: You can buy the Cabin token or earn one by working for the DAO. I chose the second option because I knew it was the best way to get to know Cabin in detail and especially to get in touch with other members. Ok, one of the reasons was also the high gas fees.

Cabin has different guilds (i.e. departments) where you can participate and earn your first token: Product, Placemaker’s, Media, and the Community Builders guild. I joined the Media guild and started by writing a few newsletters. Next, I wrote Twitter threads, which is also a great way to build a reputation on Twitter and an easy way to earn your first token. After that, I have already teamed up with a friend to write my first article.

Besides completing bounties (tasks), Cabin also offers many social activities, such as a book club, playing Dungeons and Dragons, etc. We also recently had our first guild games! Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the Media guild win …

My experience has been nothing but positive so far. The only thing I struggle with is the time zone, as most people are from the US. That usually means having late-night meetings. But that’s changing too because more and more people are coming from Europe, which means we are already excited for Cabin IRL meetups and hopefully, the first Europe Cabin Node!

Looking forward

While Cabin is the DAO where I am currently most active, I also lurk around different, mostly tourism and digital nomad-related ones. Since I see DAOs in the long term as the **future of work for freelancers and creators, **offering us a better way to organize people together towards the same goal, I’m actively learning about this topic.

DAOs are a new way of organizing people and teams around the world. When you contribute to a DAO, you are not just a contributor, you’re also an owner, and that’s a big mindset shift. Anyone can hop into the discord, introduce themselves, and offer their skills to the DAO. It depends on the DAO and its purpose, but you can help in many ways (coding, writing, design, onboarding, etc.). It’s also important to choose communities that you feel connected to.

The best DAOs, in my opinion, have a healthy core community and not a purely financially motivated culture. The community shares the same interests and feels connected to the vision. As they say, vibes matter.