Web3 can learn from ChatGPT’s approach to development and branding to increase adoption, says Bonnie Cheung, head of strategy at Sending Labs. While Web3 and AI face similar problems in the public eye, crypto can adopt ChatGPT’s approach to development and branding to overcome the hype trap and the perception of reckless innovation. To adapt to a rapidly changing environment, Web3 needs to build a product within the industry, avoid making its sector the selling point and target blockchain communities before shifting to mainstream audiences.
Web3’s current impediment is that its grand vision of unmediated computing and finance has outpaced practical and user-focused development. Many crypto founders and developers have a “north star,” but that often does not prevent them from getting caught up in the hype of a bull market or trend and forgetting the most essential part of building a product – making something people will love or want to use.
To achieve the success that ChatGPT has had, Web3 needs to focus on practicality and user-focussed development. Looking back at the history of adoption tidal waves, massive growth only really happens when elements of interoperability and user experience (UX) come together. Tangibility, how tech feels for potential users, is crucial when it comes to practically every new tech development, especially concerning abstract concepts like AI or Web3.
Cheung suggests that Web3 can adapt to a rapidly changing environment in three ways:
Build a product within the industry instead of starting from scratch
Yes, it’s important to have a grand vision of what Web3 can be, but not every company can carry the weight of an entire industry on its back. Solidifying a niche, or a “hero product,” that contributes meaningfully to the entire ecosystem when developers achieve what they set out to build can set a model for others.
Don’t make your sector your selling point
If you’re making the blockchain the main draw of your product, you’ve already shot yourself in the foot. Just as you don’t see the gears turning behind ChatGPT, users don’t even need to know they’re using blockchain. Not to say that a product’s underlying technology should be a secret or a black box, but outsiders shouldn’t need to have an encyclopedic knowledge of blockchain processes to enjoy a product.
Not every Web3 product needs to target crypto outsiders
Most consumer-focused blockchain projects dream of being the ones to crack the code on mainstream adoption. But it’s essential to provide something of utility and novelty to the communities that are either somewhat familiar or fully engrossed in blockchain before shifting to mainstream audiences.
Conclusion
The impetus for starting Sending Labs came from the company’s founding team noticing that Web3 had virtually no cohesive communications infrastructure, especially at the group level. This created a catalyst to start building a product that concretely worked to solve this glaring issue in the wider context of Web3. By following ChatGPT’s approach to development and branding, Web3 can overcome the hype trap and the perception of reckless innovation, pushing Web3 as an industry forward.
Source: CoinDesk
