Why Do We Need A DAO?

The community we have today is excited and active. Upstreet is a beautiful place in the Metaverse where we can meet, show off our avatars and, soon, so much more.

The initial demo is impressive. But I’m talking to a lot of people who are outside of the crypto community and are looking at this like– why would you take something so cool and attach all this baggage to it?

As one investor said to me, why crypto?

Why DAO? Why now?

We need to be clear-eyed in our thinking and our actions.

The Case For The Corporation

Corporations are highly optimized for business success. It would be a lot easier to just build a company, raise money and build this thing like a traditional startup. We can go ahead and focus on our AI data engine plan and raise VC much more easily. Decisions at all levels could be quickly made by executives instead of deliberated by committee, the organization could move rapidly, and everyone would be very aligned behind the goal of growth and prosperity.

Corporations are well suited for interfacing with the real world, handling legal risk which is inherent to online platforms, and all kinds of other practical things. The corporation is owned by stockholders, usually with the people contributing the most having the most stock.

That Sounds Pretty Good, But…

Many games have communities that stay for generations. There are people playing Second Life and World of Warcraft with their kids, who are going to be the age they were when they started. It is possible that Fortnite is like The Beatles, it’s just something that people in 50 years go back to when they want the “old games”. Some networks become institutions, with people who care about them a lot and want them to survive forever.

What often happens in these communities is that the incentives of the development team and community drift apart.

The development team wants more money. The community doesn’t want things that would let the player base grow. The development team has, after years of interfacing with randoms, built up a wall and just doesn’t even know what the community wants any more. The community feels abandoned. People complain, and look for other, newer communities. Communication between the team and community stops. The project is dead, or rugged, or abandoned, or not the same as it was in the good old days.

Yesterday, Unity made an example of what happens when a company becomes missaligned with its core community:

Game developers furious as Unity Engine announces new fees
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2023/sep/12/unity-engine-fees-backlash-response
Unity announces a ‘Runtime Fee’, which will charge developers each time a game using the engine is downloaded

After years of having a free runtime, Unity has decided to add a tea tax to their product. As history has shown us, tea taxes have a tendency to really make some people angry. Unity fundamentally changed their deal, and users have no way to leave without completely remaking their games and products.

Misalignment happens a lot, usually because the sides have different incentives. The best solution to the alignment problem is to remove the sides entirely. When the community owns the work and funds the development they can make decisions which can strengthen the community instead of alienating it.

So Obviously We Should Do That…

We need to face some realities about communities.

Communities are just randoms getting together on the internet. A lot of randoms on the internet are really cool people, but we also have a lot of weirdos, too, and it’s just inevitable. Most of us are probably a bit cool and a bit weird. We try our best and we have our struggles. Sometimes we want to help, but we just end up getting in the way. Sometimes we melt down in the public channel. It happens, and I think that especially in Upstreet we should approach each other with a lot of compassion.

But if we’re trying to run a business, we need to be frank: a lot of people are harming more than they are helping. It is challenging to be, as an unpaid community volunteer, fully cognizant of the realities of the entire organization. Unless you're putting in 40+ hours a week you just can't know the half of everything that is going on or being discussed.

Also, there are lizard men believers and assholes. Some small percentage of any community is sociopathic, insane, power-seeking, delusional or self-destructive.

How We Can Overcome These Challenges

The DAO members are not mere stakeholders; they are stewards charged with the long-term vision of cultivating an open metaverse, a space unreservedly accessible to all, underpinned by AI technology.

Representative Governance means that votes are decided by delegates. Governance necessitates the involvement of individuals dedicating substantial time and expertise to the project. Representatives in our DAO are people who are paid by the DAO, either on the dev team or adjacent teams, so that they are aligned and focused.

Rewarding contributors with governance rights is a mechanism to incentivize contributions and foster an all-in-this-together culture where the primary return on investment is the realization of a product vision unhindered by self-interest and quick gains.

The DAO has to run like a business or it just won't survive. If we aren't growing, enabling economy and generating enough revenue to keep the servers running then there won't be a game.

We have to be product focused. Traders are not game devs. If our direction is decided by whales who want to cash in on their land, we're always going to focus on features that enable that economy instead of gameplay or innovation.

The Case for a DAO

A DAO holds the potential for ensuring the longevity of the community. By having the DAO finance the developers, we foster a harmony between the devs and the community, promoting a synchronous goal and vision. This way, we sidestep the path that led Unity to its current state of disarray.

By adopting the DAO approach, we necessarily embrace a slower pace of development. This isn’t a drawback; rather, it underlines our commitment to building a platform that caters to everyone, avoiding unforced errors that often arise from hasty decisions. Utilizing existing tooling and exploring legal avenues for community ownership further solidify the groundwork for a community that is built to last, and built for everyone.

The Responsibilities of DAO Membership

Being a part of this DAO is a substantial commitment, a commitment to the shared vision of an open metaverse and a free world with universal access to AI.

Therefore, DAO membership is not for everyone. If you're here to make a quick buck through trading, this is not your place. The DAO is not an avenue for passive income; it's a dynamic space for active contribution. It requires a forward-thinking perspective that aims to foster long-term gains for the entire community, rather than individual short-term profits. It's about mining in the most fruitful grounds, and sometimes creating those grounds, not just for ourselves but for the generations to come.

Realizing the Vision

We need to establish clear guidelines and responsibilities for DAO members. Only those who devote substantial time and effort into the project can propose new initiatives. This is not just a rule but a necessity born out of understanding the complex dynamics and needs of a growing project.

All proposals must have a champion, a responsible individual or a team, driving it with a clear roadmap and a viable execution plan. This ensures that the proposal is not just a mere idea but a feasible project, ready for implementation.

In this framework, we foster a representative democracy where every vote is grounded in deep understanding and commitment to the project's long-term vision. The DAO is not just a space of power but a space of responsibility, a mutually incentivized feedback mechanism steering the project towards fulfilling its mission.

Kennedy said, "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". It has to be like this. Not because we think trading is bad, not at all, but because we've seen how DAOs die and we need to do something different. We need to all be aligned in the same direction.

So, again, why crypto?

In short: we're not doing crypto. No hype, no WAGMI, no NFTs. We are doing digital identity, a creator marketplace and digital collectibles.

That being said, there are a few reasons we absolutely and unavoidably need crypto in the longrun. It is a very useful tool for very specific things within a metaverse ecosystem, including facilitating digital identity and interoperability of assets, code, trust, etc. Crypto is fundamental to identity for AI agents.

Our goal is to grow and enable broad adoption. A lot of people hate crypto. We need to be careful with our messaging, ejecting the old language in favor of a more inclusive one, and normalize the technology by using it where it's actually good. People change their mind about crypto when they see it used for something useful.

Crypto Is An Option, But Not The Only Option

We welcome both crypto and non-crypto users. Upstreet is a space for everyone. Home worlds remain accessible to everyone, ensuring a universal space that is free and open. Our goal is inclusivity.

So What's Next?

We anticipate a strong backing from the community in favor of the DAO and the community-guided path. We are actively engaging with potential partners, transparently discussing our convictions and the road ahead. Our vision is steadfast: to build a product robust enough to stand the test of time, one that could proudly carry its legacy through a century.

We believe in the potential to build something truly remarkable, a space where generations can come together in a spirit of creativity and collaboration. We invite you to be a part of this journey, lending your voice and your vision to a community built on transparency, respect, and a shared dream of a digital home that lasts a hundred years.

Join the discussion and be part of this incredible journey on Discord. Together, we can build incredible things.