Recently, this tweet fell into my feed. Though I disagreed with its primary assertion, I was drawn to the willingness for (self) critique from people on the inside.
In my brief time in web3 Iāve sometimes struggled to differentiate between the potentially meaningful and unrealistically idealistic. Iāve also spent a lot of time thinking about what people really want from web3.
The answer to that last part depends on who āpeopleā represents. Hereās my perspective from an admittedly limited perch.
Those most active in web3 - the architects and visionaries - theyāre building for themselves, because solving problems and designing solutions is fun. And I truly believe that many of them are building with a vision of a fairer, more accessible, and more empowered world.
But Iām not convinced theyāre serving a larger audience or solving essential problems, yet. I say this despite an inspiring display of charitable giving through crypto, numerous web3 organizations focused on supporting and empowering traditionally marginalized communities, and clear great use cases for the DAO structure and ethos.
As much as the blockchain is designed to offer transparent, trustable, empowered, and autonomous interactions, itās not always obvious in which instances the DAO structure is essential, or when the desired outcome canāt be achieved in a simpler way.
And therein lies the key to the ascension of DAOs and web3: make it simpler, please.
I remember feeling lost after my crypto onboarding. I had interacted with several different websites, yet had few records of my activity, and didnāt understand why there were multiple networks and tokens. I definitely couldnāt have walked another crypto-newbie through the steps I had just taken, which frankly, is a considerable impediment to growth. If it werenāt for my browser history, I might not have been able to locate my holdings. I still worry Iāll be hit by the proverbial bus and that Iāve left an insufficient trail for a beneficiary to be able to claim whatās theirs.
Months later, while the technology within web3 evolves daily, progress on the user-interface and how users interact lags. (Spoiler, Logos will address some of this.) Perhaps those building web3 donāt see massive UI/UX gaps because they are so adept at traversing them. I assure you, itās a struggle.
Crypto twitter and online affinity groups are filled with people asking basic navigation questions. They (we) canāt easily figure out how to source, transfer, or convert tokens, or make payments from specific networks, and are baffled that the cost of a purchase can be more costly than the purchase itself. The answers to requests for clarity are often as incomprehensible as the original issues, full of unfamiliar acronyms, tools, and sites we might be reluctant to trust.
I canāt remember a new technology thatās been this hard to onboard.
So I say this to my web3 compadres:
1) I am rooting for you.
2) Prioritize UI/UX, please.
If, by now, you are not designing for a layperson, a normie, a newbie - the space you are building will fail to achieve its potential. It might be a relative success, but contrary to the vision of accessible and empowered, you will have excluded people. The masses will not be able to overcome the level of friction that currently exists in web3 no matter what awaits them on the other side.
- The author, 0xRachel, is at Logos for reasons unrelated to technical prowess, and thatās the point. If Rachel - who is eagerly exploring this field and fervently cheering you on - struggles to navigate web3, then who are you building for and is that audience big enough?
The opinions reflected in this post are just that: the opinions of one person. While our belief in the potential of web3 and DAOs is shared, these opinions do not reflect the sentiment of the entire Logos team.
š” Take my idea, please.
Itās annoying unhelpful to offer only critique without solutions, so hereās one of my web3 needs. Please, someone, take this and run with it. I cannot wait to use your product.
āļøš° AN UMBRELLA WALLET
Iāve missed multiple opportunities to support a web3 project - yeeting into Raid Brood, an auction at an MCON event - because I didnāt have the right token on the right network at the right time. At least once Iāve failed at moving or converting a stablecoin; the only winner was whoever collected the transaction fees. Obviously it was user-error, but it just shouldnāt be that hard.
So, I need an umbrella wallet that will detect on which network the transaction needs to take place and pay the required amount in whichever currency the site desires. On the back end, I want to be able to prioritize the order in which my tokens are spent. I would choose to first use up tokens Iām least confident in, or a stablecoin, and would like the option to indicate that certain tokens should never be spent. As with the credit card I use when I travel abroad, donāt show me the fees. Just bake it in already.
While weāre perfecting the wallet, stop making me search for and input the token address when I acquire a new coin. Itās all on the blockchain. Canāt you figure this out more easily than I can?
Which web3 user experience do you want to see improved - or are actively improving? Share in the comments or contact us at hello@logos.xyz to be featured in DAO or Never.