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What I Have Learned About DAOs
Many hands and many ideas can turn distributed talented into coordinateed power

I never thought I’d be the type of person to “join a DAO.” To be honest, I didn’t even know what a DAO was the first few times I heard the term. It sounded technical, unnecessarily anti-status quo, maybe even a little sketchy. Something for crypto bros, coders, or finance rebels — not someone like me.
But that changed when I started to learn more about them and then I even joined one—JUMP DAO. JUMP is a DAO built around web3 creators, brand builders, and storytellers. It wasn’t just about code or coins. It was about communityand sharing information.
When I attended a Web3 conference a few years back one of the speakers, Jeff Kaufman, gave a presentation on how forming a DAO could be beneficial for certain types of organizations or to address certain types of goals. The presentation was interesting, and it really sparked my curiosity. It turns out I had actually been sitting next to him earlier in the day and didn’t realize it. At the end of his presentation, he made a short pitch that he would be forming a DAO for Web3 creators. Web3 was still in its incubator period then and it wasn’t always easy to learn from the best sources. JUMP changed that, it created an environment where Web3 enthusiasts could share news and resources, give encouragement, and support one another.
This is what DAOs represent—community problem solving. We all have issues we care about or organizations that we belong to or support. DAOs are offering a governance structure that unites people. When my daughter was in pre-kindergarten her class had a motto: “teamwork makes the dream work.” It’s true, and I think we live in a place and time that needs a lot of teamwork to make a lot of different dreams work.
When I joined my DAO and logged into Discord I will admit that I was a bit overwhelmed. I don’t find Discord to be a very user-friendly platform, but if you hangout a bit, try things, or read some of the “getting started” information, in time it becomes a more inviting place.
There are no requirements of you in the DAO, it is often up to you to find your role or choose how active you want to be. In writing this I am reminded that I should be more active in JUMP or join a list of DAOs I encountered researching this issue.
DAOs encounter their problems and hiccups, they are not utopias. They’re evolving experiments. Experiments are muddy, but it is often from the mud that bricks to build something better are forged. But here is the real point I want to make—DAOs encourage engagement and participation, and participation is power.
If you're reading this and thinking, “That sounds interesting, but I’m not technical enough” or “It’s probably too late to get involved” — trust me, you’re not alone. But you are welcome.
You don’t need to go all-in. Just find one DAO that aligns with something you care about. Join the Discord. Read. Listen. Vote once. Offer to help. Let it be low-pressure, high learning.
You might be surprised what happens next.
I certainly was.
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Other Articles In This Issue:
DAOs for Everyone: How to Join a Digital Movement
Your Guide to Discord
