The Point and Possibilities of a DAO
Why would someone want to set up or participate in a DAO?
As we’ve talked about in the past couple of weeks, a DAO is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization that operates using Smart Contracts on Block Chain. Why would someone wish to set up a DAO, or participate in one?
Accessibility: If you are part of the majority of the world’s population, you probably don’t own a large and successful corporation. You may own a few stocks or shares in one, but how much power and participation would you have in that corporation? And do you know how much money it would cost you to set up a typical corporation? A DAO is much more accessible to the average citizen--anywhere in the world--and it costs significantly less both to set up and to participate in, enabling the average person to have a decision-making role in a corporation they believe in, contribute to, and participate in.
Trust: One of the limitations of a traditional corporation is that, for the most part, it is limited to local funding and local talent. But what if you need more talent and more funds than what is available to you locally? In our modern world you can access the funding and talent via the internet, but how do you trust these people that you’ve only met virtually? Using a DAO eliminates this issue of trust by putting the protocols right into the code, making it impossible for individuals to change the direction of the company or the purpose of the funding without the consent of the whole.
Transparency: Another issue facing many large corporations and their members is the issue of transparency. Most of a corporation’s decisions are made behind closed doors by a handful of upper-level management. In a DAO, all the decisions are coded onto the block chain and are accessible and visible to all.
Purpose: Imagine being a part of a community, an organization, a charity, a company, that aligns 100% with your own personal values and beliefs. One that needs your specific talents, one that you can feel completely confident and satisfied that your funding is going to be used where and how you want it to be. When you find the right DAO to participate in, it can provide this sense of purpose and meaning to your investment. Since building a DAO is also much more accessible to the average person, if you have a vision, a passion that you want to see taken forward into the world, you can create a DAO, inviting others to participate in your vision.
Participation and Collaboration: A DAO is open to funding and talent from across the globe. It doesn’t matter if you’re in India, Africa, Brazil, or America, you can participate in the same DAO, collaborating with like-minded people from anywhere in the world. The decision-making power of each token holder in a DAO is the same, relative to how many tokens each person owns, and the funding and talent of each member of the DAO is important. There is no upper-level management and CEO making all the decisions and all the money while the Employee does all the work. The DAO distributes the funding, the talent, the effort, and the rewards equally to its token holders.