Interacting with a DAO

Upon completing this week, you should have a good understanding of the tools that are used when interacting with a DAO. This step offers a brief summary of the tools we’ve just discussed and provides you with some context for how each tool may be used to interact with a DAO. Tools that you will need to interact with a DAO include: a discord account; a cryptocurrency wallet (e.g. MetaMask); and some of the DAO’s native token (if applicable).

Where to start

Tools such as DeepDAO are a great place to start if you’re yet to decide on a DAO you want to join. You’ll want to read about the DAO, check out their website, social media presence and see what others are saying about it online. Try to find something that interests you, aligns with your goals or somewhere you believe you could provide value.

Once you’ve decided on a DAO, you’ll want to join their discord. From here you can begin to interact with the community, so spend some time speaking with the community members, the team and see whether this really is an organisation you want to join. In addition, you can use community forums such as the DAO’s discourse to submit proposals, provide other users with feedback and get an idea of the direction of the DAO.

Joining a DAO

If you decide you want to take the leap and commit financially to the DAO, you can purchase some of their native token. This is where your cryptocurrency wallet comes into play – armed with your wallet you’ll want to use an exchange to buy some of the token from the market or their native marketplace. Holding DAO tokens means you’ll be able to participate in governance and vote on proposals.

After you’ve acquired some of the DAO’s native tokens, you’re now a member of the DAO. Some DAOs will require you to verify yourself with the token in their discord using a token gating mechanism. The DAO may also have a members only channel that allows you to speak directly with other members, which will enable you to discuss topics directly related to the DAO and its mission.

From here you can begin playing a role in governing the DAO, deciding on its actions and contributing to its mission. Using your cryptocurrency wallet and your DAO tokens you can interact with some of the communication tools we discussed earlier, such as Snapshot and Tally.

Once you are known in the DAO community you may even be offered a job in the DAO, where you are remunerated financially for your contribution. This could either be by working on implementing a proposal that needs your expertise, or assisting in running the day to day operations of the DAO. Typical roles in “work for the DAO” revolve around community management, marketing, operations or development.

Watch out for scams

Lastly, you’ll want to utilise some of your critical digital literacy and make sure to watch out for yourself online. There are a number of scams in this space, so make sure you also get your links from trusted sources, and be careful with who you interact with online. If something seems shady or too good to be true, it probably is so always err on the side of caution.