Is Discord About to Go Down?
Five years ago, no one had heard of Discord. It was a small community platform that let people talk to each other while they played video games. It was the gamer’s platform. However, with the company’s rebrand, it has accelerated in popularity. Discord now boasts 150 million monthly active users and counting. Discord has its foot on the gas – pedal to the metal.
When it comes to community messaging platforms, Discord rules. The company has exploded over the past two years, becoming the preferred hang-out space for diverse groups (from gamers to K-Pop fans) to “nerd out” on what they love. All are welcome. And if you’re not here – what are you even doing dude?
What was once a niche platform has become cool, giving entire communities the ability to host their own virtual servers, chat rooms, and messaging functions. Even business leaders that have been running their internal communication on Slack for years are considering moving their teams to Discord. However, it would be a good idea to wait.
Catalyze is coming, and it’s about to disrupt Discord.
What’s Catalyze?
Simply put, Catalyze is a Web3 alternative to Discord. In actuality, it is so much more.
The platform provides the tools to create servers for groups, community chat functions, and the option to run events. Video and voice conferencing are also available. The site is customizable, so users can have the experience they want.
If users enjoy the Discord model – with mass notifications and a busy screen – they can have that. If they want a cleaner work screen with the option to hide certain groups or mute conversations, there is that option too. The only thing better than having options is Web3.
Catalyze runs on Web3, meaning that users are in control of their data and can earn money for using the platform and engaging within their groups.
The innovators at Catalyze have taken all the best parts of messaging apps like Telegram and Whatsapp – platforms that people are already using – and integrated them into Catalyze seamlessly. Communities will be able to interact across the platform with other communities. This isn’t currently possible on Discord. And compared to Discord, Catalyze’s UI is sleek, organized, and tailored to each user.
Catalyze is built on Dfinity’s Internet Computer, which is fast, reliable, and allows for low/no-cost transactions. The platform will eventually scale up to include secure connections with Polkadot, Cardano, Solana, Polygon, and Near.
SocialFi and Tokenomics
Catalyze prides itself on being part of the SocialFi movement. This term is a combination of social media and decentralized finance. This allows users to engage their communities with autonomy while they collect rewards in the process.
SocialFi (SoFi) applications are headed by people who demand better control of their data, freedom of expression, and the ability to monetize their following. SoFi platforms are structured to include decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to aid in preventing centralized decisions. Catalyze includes DAO creation in phase five of their roadmap.
Tokenomics will eventually play a big part in Catalyze’s ecosystem. The $CAT token will be the governance token of the platform, while the $uCAT will serve as the utility token. $uCAT will drive involvement on the platform – to build stronger communities while enhancing trust and engagement – and will be eligible to be traded for $CAT tokens.
Users will earn tokens when they attend an event, moderate a session, or “like” and comment on posts. Those who participate in their communities get rewarded and gain a chance to partner more closely with community leaders and earn greater visibility. Conversely, any violation of the platform’s code of conduct will incur huge costs. Users will pay a hefty fine in the way of lost tokens.
dApps like Catalyze will help users see the benefit of using platforms built entirely in Web3, as they begin to woo customers away from legacy Web2 social media platforms. Soon enough, the persistent disadvantages of Web2 – centralization, censorship, lack of privacy, and absence of content ownership – will become too much to bear.
Discord’s Difficulties
Discord has recently seen adoption on a colossal scale, but the platform is riddled with issues. For example, bots are an enormous problem, and the UI has too many features and not enough customization. Users outside of Gen Z tend to become overwhelmed at the mere sight of Discord, whose overcrowded screens and lack of personal data ownership continue to hasten its Web2 senescence.
In current Web2 social media models (Discord included) the platforms reap benefits from their users’ work: the users get nothing for posting/content, while the platform gets a treasure chest of monetizable data. All the major Web2 social media giants (Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, TikTok) operate like this: corporations rake in rewards, and those that create their content, get nothing. Once communities understand that they can directly earn through engagement, the flight to Web3 will be swift.
Catalyze Opens the Door to Mass Adoption of Web3 Social Media
On its surface, Catalyze looks like many other message-based community platforms. That’s a good thing. New users will need their experience to be seamless to make the switch, and Catalyze knows this. The company has made it easy for community leaders to bring their groups to the Catalyze platform. The signup process will be easy: new users can log in using Internet ID, Google ID, or 3rd party wallets. Wallet and a decentralized exchange (DEX) integration are on their way.
In addition, the Catalyze team has made the platform backward compatible with Discord, Slack, Telegram, and WhatsApp, which will contribute mightily to their projections of twenty-five million users in five years.
Discord is on fire, but that flame can’t be sustained much longer. As communities evolve, they will want a platform that grows with them. Decentralization is where social media is headed. Creators, engagers, and community managers want to be rewarded for their hard work. They are tired of getting fleeced. Catalyze will dethrone Discord. It’s only a matter of time.
About Kit
Kit Campoy is a former retail professional turned freelance writer. She writes about Leadership, Retail, and Web3. Contact Kit for your content needs.