In the Polkadot ecosystem, the Web3 Foundation is often misunderstood as the 'official management body', but it has always adhered to a more fundamental role: to serve, coordinate, and promote the implementation of the Web3 concept. As the ecosystem continues to evolve, the organizational structure of the foundation is also constantly adjusting. Recently, Bill Laboon was appointed as the Vice President of Ecology at the foundation, marking that the foundation is trying to integrate ecological development, funding mechanisms, community collaboration, and technical promotion into a more unified strategic perspective.
From education and governance to now coordinating construction and ecological growth, Bill's new role is not just a position upgrade, but reflects how the Web3 Foundation is rethinking its position in a decentralized ecosystem. In this episode of Space Monkeys, we will start from Bill himself to discuss how the foundation views the future of Polkadot - as well as the shared destiny of Kusama, JAM, and the entire Web3 world.
Due to the length of the program, we will split it into two parts, with this being the first half! The main content includes:
Although we have invested a lot of resources in Polkadot, this is not the entirety of our mission.
Web3 Foundation's new strategy: unify ecological narrative and reconstruct connection methods.
Launch the Polkadot Agents program.
Continue reading to see the full content!
Although we have invested a lot of resources in Polkadot, this is not the entirety of our mission.
Jay: Space Monkeys! Today we once again welcome our old friend Bill Laboon - the current Vice President of Ecology at the Web3 Foundation. Since his last guest appearance on the show, there have been many new changes in the Polkadot ecosystem, and we will discuss them one by one in this podcast. Bill, welcome back!
Bill: Thank you, I am very happy to be here again.
Jay: Many people have noticed that you have been particularly active this year - although you have always been quite busy, your recent actions have been especially frequent. Just a day or two before we recorded this podcast, you announced your new position at the Web3 Foundation - Vice President of Ecology. This is a big news. Your previous position was responsible for educational direction, right?
Bill: Yes, my previous position was Director of Education and Governance Projects, mainly responsible for OpenGov-related work, technical education content, and coordinating the support team and staking team’s affairs, such as assisting in the operation of decentralized nodes. Of course, these teams each have their own heads, and I mainly provide strategic guidance.
And my new position now integrates the work I have been doing, such as ecological building, community engagement, and advancing OpenGov, with funding, investment, and business development efforts. Previously, these tasks were handled by different teams, but now we hope to unify them under one strategic framework and promote them collaboratively.
Jay: So, does that mean everything from users to developers, from the community to investment, is now coordinated by you?
Bill: You can understand it this way. We hope to promote the development of the Polkadot ecosystem from a more macro and strategic perspective.
Because whether it is community members, Polkadot users, participants in OpenGov, or internal and external developers, they are all indispensable parts of the ecosystem. We need a more coordinated mechanism to support and guide these key groups to grow together.
Jay: This is crucial: many people mistakenly believe that the Web3 Foundation is the 'official foundation' of Polkadot. This is actually influenced by traditional crypto projects - many projects are entirely driven by a foundation, which manages decision-making, governance, and business development. So it is natural for people to compare the Web3 Foundation to such a role and mistakenly believe it should 'oversee everything'. But in reality, the Web3 Foundation's positioning has never been like that from the very beginning.
Bill: That's right. If you understand our mission, you will realize that we are a Stiftung, which means 'foundation' or 'purpose-driven organization' in German. We are not a profit-seeking company, but exist to achieve a clear goal: to promote the development of a decentralized internet.
Although we have invested a lot of resources in Polkadot, this is not the entirety of our mission. For example, the Web3 Summit is not a conference held for Polkadot - in fact, many attendees have never even sent a transaction on the Polkadot chain and are not familiar with this ecosystem. They come here to jointly advance the popularization and implementation of the Web3 concept, which is the core of our true mission.
Our role in the ecosystem is also different from that of an 'executive agency'. For example, with OpenGov, any changes ultimately need to be voted on by community members holding DOT. We are well aware of this and implement this philosophy into our own behavior - before making any decisions, we proactively seek feedback from the community and respect their wishes.
Taking Kusama's new vision as an example, we do not directly announce 'this is our plan', but first throw out the idea to the community to see if everyone supports it. For instance, with the Polkadot Agents project, we do not push it forcefully, but first ask the community: 'Do you need such a program?' We have never been command receivers of Polkadot or OpenGov, but if we want to do things for Polkadot, we must ensure that this is what the Polkadot community truly wants.
At the same time, I hope everyone understands that the Web3 Foundation's goals are not limited to serving Polkadot, nor merely responding to the needs of the Polkadot community. Our true vision is to promote the construction of the entire Web3 world.
Everything we do through Polkadot, Kusama, JAM, and funding for other projects is for a common goal: to truly give users ownership of their data and sovereignty in a decentralized world.
Web3 Foundation's new strategy: unify ecological narrative and reconstruct connection methods.
Jay: That is why I think your appointment to this new position is particularly meaningful. The mission of the Web3 Foundation is to promote a decentralized internet, and Polkadot and Kusama are precisely the important infrastructures for achieving this vision. Many holders of DOT and KSM have been calling for a clearer ecological direction, and I believe the Web3 Foundation is fully capable of providing such strategic guidance.
You are a highly forward-thinking representative in the community - active on forums, often appearing on our AAG program, and always patiently responding to private messages; everyone is very familiar with you. This appointment is a good thing for everyone and a chance to 'twist the ecosystem into one cord'.
Bill: This is exactly the direction I most want to promote. Decentralization does not mean everyone acts independently. I have talked to many community members and indeed feel a common problem: a lack of coordination.
We are not here to 'lead' you to do anything, but to promote the success of Polkadot. And I believe that the way to achieve this goal must be based on consensus, collaboration, and a sense of purpose.
Although I have just taken office and many details are still being planned, I have already started to promote this direction. We are sorting out and analyzing: what are the core issues that everyone generally agrees on? What matters should be prioritized? Our model remains decentralized, but I hope to play the role of a 'coordinator'.
In the past, I was responsible for OpenGov, community development, and funding programs, so this new position is not unfamiliar to me. I have been involved in building Polkadot since 2018, when the mainnet had not yet been launched. Over the years, I have seen many difficulties and bottlenecks in the ecosystem and accumulated a lot of thoughts on systemic issues, knowing what hinders developer participation and affects ecosystem expansion.
This position now allows me to make more strategically visionary coordination and promotion from both the user and developer perspectives. I sincerely hope this will lead to a paradigm shift in the ecosystem. This may sound a bit grand, but I truly believe: what the Polkadot ecosystem needs most right now is a clear North Star - a unified direction, a clear strategy, and clear signals to guide the entire community to work towards the same goal.
Our goal is to propose a clear strategic blueprint in the next month or two, form a unified external expression, and establish a core goal recognized by the entire community. I hope we can together push this ecosystem to a completely new stage.
Jay: I have always felt that our ecosystem has truly achieved a very 'decentralized' state. This means that even if a core node encounters problems, or even if the coordination mechanism completely fails, the ecosystem itself will not collapse. Even if the situation is dire, there are still enough tools and mechanisms for others and other organizations to step up and take over.
This distributed underlying structure serves as a safety net for Polkadot, allowing us to maintain stability even in crises, unlike some ecosystems where the foundation collapses and the entire system falls apart. Our architecture is designed for longevity. What you are currently promoting is strengthening the resilience of this net, which is very important.
Bill: I completely agree. Decentralization brings many advantages, but there are certainly challenges. However, one of the most core advantages is that the community can promptly identify vulnerabilities and proactively fill in the gaps.
Even if one day the Web3 Foundation is no longer around - and of course I am not saying this is a good thing - the Polkadot ecosystem still has many distributed talents, knowledge, and resources. For example, Technical Fellowship, numerous project teams, and those who are always active at the community front. Not to mention that there are treasury reserves on-chain worth over 100 million dollars (the exact number I am unsure of, but definitely far exceeds this), plus a large number of passionate individuals willing to invest their efforts into promoting ecological development.
So I particularly agree with what you said: Polkadot is like a tightrope performer, and the decentralized structure is the safety net that can support it at any time. Even when encountering unexpected situations, there will always be someone able to jump out and attempt innovative solutions - such as changing moves, walking upside down, or parkouring across bridges... Because there is a net underneath to catch it, the system's resilience is far more robust than people imagine.
Launch the Polkadot Agents program.
Jay: So, let's talk about one of the new mechanisms you are currently promoting. In fact, you had already started pushing some new proposals before you officially took office, and the one that has been discussed the most recently is probably the 'Polkadot Agents' program, right?
This proposal seems to have already been submitted to the 'Wish for Change' channel, and the support rate is as high as 100%? Such a situation is really rare. So what is the core idea of this plan?
Bill: Simply put, we have observed some 'gaps' in the support mechanisms of OpenGov and the entire ecosystem. Currently, there are already many bounty mechanisms on-chain, such as event bounties, offline gatherings, business development, gaming directions, etc., as well as regular treasury proposals. But these tools have certain thresholds and delays, making them unsuitable for handling some small and urgent needs.
I compare the current ecosystem to a road paved with cobblestones - each stone is ready, but lacks the 'cement' to bind them together. And 'Polkadot Agents' is here to serve as that layer of 'cement'.
For example: if you suddenly want to organize a small event, but the timing is too tight and you don't have time to submit an on-chain proposal or apply for a bounty, what should you do? If you are a certified Agent, you can directly apply to us for a small grant, such as $500, and we can handle it quickly.
Although the Web3 Foundation is a centralized entity and cannot achieve completely democratic governance like on-chain, its advantage is the speed of response. On-chain processes usually involve multi-signatures, multiple rounds of voting, and various governance cycles, and we can make judgments in a more flexible way. This rapid bridging mechanism is especially important for those who are still unfamiliar with OpenGov or do not have the time to study on-chain mechanisms.
Overall, Polkadot Agents is a lightweight mechanism focused on solving 'small, urgent, and unexpected matters' and is not a replacement for on-chain governance, nor is it meant to support large projects.
Jay: So, for example, if someone wants to do some business development, attend an event, and chat with some people to get contacts, can such personal execution tasks also be supported?
Bill: Absolutely. We very much welcome such spontaneous ecological advancement behaviors. For example, if you suddenly have the opportunity to attend a conference in Europe or meet with EU officials, if you think this is valuable for promoting Polkadot, just clarify the background to us, and if we assess it as reasonable, we can support your travel expenses.
In fact, we have seen too many things that 'clearly deserve support but are stuck in the process'. You have the motivation and ability, but you just lack a responsive channel, which is exactly the problem Polkadot Agents aims to solve.
Of course, significant plans like 'I want to host next year's Polkadot Decoded' should still follow on-chain processes. But if you tell me: 'I need a plane ticket to meet the French President next week', and we know who you are and that you have done things that are worthy of trust, then we can immediately allocate funds to support you.
Jay: I see. So do participants need to 'register their identity' first? It's somewhat similar to KYC, right? After all, you are a foundation, and funding distribution needs to be compliant.
Bill: Yes, this is a basic premise. As a Swiss foundation, although we hold DOT, we do not participate in on-chain governance, so we must be clear about the flow of funds. We see complaints on Polkassembly like 'why verify identity', and this is the reason.
Of course, our goal is not to restrict, but to ensure trust and efficiency. If you are a certified Agent, I know who you are and that what you are doing is indeed valuable to the ecosystem, then we can quickly make a support decision.
It should be noted that joining Polkadot Agents does not come with a salary and is not a job. We just want to ensure that those willing to contribute to Polkadot do not hesitate due to out-of-pocket expenses.
Jay: Well said. It's like establishing a more flexible communication channel, allowing active members to receive support in a timely manner during critical moments in the future, and also stimulating more underlying energy.
Bill: Yes, this is another key point I want to emphasize. Besides filling in the gaps in mechanisms, this plan can help us maintain better contact with key actors in the ecosystem.
For example, we can regularly share the latest developments and strategic directions of Polkadot with Agents through mailing lists and community channels, allowing everyone to have a clearer understanding of ecological development. We can also hear more frontline voices through this channel, understand where support is still needed, and make more strategic adjustments accordingly.
Jay: This is very necessary. In the past, many people could only explore the usage process of OpenGov by themselves, especially during the transition phase from 'Foundation → OpenGov', where information was often fragmented. What you are doing now is essentially filling in these gaps, right?
Bill: That's absolutely correct. We are like building a 'bridge'. For some old users, this might just be a small gap; but for newcomers, it is a 'chasm'. If you have never been exposed to on-chain governance, the threshold for OpenGov is indeed very high.
Every few months, I give a talk on OpenGov in the online courses of PBAX, and many participants are not even clear on 'what on-chain governance is for', let alone how to use it or where to start.
Governance involves not only processes but also many 'unwritten rules' and background knowledge. For example, which topics are likely to spark controversy, and which proposal methods are more likely to gain consensus - many people are unaware of these. Sometimes, someone directly initiates a referendum without ever consulting opinions on the forum or communicating with the community beforehand, resulting in no response or sense of recognition, ultimately leading to rejection, which naturally makes them feel frustrated.
So from an educational perspective, we cannot just teach everyone how to use which channel, how to submit proposals, but also teach them how to integrate into the community, build trust, and gain support.
Jay: In the end, OpenGov is the 'social layer' of Polkadot. You can't just walk into a party and start making demands; you need to get familiar first and build some trust.
This 'Agents' program just happens to provide a path for everyone to get involved.
Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiHyHWV51GE
