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Nguyen Tran Quang Huy- s3879661

 Overview
A VoIP, instant messaging and digital
distribution platform
Founded in 2015 by Jason Citron and
Stan Vishnevskiy
Aim to "create space for everyone to find
belongings"
Over 150 million monthly users and 19
million weekly active servers
(Discord 2022)
Is Discord
a DIGITAL BUSINESS ?

YES!
Elevates general perception about
communication tools using enhanced
technology and multiplatform integration
 Create Community formation
Servers, Threads and Reminder
Communication tools Integration with community-based
Video calls platforms: Youtube, Twitch, Patreon
Voice chat ALL IN ONE PLACE
Text FREE Customization
Screen sharing Bots

Capture
Discord Nitro (Subscription)
Custom/ Animated Emojis
Personal Profile
2 Server Boosts and 30% of extra boost
Profile badges
Increase upload size
HD screenshare/ streaming
Capturing user's status
Server Boost
✨Level 1✨ - 2 Server Boosts
✨Level 2✨ - 7 Server Boosts
✨Level 3✨ - 14 Server Boosts
=> Each comes with better perks
(Discord 2022; Vanagas 2020)
 Deliver
Technology
Integration with GPUs/ CPUs
Client-server networking architecture
WebRTC
Session Description Protocol (SDP)
Interactive Connectivity Establishment
(ICE)
Secure Real-time Transport Protocol
(SRTP)
Salsa20 encryption
Backend Architecture: Discord
Gateway, Discord Guilds and Discord
Voice
Platform
Web (Chrome/Firefox/Edge, etc.)
Standalone app (Windows, MacOS, Linux)
Phone (iOS/Android)
Easier and faster setup process
Near zero-latency during voice call
and screen sharing
Reduce bandwith and CPU
consumption
Enhanced security protection
(Vass 2018)
 Defend Brand Image
Exponential growth in 5 years (2016-2020)
Popular amongst gamers, communities &
Network Effects influencers.
Personal Direct
Personal Utility
Bandwagon

Reproduced from Ceci 2022

Developer Community
Open API
NfX Network Effect Model
Bots
(more than 400.000
Retrieved from Currier n.d
bots are used weekly)
Core Compentency

Discord's biggest core

competency is its business model

Unique market position:

A superior freemium package
No advertising
Non-exploitation of user's data
=> Labelled as "Anti-Facebook"
 Business Model

Create Deliver Capture Defend

Telecommunication Mobile phone

Fee per SMS
Voice call, SMS Fee per minute Economy of scale
provider (traditional) SIM card on call

Voice call, text,

Discord App Discord Nitro Network Effects
Discord (digital) screen sharing, Brand Image
Browser Server Boosts
community formation Developer Community

Discord's User Acquisition

Partnership
Picsart
Playstation & Xbox
Freemium strategy Youtube
Twitch
Reddit
Games
Official brands of various
types:
Fashion
Food
Word-of-mouth marketing Electronics
(Pierce 2020; Discord 2022)
 Owned Media Earned Media
Twitter: 3.8M TikTok: Over 10B views

Instagram: 1.5M
Facebook: 800K
Youtube: 1M
TikTok: 3.1M
Youtube: Over 350K videos & 60K channels
(followers)
Engagement
Discord is a place where people,
communities, sellers and buyers
engage in activities
The more they engage, the more
Discord(app) indirectly engage with them
Direct benefit from user acquisition
Still...
Discord can directly engage with
users through:
Social media
Video sharing platform
Official Website/Blog
24/7 Customer Help Center
Servers for testing features,
bugs report, feedback,etc.
(Discord 2022)
Evaluation
Discord's business model has
cemented its position in the
gaming community and is
expanding to other types of
community
Discord's effective utilization of
Word-of-mouth marketing and
partnership to increase user base
Strong social presence
Difficulties branching out to
brands/communities that are
massively appealed to the public
Rate of expansion relies heavily
on Discord's partnership with other
platforms
Difficult for users to explore new
content/ communities
(Eisenbrand & Peterson 2021)
 Conclusion
Discord's great utilization of an existing
concept, applied with a new business
model to gain competitive advantages

Social media presence is progressively

becoming indispensable for defensibility
and business expansion, especially
digital ones

"Imagine a place..."
 References
1. Discord 2022, "Imagine a place...", Discord website, accessed 26th March 2022, <https://discord.com/>.
2. Vanagas, I 2020, "How Discord Won", accessed 26th March 2022,
<https://ianvanagas.com/2020/10/19/how-discord-
won/#:~:text=Discord%20won%20by%20building%2010x,platform%20for%20all%20internet%20commu
nities.>.
3. Vass, J, "HOW DISCORD HANDLES TWO AND HALF MILLION CONCURRENT VOICE USERS USING
WEBRTC", Discord website, accessed 26th March 2022, <https://discord.com/blog/how-discord-handles-
two-and-half-million-concurrent-voice-users-using-webrtc>.
4. Pierce, D 2020, "How Discord (somewhat accidentally) invented the future of the internet", Protocol,
accessed 26th March 2022, <https://www.protocol.com/discord>.
5. Discord 2022, "Discord Developer Portal", Discord, accessed 26th March 2022,
<https://discord.com/developers/docs/intro>.
6. EISENBRAND, R & PETERSON, S, "Not just for gamers: Discord’s leveling up to a mass appeal marketing
platform", OMR, accessed 26th March 2022, <https://omr.com/en/discord-marketing-branded-
communities/>.
7. Ceci, L 2022, "Number of registered users of Discord worldwide from 2017 to 2020", Statista, accessed
26th March 2022, <https://www.statista.com/statistics/746215/discord-user-number/>.