A software pattern vs. on-chain governance.
Which meaning of DAO is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Data access object came first (the 1990s). Decentralized autonomous organization arrived in 2016. The data below shows which one owns the word now.
Wikipedia pageviews since 2015
Data access objectDecentralized autonomous organization
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.
Duplicate's share of attention
Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does
The case for each meaning
Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes
Original · the 1990s
Data access object
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12-mo pageviews—
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Duplicate · c. 2016
Decentralized autonomous organization
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More duplicated terms
Crypto & web3
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