This is a research in progress and I welcome any feedback. As part of the P2Pvalue.eu project, we have been focusing on the classical 1-9-90 power law (1% core, 9% occasional contributors, 90% more passive audience), exploring qualitatively the needs and desires of each of the three roles in a wide diversity of communities. Our research has focused on commons-based peer production communities, both digitally-based (e.g. FLOSS) and digitally-supported (e.g. a makerspace). We have a list of findings for each role that we hope are common across communities; naming a few, we may see how the 1% would like to share responsibilities and delegate, while also finding it hard, as they are frequently concerned on the task being performed "correctly" and following their vision. Or we see 9% wanting to lead their own initiatives, or receive recognition for what they do. Or 90%s wanting to support the community, but lacking awareness of what's going on, in order to know how to contribute. I'd like to present the collection of findings, and hope for a good discussion, triggered by some open questions we have. --- Presented at the Cooperation group of the Berkman Klein Research Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University May 17, 2016 Harvard University

1. Characterization of the 1-9-90 Roles within
Commons-based Peer Production Communities
Samer Hassan
@samerP2P

2. Commons-based Peer Production

5. Theoretical
Findings
Social
Research
Co-creation
workshops
Lean Development
Decentralized
Architecture
Canvas
Web App
UX

6. Theoretical
Findings
Social
Research

7. Qualitative Methods
● 22 semi-structured interviews
● 12 usability testing interviews
● 4 contextual inquiries
● 3 focus groups (design thinking tech, card sorting)

9. 1-9-90 rule

10. Sample: Role 1%
I feel too much responsibility (VPC)
It’s usually a single person who takes care of a task, until she or he explodes and has to
be replaced by another (Dani)
Sometimes it’s very frustrating (...). You are loaded with lots of work and the
distribution is uneven (Sara)
...
● I feel stressed and overloaded
● I need help/substitute with my tasks

11. Role 1%

12. Role 1%: Characterization
● Highlighted Motivations
○ Need to ensure the project growth & sustainability
○ Feel fulfilled with the realization of [their / the community’s] vision
● Burning Process
○ [passion] -> Desire to increase the involvement of the community
○ [dedication] -> Need to share responsibilities
○ [overload] -> Need help/substitute with their task

13. Role 1%: Characterization
● Virtuous working cycle?
○ Feel conscious of the work to be done
○ Need community to be conscious about the tasks to be done
○ Need those responsible to carry out their tasks
○ Want tasks to be done correctly

14. Role 1%: Characterization
● Their Problems
○ Want to know the problems & needs of the community
○ Feel consumed by communication
■ -> Want streamlined communication
● (accessible, concise, updated)
○ Need to manage accountability
■ but found embarrassing & difficult
○ Feel uncomfortable that some contributions are not properly recognized

15. Role 9%

16. Role 9%: Characterization
● Intrinsic Motivations
○ Want to collaborate to keep community running
○ Want to contribute to the realization of the community vision
● Extrinsic Motivations
○ Learning new things (personal growth)
○ Gaining external reputation

17. Role 9%: Characterization
● Problems in Participation
○ Insecurity on how to participate
○ Lack of delegation/trust by 1%
● Frustrations?
○ Need to belong & feel integrated in the community
○ Want contributions to be useful & meaningful
○ Feel guilty for not participating more

18. Role 9%: Characterization
● Inclusive Communities
○ Want their opinions to be listened
○ Want the community to be more inclusive
○ Want to feel valued within the community

19. Role 90%

20. Role 90%: Characterization
● Pragmatism?
○ Need good & accessible common resource
■ Dependence on the resource
○ Feel love / joy / appreciation for the community
○ Want to support the community / common resource
○ Want to be aware of what the community offers

21. Role 90%: Characterization
● Social Component
○ Want to meet other people
○ Enjoy feeling part of the community
○ Admire some community members
● But they may
○ Feel frustration because community’s lack of coherence with its values
/ processes / behaviors

22. Role 90%: Characterization
● Barriers to Participation
○ Feel lack of experience/knowledge/skills to participate
○ Ignore how to get started
○ Need time to get started
○ Ignore who to ask
○ Ignore how to find info
● Limits
○ Don’t care about many community details
○ Want tailored & updated info

23. Open Questions

24. 1. General Impression
● Do these findings resonate?
● Anything shocking, unexpected, unbelievable?
● Any serious omissions?
○ Why didn’t it come up?

25. ● Can they be generic enough to persist across CBPP communities?
○ digitally-based (e.g. FLOSS, Wikia)
○ digitally-supported (e.g. Fablabs, Makerspaces)
● Contradictory with other research?
● Reinforce/overlap work I'm not aware of?
● Beyond CBPP?
○ E.g. collaborative economy, social movements
2. Consistency

26. ● What are the aspects of this research you find most interesting?
● Any problems is it solving?
● Interesting implications?
● Interesting applications?
3. Storytelling

27. ● Can we classify these findings better?
● Any existing framework to help?
○ Axis to order findings
○ Motivations vs feelings, needs, desires
○ Comparisons
4. Classification

28. Thanks!
Samer Hassan
@samerP2P
Berkman Center at Harvard
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
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