Using 2x2 grids for Open Source community development
Collective imaginings of what is possible (or desirable!)
In a previous post, we looked at a typology of Open Source communities. This got us thinking about other indicators that could be plotted against one another on 2x2 grids. Tools like this are useful when deciding as a community how you want to interact.
The idea here is not to precisely define reality, but rather paint a broad-brushstroke picture of the kind of community that you want to create. Then you can think about kind of platforms, tools, and processes that might enable that.
Let’s start with an example:
In the above diagram, we’re plotting how formal the community is (or will be) against how private it is. LinkedIn, in the top-right quadrant, is an example of a ‘formal’ space that is based on reputation. It’s widely accepted as a ‘professional’ platform, and users are associated with their ‘real’ work identities.
So if you are creating a community that fits with this way of understanding the world, LinkedIn might be a great platform. However, if you’re creating a community where people prefer to remain anonymous and have an informal chat, you might use something in the bottom-left quadrant such as Reddit.
So let’s take another example. If we plot ‘Scale’ (as in how large you want the community to potentially get) with ‘Intentionality’ (i.e. deciding in advance what it’s for) then you might get something like this:
This is similar in some ways to the 2x2 grid from our previous post, except it’s focused on social relationships rather than audience. Its value comes in being explicit about the goals of the community, all the while bearing in mind that groups can morph from one into another.
The reason this is important as it helps current and potential community members have a mental model of what’s going on, helping them be on the same page as their peers. Someone joining a ‘Club’ when they thought they were joining a ‘Movement’ is likely to be disappointed, and vice-versa.
During our brainstorming sessions around this, we came up with plenty of examples of X and Y axes you could use to plot 2x2 grids. We’re still thinking about this, but so far have three buckets around Interaction, Identity, and Intention.
Interaction
- Infrequent posting vs Frequent posting
- Maintaining existing relationships vs Building new relationships
- Low support requirements vs High support requirements
- Asynchronous vs Synchronous
Identity
- Informal vs Formal
- Anonymous vs Reputational
- Social vs Professional
- Single group identity vs Multiple groups / factions
Intention
- Thematic vs Goal-oriented
- Receiving updates vs Learning
- Small scale vs Large scale
- Place-based vs Non-geographical
As ever when it comes to community work, it’s the conversations around these grids that are the most interesting. These are all different lenses you can use to imagine a new community or look at an existing one. At the end of the day, they do not describe ‘objective reality’ but rather collective imaginings of what is possible (or desirable!)
What other labels could you come up with? What other lenses can you produce to help you conceptualise your community? 🤔
