The 90-9-1 Principle in Product Development

Image created with Midjourney. Prompt: Minimalist 2D illustration representing the 90-9-1 principle in an internet community. Show a group of people, with 90% represented as passive consumers, 9% as active contributors, and 1% as enthusiastic creators. Use simple shapes and contrasting colors to convey the different levels of participation.

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The 90-9-1 principle suggests that in an internet community like a wiki, 90% of participants consume content, 9% edit or modify it, and 1% create new content.

In digital communities, user engagement is a key metric for measuring platform success. The 90-9-1 principle offers a useful framework for understanding how users participate. It suggests that in an internet community like a wiki, 90% of participants consume content, 9% edit or modify it, and 1% create new content1.

Here are three examples of how the 90-9-1 principle applies to digital products:

Social Media Platforms

On platforms like Facebook or Instagram, most users consume content created by others. They browse their feed, read posts, and watch videos but rarely contribute. A smaller group actively engages by liking, commenting, or sharing. The smallest group—content creators—regularly posts original content and shapes the community.

Online Forums and Discussion Boards

On forums like Reddit, the 90-9-1 principle is clear. Most users browse threads and read discussions. A smaller percentage comments and engages. An even smaller group starts new threads or posts original content. Understanding this dynamic helps in designing features that encourage more active participation.

User-Generated Content Platforms

Platforms like Wikipedia or GitHub, where content is user-generated, also follow the 90-9-1 principle. Most users access information or code shared by others. A smaller group makes edits or modifications. The smallest group creates new articles or repositories.

Conclusion

The 90-9-1 principle provides valuable insights into user behavior in digital communities. Recognizing these patterns can guide product design and development, helping creators better serve their users and encourage more active participation. As we build the digital products of tomorrow, understanding these engagement dynamics will be essential for creating vibrant, thriving online communities.

Sources

1% Rule on Wikipedia

The 1% Rule in Four Digital Health Social Networks: An Observational Study

Background: In recent years, cyberculture has informally reported a phenomenon named the 1% rule, or 90-9-1 principle, which seeks to explain participatory patterns and network effects within Internet communities. The rule states that 90% of actors observe and do not participate, 9% contribute sparingly, and 1% of actors create the vast majority of new content. This 90%, 9%, and 1% are also known as Lurkers, Contributors, and Superusers, respectively. To date, very little empirical research has been conducted to verify the 1% rule. Objective: The 1% rule is widely accepted in digital marketing. Our goal was to determine if the 1% rule applies to moderated Digital Health Social Networks (DHSNs) designed to facilitate behavior change. Methods: To help gain insight into participatory patterns, descriptive data were extracted from four long-standing DHSNs: the AlcoholHelpCenter, DepressionCenter, PanicCenter, and StopSmokingCenter sites. Results: During the study period, 63,990 actors created 578,349 posts. Less than 25% of actors made one or more posts. The applicability of the 1% rule was confirmed as Lurkers, Contributors, and Superusers accounted for a weighted average of 1.3% (n=4668), 24.0% (n=88,732), and 74.7% (n=276,034) of content. Conclusions: The 1% rule was consistent across the four DHSNs. As social network sustainability requires fresh content and timely interactions, these results are important for organizations actively promoting and managing Internet communities. Superusers generate the vast majority of traffic and create value, so their recruitment and retention is imperative for long-term success. Although Lurkers may benefit from observing interactions between Superusers and Contributors, they generate limited or no network value. The results of this study indicate that DHSNs may be optimized to produce network effects, positive externalities, and bandwagon effects. Further research in the development and expansion of DHSNs is required.

www.jmir.org

90-9-1 Principle