Crowdculture ”The beta call”

Evaluation of the first test of Crowdculture.se, 2010-10-23 to 2011-01-31.
The test includes a public call for projects and a funding opportunity for these projects. The test was
handled by Innovativ Kultur (a cultural fund owned by the City of Stockholm) and was managed by
SICS (Swedish Institute of Computer Science) in collaboration with Fabel Communications (concept
owners) and the active participants on the site.
The citizens of the City of Stockholm were invited to participate the thereby influencing the
distribution of funding as well as contributing to the projects on the site with economical means.
Citizens could access three different levels of membership. They could become a registered member, a
paying member or a project owner member. The registered members had the opportunity to comment
and spread information about the projects. The paying members had the opportunity to influence
governmental decisions on public investment. The project owner members could contribute with one
project which they published on the site.

This document presents different illustrations of the ways in which the members acted on the site, as
well as it visualizes information on how the traffic of the site has changed over time.

Summary

"I'm really intrigued by the idea that people control culture funding, and that even relatively obscure projects
can fit there. What other board or cultural investigation could just as accurately reflect what they are interested
in culture? Narrow culture could also be widely appreciated, in the midst of mainstreaming odd culture could
be more commercial. " - Interview with Håkan Lidbo, electronic music artist and project owner.  
 
A summary of the evaluation of the beta test indicates a potential annual contribution of 840 000 SEK
to Stockholm's cultural life from 1400 members. This contribution is counter financed in a 200%,
which allows the realization of approximately 100 project of an average budget of 30.000 SEK. The
funded projects are those which the paying members have prioritized on the criteria that the projects
have the potential of being “good for society”.  

The project-owning members

All paying members have if they wanted to, been able to contribute with a project on the site, and try
to convince others that their project is one of the most relevant to invest in.
In total 29 projects were announced on the site.
Two (2) of them where fully realized during the test, and four (4) received their total budget after
closing the test, since they where the ones closest to 100% funding. Innovativ Kultur, owners of the
call, made decision regarding funding for projects after closing the test.
Total amount requested from Crowdculture: 814 000 SEK  
Budget of the 29 projects in total: 5,130,156 SEK

A computer game created in co-

operation with Palestinian girls in a Concert event for infants
Participatory written live animated
refugee camp in Damascus puppetry and film for adults.

Fabel Kommunikation AB
Sveavägen 31 | 111 34 Stockholm |08-41 02 24 30
info@fabel.se | www.fabel.se
    
 

Xoiiox is an animated, strategic A trilogy, two dance performances and

board game that is also a clever A dance performance which serves as a documentary.
musical instruments for iPad a referent for a forum about new
forms of colonialism within art

The membership economy

"I think there is great potential for development of projects if you could share your vision with potential fans
and financiers in the entire country. Make Crowdculture national and open it up for investment from all
others regions." Beta-tester, quote from the evaluation survey
 
In order to be able to interact on the site, a user has to register. The registration is free. In order to be
able to affect the economical flow of the system, the paying member has to make a monthly
investment of SEK 50 -€5, which amounts to 600 SEK per year. The paying members will experience
the leverage of their investment thanks to the public co-investment. The money from the user is
directly invested in the cultural life of Stockholm without any cut.
Registered members: 465,
Paying members: 168

In addition to the hybrid investment model that combines public and private capital, one of
Crowdculture’s key characteristics is that the paying members can move the economic flow of which
they are in control. For this reason, it is interesting to observe the average time during which a person
directs their flow to a specific project. Every minute counts.
Average voting time on one specific project: 2.46 weeks

There have been three members of a passive kind in this test: Fonden för Innovativ Kultur (The fund
for Innovative Culture, owned by the city of Stockholm), Fabel Kommunikation AB (concept
developers) and Innovation Impact AB (private company). These three members have invested
different amounts of money, which together reach a total of 43.330 SEK per month. Such an
investment constituted the leverage of the contributions of individual paying members (168 persons).

The charts below show how the dynamics of counter financing changed as more members joined the
system.

5000  
4000  
3000  
2000  
1000  
0  
Vecka   Vecka   Vecka   Vecka   Vecka   Vecka   Vecka   Vecka   Vecka   Vecka   Vecka   Vecka   Vecka  
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13  
Medlemmar   Fonden  för  Innovativ  Kultur   Fabel  Kommunikation   Innovation  Impact  
 

Fabel Kommunikation AB
Sveavägen 31 | 111 34 Stockholm |08-41 02 24 30
info@fabel.se | www.fabel.se
    
 
The graph to the left shows the number of members during the beta test. The graph to the right
shows the influx rate during the same period. There is a trend curve tucked in the right chart, which
indicates a growth rate of about 30 members per week by the end of the test. An extrapolation shows
a potential for about 1400 members a year, representing an annual contribution of 840 000 SEK (€
90 000) to the cultural life of Stockholm. It should be added that due to very a limited budget, this test
was done without any marketing. A report by the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce published in February
2011 notes that 37% of the people living in the county of Stockholm are willing to sponsor or co-
finance culture. According to this, there is a potential for 740 000 members. The ambition of
Crowdculture is to attract 0.2% of those people who are willing to invest in free cultural life but lack a
market that handles the relevant information. Crowdculture aims to fulfil the need for such a market.

Voting  (paying  members)   New  members/week  

200   50  
40  
150  
30  
100   20  
10  
50   0  
0  
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  
 
The chart above shows the number of paying members week by The graph shows the registration rate on the site. In this
week during the project implementation.   diagram, the first three and last three weeks are cut out, since
registration during these for obvious reasons has been extreme
versus almost none.

"The Crowdculture principles could be used also in the more established parts of the cultural world. Why
could not people be involved in deciding who are given national grants, and who are to perform at the Royal
Dramatic Theatre and the Royal Opera House...?",  Beta tester, quote from the survey.  

Fabel Kommunikation AB
Sveavägen 31 | 111 34 Stockholm |08-41 02 24 30
info@fabel.se | www.fabel.se
    
 
Members and their preferences

The data in this section come from the surveys we conducted in conjunction with the closure of the
beta test. The survey was open to registered members from the 1st of February to the 13th of February
and was answered by 59 unique individuals. Survey data can be put into question when one can
imagine that the more motivated members answered the questionnaire.

The average age of participants was 42 years. The youngest participant was 24 years old and the oldest
65. Below are six diagrams that multiply illustrate different participant characteristics.

!"#$%&'%()*+%"&,"-'$%.-,+--/%
!"#

$$"#

()*+,)-#./0112#

%&"# 3*40#./0112# Most participants are highly educated.

51/,617,2#89:/,617#
;/,98+*/#8<,+*7,#
''"#

!"#$%&'%()*+%,#&-%)..*/#0)-1%
'"#

!"#
The largest group (nearly 40%) are
working as freelancers. We do not
!$"#
()*+,-.# consider this to be a surprise, since this
%&"# /01230-4)#,4#1*56,7#.-7)28# group is usually looking for new social
/01230-4)#,4#18,9:)-#.-7)28#
contexts and capital flows.
On the contrary, we were surprised that
/01230-4)#,4#);,8+#.-7)28#
so few full-time employees within the civil
<8--6:47-# sector participated in the test. The reason
=4-01623-+# for this might well be the lack of
marketing.  
$"# %%"#

 
!"#$%&'()*++'$,-*&"'$,'./*-01*2&'$+'3'4'5667&*,/18'

)$*+,-$.-//$
!"#$ The system seems to appeal to a quite
'(#$ broad group in terms of economical
0112345*+6.7$*7$5893*-$
:1.;/<*58;/$=>??@$ income.

)$*+,-$*32-$

%&#$

 
 

Fabel Kommunikation AB
Sveavägen 31 | 111 34 Stockholm |08-41 02 24 30
info@fabel.se | www.fabel.se
    
 

!"#$%&'($)*+,'-.$-"$("/$0&1,$"'$2&3,4""56$

'"#
!!"#    
'"#

()*)+#,-).#!//#
We lack an appropriate reference
for this data at the moment.
()*)+#,-0.#%//# However, we believe that this
information can be very relevant in
()*)+#,-0.#1//#
the future, when the amount of
%&"#
$!"# ()*)+#,-0.!///# friends in Facebook will indicate
network coverage.
 
23+)#,-0.#!///#

!"#$%&'#(")*+',-#(+#-.*,#/,0&'0+'#
"0'$.,12#
*+,-./0,/+1$
)#$
'#$
2/304.$51.,6+$
'#$
71849- With one exception, the networks of
.6::/;4.9<6;$
*.981:4.$ the participants tend to be very
!"#$
&"#$
=8/.9<6;$ scattered. 40% of the participants
>?@5$ have their largest networks within
(#$
AB$ the sector of art and culture.
'#$ 2+4C9,1$51.,6+$

@,D1+$

&'#$ %#$

The categories above were not used to classify the participant's comments concerning the allocation
of resources for culture. The number of respondents per category would have been too little to
validate the data. However, it is obvious that the members have quite clear criteria to make their
judgements about which projects should receive private and public funding. 13% of the participants
paid their membership to support an acquaintance, which is less than we expected. 39% had less
specific reasons like "supporting good projects" or contributing with "a general support". We believe
that this group has the potential for long-term memberships, as well as the group of people who are
"curious about the system". Curiosity is a good driver of engagement: even when one feels the cost of
being a long-term paying member, one is ready to assume that cost in order to give targeted
donations.

Prio   Prioritized criteria   How shall democracy be maintained?  

1   The idea is good   Election every 4th year  
2   Credible project owner   Referendums  
3   Project plan is reliable   Direct democracy  
4   That I can influence the project   Self organisation  
5   Non commercial   Shall not be maintained  
 
!"#$%&#'(%)*+%,#)%$"(%&(&-(./"0,%1((2%
!"#$%#&'($%$")%*))+%

(#$
!"#$
)*++,-./0$1$2-34/5$ '()$*)+)*$,-$./)$

)*++,-./0$674$8*96*-19$9324$,2$ "&#$ 01$-(23*4$5)$(,6()7$

)6,8:7,9;$ !"#$
!%#$
<,*/5$1$0,,5$+-,=486$ 01$-(23*4$5)$*28)7$
'&#$

>*-3,*?$,2$674$?@?64;$ 0$89/1$9$:2;<*);)/1$
8,1($4,7):1)4$42/9=2/-$
&!#$ &#$
A15$1/$,B/$+-,=486$ %%#$

Fabel Kommunikation AB
Sveavägen 31 | 111 34 Stockholm |08-41 02 24 30
info@fabel.se | www.fabel.se
    
 
The graph below shows what the participants believe should determine public investments in cultural
projects. When asked about their motivation to click "finance", 62.5% of the participants answered
that the main idea of the project was crucial, while 14% answered that the person standing behind the
project was the most important aspect. Interestingly, all project owners considered their projects to be
part of their professional work. Our interpretation of this is that projects that benefit society at large
and which have a professional profile will tend to be rewarded.

 
One beta tester said in the survey:
!"#$%&'($)'(#%*"+,-.%.)$)/(0)%(1%#%&,-$,'#-%2'+3)&$%(*%
  )04$)-).%$+%2,5-(&%1,0.(067%
"All different  criteria might work in
some context. The purpose of
!"#$%&'%&(%)*$#%+,%-.*/#((&*$01%0.2('(%
providing this kind of fund structure
is that you do not have to go through !"#$%3*145#(%/.*6%'"#%&$)4(',%
0--.*7#(%
today's cumbersome and difficult fund !"#$%(4--*.'#)%+,%0%341'4.01%&$(2'42*$%
systems that prevent a democratic
allocation of money for arts and !"#$%&'%"0(%89:%3*;/4$)&$5%

culture”. !"#$%&'%103<%60.<#'%-*'#$201%
 
!"#$%&'%6##'(%341'4.01%-*1&2301%3.&'#.&0%

!"#$%&'%&(%5**)%/*.%(*3&#',%%

The diagram above shows preferred criteria for public investments in arts and
culture  

On-site behaviour

This section deals with data related to the way in which participants have used and interacted in the
site.

Conversion rate: 9.0% (this concerns only the visitors who registered)

Average time on site during the test is 3:07 min

Vistitor  lojalty  (#  revisits)  

2500  
2000  
1500  
1000  
500  
0  

Fabel Kommunikation AB
Sveavägen 31 | 111 34 Stockholm |08-41 02 24 30
info@fabel.se | www.fabel.se
    
 

Depth  of  the  visit  

3000  
2500  
2000  
1500  
1000  
500  
0  
1  sida     2  sidor   3  till  4   5  till  6   7  till  8   9  till  10    10  och  Fler  
sidor   sidor   sidor   sidor   sidor  

The chart above illustrates the frequency of visits from each IP address. We can of course see that
many visitors entered the site only once, but we can also see that a large group of users visited the site
very often.

The chart above shows the number of pages opened by the visitors. The largest group, which consists
of 2664 people, used a direct link or looked only at the front page. Thus, most visitors seem to know
what they are looking for. The second largest group, which consists in 1393 visitors, viewed from 2 to
4 pages. We also see that there is a fairly large group of 359 people who opened more than 10 pages.

Wiich ways does the traffic take?

Direct traffic   35,66 %

Facebook.com   26,91 %
Google search   13,74 %

 
As the statistics reflect, Facebook was one of our main strategies to reach out. We made this choice
because the test did not count with any budget for marketing. As a result, most of the users we had
belongs to a group that is active in this social medium.

At the moment, Google accounts for 13.7% of the traffic. The keywords “Crowd culture", "Crowd
Culture" and "Crowdculture.se" account for 46% of the matches directed through Google. The other
54% is spread through 184 keywords linked to the different projects. This indicates that the
engagement and branding of the members (both individuals and organizations) play a significant role
in the dissemination strategy. A 9% of the participants went from being visitors to being members,
which indicates a potential for organic growth over time.

Which countries does the traffic come from?

During the test period, we have had dialogue with a number of potential partners and contacts, which
explains a lot of visits from Spain and Great Britain. We have talked to people in Brussels and were
attending a conference in Germany.    

Country Visits
Sweden 4620
Spain 67
United States 67
Belgium 53
United Kingdom 48
Germany 29

Fabel Kommunikation AB
Sveavägen 31 | 111 34 Stockholm |08-41 02 24 30
info@fabel.se | www.fabel.se
    
 

Said about Crowdculture

The beta test has earned a relatively good coverage in the media and Crowdculture has been presented
within different contexts. The response has been mixed. Some people are extremely curious, other are
very enthusiastic and other very sceptic.

Presentations of Crowdculture at conferences

o SKL's annual culture conference October 11-12 2010.
o Media industry conference Generator Piteå November 23-24 2010.
o Free Culture in Berlin, Germany October 7-9 2010.
o World Usability Days 11th November 2010.

Articles about Crowdculture in newspapers and cultural press

o Daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet (2010-10-23, 2010-10-24, 2011-02-02)
o Daily newspaper Aftonbladet (2010-10-27)
o Daily newspaper DN (2011-02-18)
o Nummer.se (2010-10-27, 2011-02-08)
o Dance Magazine # 5 2010  
o Swedish national exhibitions - intelligence (2010-11-04)
o Speaking of Stockholm (2011-01-24)

Academic publications about Crowdculture

On "Crowd funding Culture" - Sara Bannerman

Others
o Crowdculture is mentioned in SOU Kulturbryggan 101 215 (Publication from the national
parliament of Sweden) as one of tomorrow's key concepts of Swedish culture funding.
o The European Parliaments Internet Core Group has shown great interest in Crowdculture and has
actively been following the progress of the project.
o The project Crowd Culture c/o Filmbasen is being developed in collaboration with the Swedish film
making network Filmbasen.se -funded by the County Council.

Function Organisation Web Contacts

Concept Fabel www.fabel.se Max Valentin

Tecnical
SICS www.sics.se Pär Hansson
development

The city of Torvald Olsson-

The call www.stockholm.se/kultur
Stockholm Sundelin

Manageing the The fund for

www.innovativkultur.se Bernt Ericson
call innovative culture

Fabel Kommunikation AB
Sveavägen 31 | 111 34 Stockholm |08-41 02 24 30
info@fabel.se | www.fabel.se