A STUDY IN HOOMANISM: UNDERSTANDING MEANING IN GEEK PHILANTHROPY AND CYBERANTHROPOLOGY A Project Report Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Anthropology San Jose State University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts By Ailea Merriam-Pigg May 2017 © 2017 Ailea Merriam-Pigg ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT A STUDY IN HOOMANISM: UNDERSTANDING MEANING IN GEEK PHILANTHROPY AND CYBERANTHROPOLOGY By Ailea Merriam-Pigg In 2012, a study of one hundred and fifteen thousand nonprofits found that giving totals provided by online fundraising processors rose fourteen percent from 2011 to 2.1 billion USD. This is a much sharper growth than the overall rise in donations of 1.5% (after accounting for inflation) in 2012 (Grovum and Flandez, 2015). One conclusion is that online fundraising and philanthropy is expanding at a much faster rate than other philanthropic means. Some of this increase is due to online communities which have dedicated themselves to altruism and philanthropy. I partnered with one such group, Team Hooman, and two associated organizations, Geek & Sundry and HyperRPG, to understand how such communities are established and operate online. The larger goal of this study was to discover how online geek groups and organizations establish group meaning, connect meaning to philanthropy, and facilitate group member philanthropy. I addressed this goal by analyzing the online philanthropic community, Team Hooman. The main objective of this research project was to investigate the online group known as Team Hooman and the collective motivations which have inspired the group to establish a strong philanthropic presence. By observing the behavior of Team Hooman members I intended to discover patterns of behavior that could be replicated by other groups interested in philanthropy. The study consisted of one hundred and ninety-six survey respondents and thirty interviews with people who were either [1] members of Team Hooman or [2] not members of Team Hooman but with some knowledge or interaction with hoomans. Since Team Hooman primarily operates in the chatrooms of the live-stream platform, Twitch, I also analyzed hundreds of hours of archived chat logs and videos, and conducted participant observation during live- streamed content. Finally, participant observation was also conducted across various social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, to understand how hoomans interacted with each other outside of their main interactive platform, Twitch. Key findings suggest that, though there is no correlation between hooman philanthropy and economic status, hoomans are more likely to support philanthropies supported by Felicia Day, Ryon Day, Geek & Sundry, and other hooman-promoted charity events. Hoomans report that the community is for anyone who wants to promote kindness and “do good” on the Internet or in the world, but over sixty percent of hooman interviewees stated they joined the community through Felicia Day. The findings suggest that, since leaders in the community, like Felicia Day, strongly support philanthropy, hoomans have adopted philanthropy as a central value. Despite multiple hoomans stating the community stands alone, hoomans do not support hosts or staff who leave Geek & Sundry for other interests, even if those interests are similar to Geek & Sundry's content. The following report explores the theoretical and methodological considerations that informed the research design. The report also describes key findings, insights, and outcomes that resulted from the application of this project. Since multiple deliverables were produced in conjunction with this project, the deliverables in their original form have been included at the end of this report. Acknowledgements I would like to thank each and every member of Team Hooman, Geek & Sundry, and HyperRPG for allowing me to do this research. Without Team Hooman's participation and passion this project could not exist. In fact, joining Team Hooman is what inspired me to pursue my interests in understanding online groups and geek culture from an academic standpoint. When I first approached the General Manager of Geek & Sundry about this project I was nervous about his response. Turns out, I shouldn't have been as he was enthusiastically on board and immediately set me up with the Twitch channel producer to work out the logistics. Similarly, when I approached HyperRPG they were immediately on board. Furthermore, several employees and freelancers in each organization were extremely enthusiastic and supportive about my research, wanting to discuss my progress, any thoughts I had during the analysis stage, and offering as much support as possible. To all the hoomans and staff of Geek & Sundry and HyperRPG, thank you for your enthusiastic support. I would also like to thank my advisor, Jan English-Lueck, and every faculty member and person who helped me complete this project. I would also like to thank San Jose State University for presenting me with the opportunity to perform this research. My advisor worked tirelessly with me to create a valid research project from my nebulous first ideas. There were many times I wasn't sure how I wanted to take the next step during this project and every time my advisor was there to talk with me and help me figure out the path I wanted to follow. Furthermore, thank you so much Professor Jan English-Lueck, for listening to this crazy graduate student when she spoke about wanting to study a group of people on a livestream platform and helping me figure out how to make it the best project it could be while still being true to myself as a researcher and person. You are always excited to learn new things, see how technology and people are pushing the envelope, and figure out how anthropology can be used in these endeavors. Your passion and spirit inspire me. Thank you, my fellow students, for struggling with me and all the support you have given me as I moved through each stage of this project. To all those who listened to me as I struggled to create research tools that would show Team Hooman in the most objective light possible so as to not let my position as a member of Team Hooman jeopardize the project; to all those who read through my IRB, MOU, proposal, and toolkit for the thousandth time at my request to make sure I didn't misspell a word or forget punctuation; to those who had faith in me to not only handle this project, but create something truly exceptional, thank you. I couldn't have done this without you. In this vein, I would like to give a specific shout-out to KyuuiPenguin and my father, Bill Pigg. These two individuals both reviewed my entire graduate report for every misplaced comma and awkward sentence. Thank you both for ripping my first few drafts to shreds so that the report could turn into something better than it was. I can't promise I'll ever stop writing repetitive sentences at three in the morning when I'm working on a deadline, so thank you for willingly reading every word, even when you're reading the same word over and over again. Also, thank you to my family. Mom and Dad, you may not understand my research or research interests, but thank you for listening to every update I gave. Thank you for supporting me by understanding that, even if my work isn't your passion, it is mine. And thank you my sister, Lydia, who is probably my closest relative who understands social science research and is always willing to discuss methodology with me. Thank you for being a role model and someone with whom I could rant about people misusing statistical terminology. To all those who were participants in this research project, those who helped me create it, those who inspired me, and those who gave me a kick in the pants when I needed it, thank you. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………....1 SECTION ONE: CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION………………………………..5 The Growth of Online Philanthropy………………………………………….5 Geek Culture………………………………………………………………….9 The Internet…………………………………………………………………...10 Twitch………………………………………………………………………...11 Team Hooman……………………………………………………………….12 Geek & Sundry………………………………………………………………15 HyperRPG…………………………………………………………………...17 SECTION TWO: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY……………….19 Methods for Digital Ethnography…………………………………………...20 Sample Strategy and Characteristics………………………………………..23 Instrument Formulation……………………………………………………..24 Format of the Instruments…………………………………………………..25 Participant Observation……………………………………………………..27 Access to and Analysis of Archived Records………………………………29 Participant Surveys, Interviews, and Informed Consent……………………31 Age and the Internet………………………………………………………...34 SECTION THREE: FINDINGS AND INSIGHTS………………………………...36 Main Hypotheses…………………………………………………………...36 The Toolkit…………………………………………………………………44 Other Findings……………………………………………………………...63 Looking Ahead……………………………………………………………..69 SECTION FOUR: DELIVERABLE DESIGN AND PRESENTATION………….70 Designing the Toolkit………………………………………………………72 Live and Archived Video Deliverables…………………………………….72 Responses to Deliverables………………………………………………….74 Other Deliverables………………………………………………………….79 SECTION FIVE: REFLECTIONS………………………………………………....81 Researching When Hooman………………………………………………..81 Future Deliverables………………………………………………………...84 Areas of Further Inquiry…………………………………………………...85 Moving Forward…………………………………………………………...93 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………….94 APPENDIX A: INFORMED CONSENT AND SURVEY INSTRUMENT...…..102 APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW INSTRUMENT……………………………….….111 APPENDIX C: TOOLKIT DELIVERABLE………………………….…………114