Dear Reader,

I am currently a student in the John W. Draper Interdisciplinary Master’s Program at New York University.  I study “Technologies of Cooperation” – how web technology and the new organizational forms it enables can be used to improve collaboration and problem-solving at a global level.  My research has been mainly self-directed, with lots of help from people I’ve met in online research communities and in NYC’s own tech community.  I’ve also gained lots of practical experience in my research area over the past few years by participating in a number of projects.  You can read the full story on my Past page.

I’m currently seeking an adviser among the faculty at NYU. I’ve made a lot of progress on my own, but I haven’t been able to narrow the scope of my research.  Also, I sometimes have trouble drawing a bright line between research and practical work.  I’m an independent worker and I know how to write a research paper just fine, but I need to be able to discuss the material with someone knowledgeable on a regular basis.

Here’s my general thesis idea: The Peer Production of Peer Production

I want to identify the core components of any peer production project, and present them in such a way that those who wish to initiate or participate in such projects can do so more effectively.  At the same time, I want to apply these discoveries reflexively to the text itself, such that my short work can become the starting point of a peer produced knowledge base about peer production.

This is, of course, far too large a project for a fifty page research paper.  Here is my current attempt to narrow the scope:

• Peer production and the networked enterprise: how can peer production and peer governance be used to create enterprises, or networks of enterprises, that can compete in the marketplace without exploiting labor or negatively impacting the biosphere.

Still a bit too big, but it’s a start.  If you are reading this, and you know of a professor anywhere in NYU that I can talk too about this, please email me.

Thanks Kindly,

Matt Cooperrider
mattcooperrider@gmail.com