Ethnographic Insights on Point Systems - fil

Points serve as engagement units that organizations leverage to reward users for completing specific tasks. Their application extends far beyond crypto, encompassing airline miles, hotel booking levels, loyalty programs like Starbucks’, and more. An intriguing, albeit lesser-known, application of similar incentive structures is observed in certain ethnic minority villages in China.

From Social Credits to Village Work-Points

China's social structures, including the widely discussed social credit system, often draw global attention. However, a lesser-known but equally fascinating model is the ‘work-point system’ (gongfen, 工分) utilized in some ethnic minority villages. One such example is Langde Shangzhai, a Miao village nestled in the mountains of Guizhou Province, employing the work-point system to manage tourism. This system, while designed for a completely different context, surprisingly shares parallels with incentive mechanisms seen in crypto projects.

The Cooperative Tourism Model

Following the principle of "every villager contributes to the construction of the village, so everyone should benefit from tourism development”, Langde Shangzhai has adopted a community-driven tourism model centred around the ‘work-point system’. Inspired by the rural collective economy of China's agricultural collectivization period, Langde Shangzhai's work-point system represents a cooperative approach to tourism, emphasizing fair distribution of tourism benefits, including revenue sharing, equal opportunities, and support for vulnerable villagers (for example, elderly villagers who do not perform but only accompany events still receive corresponding work-points). Similar to crypto projects, wherein tasks are rewarded with tokens and sometimes points as a stepping stone, villagers earn points for various contributions to tourism activities, such as performing traditional Miao dances and songs for tourists. Similar to onchain points in crypto projects, these points are distributed based on the quantity and quality of work performed.

From Performance to Profit

In both contexts, points serve as the basis for distributing rewards. In Langde Shangzhai, these points translate into shares of tourism revenue, which mainly come from performance fees charged to tourist groups. Twenty-five percent of the tourism income is retained for the village's common development fund. The remaining income is fairly distributed monthly based on the work points earned by participating villagers, mirroring the crypto’s token airdrops or the protocol revenue share implemented by Zora, Mirror and more.

Evolving Incentives for Community Prosperity

To facilitate the distribution of work-points, Langde Shangzhai deploys work-point cards. Each work-point card lists various items (such as types of performances, types of clothing, and types of hairstyles) and corresponding work-points (1-12 points). For example, if a girl in the village wears the local long-skirt Miao costume, wears a complete set of Miao silver ornaments, and styles her hair in a traditional high bun, she will earn 8 points; if her shoes are not cloth shoes, she earns 1 point less, totalling 7 points; if she doesn't style her hair in a high bun, she earns 3 points less, totalling 5 points; if she greets tourists at the village gate upon their arrival, she will earn an additional 2 points; if she also serves wine to tourists, she will earn another 3 points. What sets apart the work-point system is its flexibility to adapt to the evolving needs of the village. Much like how crypto projects adjust incentive structures to align with changing objectives, activities in Langde Shangzhai earn different point values based on the village's priorities for enhancing the tourist experience. This can change over time, ensuring the system remains responsive to the community's objectives and the evolving tourism landscape.

The work-point system also implements its own mechanism to prevent Sybil attacks. Work-point cards are personally distributed after each tourism ritual and performance. Villagers who participate earn points, but those arriving late or leaving early miss out. Additionally, those involved in distributing and registering points also earn them. The allocation process undergoes periodic revisions to ensure fairness and prevent free-riding, demonstrating its adaptability and commitment to equitable distribution of benefits.

The Double-Edged Sword of Incentive Systems

The work-point model is not without its limitations. Echoing criticisms aimed at certain crypto incentive programs, such as incentivizing short-term gains over long-term sustainability, the work-point system might unintentionally discourage villagers from engaging in other productive activities. Such a narrow focus risks hindering the broader development of the village and makes the community more vulnerable by funnelling resources into a singular activity and reducing diversification. This echoes concerns about "airdrop farmers’ in crypto, who focus solely on maximizing token rewards without contributing meaningfully to project growth and long-term sustainability and success.

Despite its flaws, Langde Shangzhai's work-point system underscores the importance of community participation. Research indicates that tourism on a smaller scale, especially when it involves direct engagement from community members, yields more favourable outcomes for individuals compared to more extensive developments lacking such participation. When able to participate to the upside, community members recognize the value of collective effort in sustaining their tourism-driven economy. The lessons learned from their experiences provide meaningful food for thought for crypto projects facing the task of fostering sustained participation and commitment.

Bridging Traditional Practices and Crypto Innovations

By drawing parallels between Langde Shangzhai’s work-point system and similar incentive mechanisms in crypto projects, we are once again reminded that the point systems or the reward programs implemented by crypto projects are unique in their modality but not in their philosophy: to foster collaboration, incentivize community participation, and fairly distribute value. Albeit belonging to different socio-economic contexts, the experience of cooperatives embodied by Langde Shangzhai offers valuable insights for the design and evolution of reward systems in crypto projects.

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