Focus on the 'Hard Side'—Why Power Users Shape Every Network’s Fate

In every networked system, from Wikipedia and YouTube to your high school study group, the pattern is clear: a minority of contributors drive the vast majority of impact. These are your 'hard side' users. For Wikipedia, it’s the tiny group of editors who write and correct articles. In online marketplaces, it’s the highly active sellers keeping inventory fresh. Teachers know the one or two students who always start group projects, set the tone, and rope others in.

The problem? Hard side users are harder to please. They value status, tools tailored to their complex workflows, opportunities to lead, or direct financial reward—but rarely all at once. When ignored, they move on, and the entire network suffers. In contrast, the easy side—readers, buyers, casual participants—follows wherever the hard side leads.

The science behind this is rooted in power law distributions and the '1/10/100' rule: 1% create, 10% occasionally contribute, the rest mostly observe. Sustainable networks, therefore, design for the hard side’s needs first and foremost—even if it means customizing features, giving backstage access, or publicly celebrating their impact.

The lesson? Your network’s 'hard side' users are not interchangeable. Understand their psychology, build just for them, and watch the rest of your ecosystem flourish around their activity.

Take a close look at your group, app, or community—identify who is stepping up again and again to contribute, organize, or create. Don’t simply offer blanket rewards; instead, reach out, ask what would make their experience better, and make targeted changes they’ll notice. When they see their needs being met, these contributors become evangelists, drawing others in naturally. This focused investment in your hard side gives your network a backbone others can rely on. Make a list of your top contributors today and schedule a conversation with at least one of them this week.