Understanding Human Intervention in the Platform Economy: A case study of an indie food delivery service

TL;DR

This study explores how human intervention sustains and shapes an indie food delivery platform, highlighting its role in fostering user agency, respect, and local support in contrast to mainstream services.

Contribution

It provides a detailed case study of an indie platform, emphasizing the importance of human intervention in its sociotechnical infrastructure and user experience.

Findings

Human intervention connects disparate technical systems.

Participants value agency, security, and local support.

The platform fosters respect and community engagement.

Abstract

This paper examines the sociotechnical infrastructure of an "indie" food delivery platform. The platform, Nosh, provides an alternative to mainstream services, such as Doordash and Uber Eats, in several communities in the Western United States. We interviewed 28 stakeholders including restauranteurs, couriers, consumers, and platform administrators. Drawing on infrastructure literature, we learned that the platform is a patchwork of disparate technical systems held together by human intervention. Participants join this platform because they receive greater agency, financial security, and local support. We identify human intervention's key role in making food delivery platform users feel respected. This study provides insights into the affordances, limitations, and possibilities of food delivery platforms designed to prioritize local contexts over transnational scales.