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Two are company, two thousand is crowdsourcing!




This week there has been a lot of discussion surrounding the validity and effectiveness of crowdsourcing. When I began the week I was strictly thinking about people who go on the internet to ask for brunch recommendations or nail salon recommendations. But, as the week progressed I learned that crowdsourcing is much more than that, and that we use it more often than any of us think.  

 I started looking for examples of successful crowdsourcing. The first example I came up with was Waze. If you haven't ever used Waze it is a fantastic GPS app that is updated by people who are driving. I actually took a small day trip yesterday and I used this app along the way. It provides you with a wealth of information about both driving and non driving related things. One thing I hate is sitting in traffic with no idea of why things are so slow and how long it's going to be. With the Waze app drivers in front of you tell you about the roadwork and when it will open up. You can program Waze to help you find cheap gas, or your favorite restaurant. This is a great example of crowdsourcing.

I think crowdsourcing gets sketchy when you give people too much freedom. Sometimes it's a crapshoot. You have people who pretend (or actually think) they are experts. It all boils down to being critical, to making informed decisions based on the recommendations of the crowd.

Comments

  1. LeelocinJune 6, 2022 at 2:14 PM

    I’m sorry teach, I’m totally guilty of pretending like I know things. That’s why I say priornear and not pioneer. I like to think the world is full of easter eggs and some are painted specifically for specific people, but if we lay a bunch, there will be a bunch to be picked up by others, eventually, somewhere, sometime, somehow. That’s also why I think the internet is time traveling!
    Ps. Your font is white so it was difficult to read! Were you trying to easter egg it?

    ReplyDelete

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