[via Social Synergy Weblog]
Back in January of this year I blogged on smartmobs.com about an interesting blog posting from Jeff Jarvis.
The idea that I talked about at the time, inspired by Jarvis’ post was that:
…on the” individual” level, we want to control the things that we create (and, that if we can’t, we’ll go elsewhere). On the “collective” level, we “create as we consume” collectively, and that the “crowd” itself owns the “wisdom of the crowd”. If someone tries to “own” this crowd-wisdom generated from consumption, they make it less valuable by trying to disconnect it from larger networks to control it.
This shift in the way that things are designed and used was inspired by the success of open source software and the emergence of “Peer to Peer”(P2P) paradigms in ever growing areas of human problem solving. Some of the roots of these concepts extend back to work done at MIT, such as Gershenfeld’s Personal fabrication ideas, Frank Piller’s Mass Customization work, and Eric Von Hippel’s Democratizing Innovation. Yochai Benkler also talks about commons based peer production concepts in his new book “The Wealth of Networks”.
Recently Wired Magazing published an article titled “The Rise of Crowdsourcing”. This article looks at how this phenomenon is beginning to be taken seriously by people on all scales of the business world, from small independent business people to huge corporations and their R&D departments, television programming producers, and more. A quote from Jeff Howe’s Wired article:
Remember outsourcing? Sending jobs to India and China is so 2003. The new pool of cheap labor: everyday people using their spare cycles to create content, solve problems, even do corporate R & D. …
Many companies growing up in the internet age were designed to take advantage of the networked world. But now the productive potential of millions of plugged-in enthusiasts is attracting the attention of old-line businesses, too. ‚Ķ Technological advances in everything from product design software to digital video cameras are breaking down the cost barriers that once separated amateurs from professionals. Hobbyists, part-timers, and dabblers suddenly have a market for their efforts, as smart companies in industries as disparate as pharmaceuticals and television discover ways to tap the latent talent of the crowd. The labor isn’t always free, but it costs a lot less than paying traditional employees. It’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing.
[via Social Synergy Weblog]
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Back in January of this year I blogged on smartmobs.com about an interesting blog posting from Jeff Jarvis.
The idea that I talked about at the time, inspired by Jarvis’ post was that:
…on the” individual” level, we want to control the things that we create (and, that if [...]
Comments
@ 15:29
Tapping into the vast potential of unused human resources, talent and time, call it ‘crowd-sourcing’ or anything else, is the way of the future. Each of the billions of people on this earth all have much to offer: knowledge, experience, ideas, tips, advice, information, time, companionship and sympathy. If we consider the vast number of hours which are wasted each day doing nothing, looking for information, and following blind alleys, the tremendous waste of human potential is staggering. So much knowledge is already available, but still many people are re-inventing the wheel. People are literally dying in underdeveloped countries from diseases for which cures have already been discovered.
Consider the use of a map - if I want to get from point A to point B, I could go up many blind alleys and finally reach there. If I had a map, I do’t waste time and reach point B in the least possible time. Now to be more efficient, I have to know that the map is available, where to get it from, and how to read it. A map is a chunk of knowledge, already discovered and organized by someone who took the time and effort to do so. But once made, there is no reason why the map cannot be used by hundreds or thousands of people. The same is true for knowledge of any kind - medicine, engineering, chemicals, agriculture, architecture, you name it. The knowledge is already available in books, on the web, or in the heads of experts, but it needs to be pointed out to the people who need it but don’t know where to find it. This could be one important role of using the power of the people.
Take the analogy of the map further. I have a map, but it is static. It doesn’t tell me which road is closed due to road repairs, where there is a traffic jam, or which gas station is selling gas the cheapest right now. There are complete radio and TV channels devoted to broadcasting updates on traffic conditions, with traffic-spotters phoning in with changes in the ground situation. Crowdsourcing? You bet. Apply this to online knowledge repositories. Wikis. People constantly sending in updates and corrections on every subject. What we have is a dynamic map of knowledge. Whats the best place to eat in this area? Where can I get a plumber or babsitter in that area? Who is the expert on this subject? Where can I find an answer to my question on that issue? What we need is a cross between Google, Wikipedia and Yahoo Answers. A place where anyone can get the answer to his/her question on any subject instantaneously. A job for crowdsourcing? Obviously.
I am in the process of setting up such a web-site, and would appreciate input, advice and help from all interested. ( ‘Ash’ at drtunio@gmail.com ).
@ 08:08
Hello,
in the same concept, look at this website that I’ve just noticed http://cecrowdsourcing.blogspot.com/ This is a further step on the crowdsourcing as it aims to design and sale electronic products for the first time (it’s hardware development and not software for this time). It looks promising but it’s just started. I’d recommand you to join this community, who knows it can work and you can potentially earn money.