Below is a recap of a public symposium I recently attended. It was organized by the Board on Research Data and Information National Research Council. An abbreviated version is published on the blog of Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies.
Crowdsourcing is a straightforward concept – rally people around a cause or concept and get them to contribute their thoughts, observations, and insights. The term is widely attributed to Jeff Howe in a June 2006-Wired magazine article. It is everywhere:
- People have monetized it – CloudCrowd, Innovation Exchange
- People have helped people with it – Katrina PeopleFinder Project, Ushahidi (Swahili for “testimony” or “witness”)
- People have influenced people – FlipperTV (2007) and McCainpedia (2008) (The Democratic National Committee – both)
And…..scientists and researchers have been using it for generations to acquire scientific data. Continued…
