Cite Your (Crowd)Sources!

Crowdsourcing seems to be on the rise these days. The easy way to define it would be to ask a question and gather recommendations/advice from others. It seems easy to pose a question and gather information from others, that you may or may not know. Facebook has a specific feature that allows for people to ask for recommendations. This is useful when someone is traveling to Key West and wants to know the best place to get Key Lime Pie or if someone wants to plant native Florida plants in their yard. However, there are two sides to this coin, so to speak.

I think that crowdsourcing has a unique quality of allowing people to give suggestions and feel accomplished, but it also can lead people away from what they intended in the first place. Here's what I mean:

In my opinion, crowdsourcing allows people a small sense of validation. By giving advice, a recommendation, a suggestion, etc., crowdsourcing gives users this feeling that they've done something helpful. It allows them to flex their knowledge of a place or a topic that others might need help with. I would think that this goes hand in hand with our "produser" topic from Week 1. People who are asking the crowd for sources of information are produsers because they are producing the question and also using the information given (and using the platform) and the "crowd" is doing the same, just the opposite. 

The other thing about crowdsourcing is that it could all just be a huge waste of time. You can pose questions and never get any responses. Or what would be worse, in my opinion, is to get responses and have them all be no good. This would mean that you've wasted time, when you could've researched your topic yourself. 

What are your thoughts on crowdsourcing? Do you think it's helpful? Or harmful? Or a chaotic mix of both? 

Comments

  1. The WeaveJune 4, 2022 at 1:53 PM

    Great question! I think it is a good thing. I mean, most things have their downsides, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives in the case of crowdsourcing.
    I immediately thought of the Tallahassee Foodies Facebook group. Most are familiar, but, it is a group STRICTLY for recommendations - DO NOT put your restaurant reviews there, or you will scolded, and your post will be deleted. I think the curators wanted a space for people go and find out where they could get the best margarita, or the best burger in town and they didn't want perspective "researchers" finding a bunch or reviews talking about the crappy service, or the lack of dessert options. A lot of people have a problem with the way the group is run, but I can see the logic with their system, and I typically go there first when I am looking for something yummy to eat in Tally.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Li MengJune 5, 2022 at 1:52 PM

    Hi, I really enjoyed your post, it was a good insightful piece. To me, my daily experience with crowdsourcing is through Reddit. As with most things online, more often than not, we receive information that is uncredible. However, I do think that sometimes there are indeed golden nuggets of information that other users can provide us. Using Reddit as an example, the quality of the information you receive is really dependent on this:

    1) Finding the right Reddit community: You need to find a community that truly cares about what you are doing.

    2) Creating a crowdsourcing plan: State the problem you are trying to solve, and the ideal input you need from the crowd, and how you will use the input. It is important to be clear on the requirements to effectively communicate them to the Reddit community.

    3) Give a reason to contribute: If you have a simple proposition and a subreddit that cares about what you are doing, that could be enough to generate quality responses.

    4) Post at the right time: The chances of success can be increased by posting to Reddit at the right time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. cathcosgJune 6, 2022 at 11:07 AM

    Love this post! Have you heard of the idea of Reply Twitter? It's the format of posting a specific question to get quote retweets and replies. This can range from favorite Beyonce songs to deeper philosophical questions. Your post got me thinking it's a new form of crowdsourcing information, similar to the key lime pie example.

    ReplyDelete

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