The internet’s Pandora box is churning out new stuff by the
minute. New apps, new concepts and a constant exchange of ideas have made the
internet more powerful than ever before. But in this quagmire of unlimited
possibilities, there are only so many things that can actually make a
difference when it comes to addressing issues that affect our lives every day.
One of such ideas is the idea of crowd-sourcing.
We have dropped the name, but what does it really mean?
Crowd- Sourcing is not a new concept per se. It was coined
by two editors of the Wired Magazine, Jeff Howe and Mark Robinson, back in
2006. It is a method of getting work, or funding by a large group of people, who
are connected through the web. Crowd-
Sourcing also pertains to micro tasking, where small, repetitive tasks are
performed by a small group of online workers.
Another way by which Crowd- Sourcing works is by source designing, where
tasks such as logo designing is completed by interested people, say, in form of
a contest.
One of the best known examples of a Crowd- Sourced website is
Wikipedia. It collects articles from contributors and presents it to the user
in the form of an easy to use encyclopedia. Another example of Crowd-funded
site is Trevolta which allows travelers to exchange ideas for travel so as to
raise funds for their travels. Waze, a community-based traffic and navigation
app, leverages Crowd-Sourcing to help drivers navigate through traffic. Social
ventures such as IChangeMyCity and Zerocrime are using Crowd-Sourcing to create
a map of issues that affect citizens.
Crowd- Sourcing seems to be a great idea because it helps to
reduce the former inhibitions which used to antagonize the free flow of
thoughts and opinions. Through the internet, ideas can now be shared across the
world at the click of a button. In recent times where privacy and anonymity are
of huge importance, internet can ensure that they are respected. Also Crowd-
Sourcing can help reduce the cost and time involved in gathering information by
a single entity. The concept is also advantageous for government agencies to
gain knowledge into the problems that citizen’s face, as well as see the
solution that these citizens themselves suggest.
Crowd-Sourcing is a great way to bring together ideas and
opinions to create something truly innovative. We will now leave it up to you
to decide, whether Crowd- Sourcing is just a concept, or a world of possibilities,
waiting to be explored.
Article written by Vistrit Choudhary, a writer and volunteer with the Zerocrime initiative
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