The Future of the Crowd

Our group met Tuesday night in the UGLI to discuss the final section of Crowdsourcing: Where We Are Going.

Chapter 10: The Age of the Digital Native

Using statistics, Jeff Howe emphasizes the prominence of youth connected to technology. He also discusses the ability to use youth as creative resources, primarily in the world of gaming.

The gaming industry has come to rely on user creations and feedback. Due to the availability of software and information online to help any gamer develop his or her own mods, what used to be a "hackers only" type of community has spread to the general population, increasing the amount of user developed content in other online communities.

Society has grown from socializing in settings outside the home (e.g. libraries, school gymnasiums) and to socializing indoors through an internet connection. The culture that the web has cultivated grants teenagers a creative outlet, no matter how dreadful it may be, to share with others online. Using online information and various methods of acquiring expensive programs, the younger generations has learned to harness the technology of scripting languages, animation utilities, and photo/video editing programs. The internet is also allowing students to collaborate on homework by editing wiki pages for submission.

--> Notable Statistics:

• 200 American million kids have Internet access, pg. 261
• Over 50% of American teenagers (with Internet access) create web content such as photos, artwork, blogs and music remixes, pg. 270
• $400-500 million spent annually by Americans on "tech camps," pg. 166
• 33% of American teenagers contribute to the websites of others vs. 13% of adults, pg. 272

Takeaway message: "The erosion of the boundary between producer and consumer has begun to exercise a considerable effect on our economy and our culture." pg. 269

Chapter 11: The Rules of Crowdsourcing

1. Pick the right model: collective intelligence, crowd creation, crowd voting, crowdfunding.
2. Pick the right crowd: think demographics! Closely linked with rule #1. The internet provides a medium to gather significant crowd participation.
3. Offer the right incentives. $ is not always necessary, people often will contribute for other gains (notoriety, resume, confidence).
4. Keep the pink slips in the drawer. Not everything can and should be crowdsourced - it is not always an easy way out. Crowdsourcing requires advertisement, sorting of submissions, and selection on a grand scale.
5. The dumbness of crowds or the benevolent dictator Principle: The crowd needs guidance by well-meaning individuals; self-rule will not always work.
6. Keep it simple, Break it Down. Divide and conquer - allow people to demonstrate their specialized knowledge.
7. Remember Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crap. Real talent is hard to find.
8. Remember the 10%, the antidote to Sturgeon's Law. The crowd can effectively identify the 10% with talent.
9. The community is always right. Cater to the user's needs and then develop an economic model around them.
10. Ask not what the crowd can do for you, but what you can do for the crowd.

In short, if you scratch the crowd's back, they will scratch yours.