Crowdsourcing..Like Crowdsurfing, But Not.

Crowdsourcing, as defined by Wikipedia, is outsourcing a task or problem to a group of people via an open forum, which (depending on who you ask) is exactly what Wikipedia does. But not everyone would agree with this term.

Dan Woods, for example, would argue that what we define as crowdsourcing is actually more like virtuoso search, because when these problems are sent out to the masses, they are usually answered by experts not "average joes".

The people who fill out the articles on Wikipedia, for example, are usually experts (self-proclaimed?...maybe) who are motivated to answer Wikipedia's call. The most I've ever published on Wikipedia was adding my birthday to the list of important things that occured on May 23rd and it was deleted 5 minutes later.

What about the people who answer problems using Blue Gene, IBM's super computer. They're actually super geniuses. These are highly educated individuals who use the computer center to solve extremely difficult problems like Influenza Virus Mutations. They're not in there making scrapbooks or putting together a travel guide.

Which is why I've got to agree with Woods. People need to understand that when you put emphasis on the word "crowd" it leads us to believe that it's ordinary people who are figuring out these complex algorithms or writing articles about Benedict Arnold, when its not. It takes someone educated (or slightly obsessed) in these topics to answer these questions.

My next big Wikipedia move will be adding this blog to the list of The Best Blogs Awards (otherwise known as the BOBs).

Have a great night :)