Join the crowd

Tonight I’m attending the Social Media Club of Austin meeting in the KLRU Studio on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. The event is actually held in the Original Austin City Limits Soundstage where the iconic Austin City Limits television show was recorded for 36 seasons. Photos of artists who performed on that soundstage line the walls, as you would expect, it’s a collection of Who’s Who in the world of music during that span of time.

The format of tonight’s meeting is a panel discussion and the topic is crowdsourcing. From Wikipedia: crowdsourcing is the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to an undefined, large group of people or community (a "crowd"), through an open call. Author Jeff Howe is generally credited with popularizing the term in an article in Wired magazine in June 2006.

One of the amazing aspects of crowdsourcing is that the members of a group which forms to solve a problem are largely unknown to each other and to the person - a.k.a. the crowdsourcer - who broadcasts the problem. Individuals band together into a virtual online community and submit solutions for the group to consider. This collaboration is expected to lead to a smarter and more robust solution than can be created via most any other method (especially for the price). The reason is clear; participants in a crowd can come from all corners of the world. Members are likely to have very different backgrounds, life experiences and thought processes. This diversity creates for a rich mixture of ideas that becomes the fuel for the group’s intellectual engine. Everyone’s contribution is judged by the community on merit alone. Ultimately, the crowd chooses its best solution and sends it to the crowdsourcer, who may or may not accept it. Yay or nay, the crowdsourcer owns the solution.

Many times, the winning crowd receives some kind compensation for their efforts. It could be prizes, cash and/or recognition. On occasion, though, participants join in simply for the satisfaction of collaborating to solve an interesting or vexing challenge.

I find the concept of crowdsourcing fascinating. I look forward to the insights the panel of experts will share tonight. Perhaps it will inspire me to use crowdsourcing on a project, or better yet, to become a member of a crowd. Too bad any crowd I join won’t be performing on the soundstage at KLRU.

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