Definition: crowdsourcing

Asking the general public for recommendations, opinions, information or support. For example, if a natural disaster strikes, locals can capture and upload images before a professional news crew arrives. Rather than hire a professional poll taker, obtaining public opinion via a website or blog may be the fastest way to generate comments and suggestions. Raising funds online is also a form of crowdsourcing (see crowdfunding). See user-generated content and social navigation.

Let the Public Do the Work
Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk enables people to enter a task description and an amount they will pay for its completion. A body of workers (the Turks; the crowd) review the job list and fulfill the tasks. Wazoku (formerly InnoCentive) enlists scientists worldwide to do research for pharmaceutical, biotech, agribusiness and other companies. Awards are issued for solutions that best meet requirements. See Mechanical Turk and Google Answers.




Crowdsourced Traffic Reporting