#bigdry

Although crowdsourcing is not a new concept, the advancements in technology have had a huge impact on how it is defined today. Crowdsourcing is the practice of engaging a 'crowd; or group to achieve a common goal, often innovation, problem solving or efficiency and is powered by new technologies such as social media and the internet.  

The internet has granted us with accessibility to information and knowledge , but has also allowed us to create and share content ourselves. Produsers is a term associated with crowdsourcing,  and is a conjunction of the words "Producer" and "User". Wikipedia is a website we are all familiar with, often a first port of call when doing a quick internet search, but what many don’t realise is this is one of the greatest example of world scale crowdsourcing. Wikipedia allows users to edit and publish articles on their website with the common goal to benefit its readers by  presenting neutrally written summaries of existing mainstream knowledge in a fair and accurate manner with a straightforward, "just-the-facts style". Obviously, when you allow anybody to publish information, not everything is going to be accurate or supported by facts, so wether Wikipedia actually achieves their goal is up for debate, but we can save that for a later conversation.

Crowdsourcing particularly comes into play when disaster strikes,  rallying contributions from the public to pinpoint trouble areas, gather critical information, perform time-sensitive tasks and deem people involved or in the area as safe. Smartphones have lead to amateur footage of disasters becoming crucial sources of visual coverage. In Australia, amateur footage of the harrowing effects the drought has had on our farmers was brought to our attention. Without the public producing and posting their own coverage of the drought most of us would not even be aware of this disaster. In attempts to provide support, the public crowdfunded by purchasing bales of hay to donate to famers. Crowdfunding works similarly to crowdsourcing, relying on small donations from a 'crowd' equating to a large amount with a common goal to provide financial support to those affected. The 'Buy a Bale' campaign saw over 46,000 bales of hay provided to farmers in just a few short months. 

It isn't just large scale or world wide disasters that are assisted through crowdsourcing. A few years ago an unexpected bush fire tore through my small community, luckily it was small and put out quickly with no one being hurt. Our Facebook community group was where most of us found out the facts, where is happened, why it happened, who was involved etc.. Discovering that two families had their lost their homes and were eft with only the clothes on their back our community united through the same Facebook group to organise donations of money, clothes and accommodation. Crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding occurs on local and global levels for various industries and causes and has been greatly supported by technological advancements, as Thad Allen explains;

Not My Type | Alright | Cute | Adorable | Pretty | Gorgeous | LORD MERCY

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