#week 12

When most people hear the word "crowdsourcing," they probably think of companies asking the public for ideas or feedback. And yes, that's technically true. Crowdsourcing involves drawing contributions, information, or participation from a large group of people (Liu, 2021). 

But I think social media has given crowdsourcing another meaning too! Sometimes we're not solving problems or generating ideas, we're simply collectively building an experience.

It feels like everyone is in the moment together even when we're all miles apart.

As of the newest event, Ariana Grande's Eternal Sunshine Tour has started! As someone living in Asia, I could not attend it (heartbroken 😭), but I got to witness so much of it through TikTok.

And honestly? I think that's one of the most fun parts of social media.

Even some of the funniest moments from the concert quickly spread across the platform. For example, TikTok user @giacomobeub shared that he attended the concert dressed as a little flower pot. And I must say, I absolutely loved the outfit.

What I found even more wholesome was the comment section. People were sharing stories about spotting him at the concert, taking photos with him, or seeing him appear in other people's videos. Suddenly, this one random concertgoer became part of everyone's Eternal Sunshine Tour experience.

To me, that's crowdsourcing at its best.

One person posts a video. Another person shares a different angle. Someone else uploads a funny interaction. Before you know it, people who never attended the concert can almost piece together the entire event from everyone's contributions.

And that's exactly what happened with Ariana's tour.

Even I, someone sitting thousands of kilometres away from the venue, felt involved. I got to see the performances, the fan projects, the funny outfits, and all the little moments that made the concert special.

Karachiwalla and Pinkow (2021) explain that crowdsourcing thrives because people are motivated not only by rewards, but also by interaction, participation, and the love of community. Honestly, I think that's exactly what happened here. Nobody was getting paid to post their videos. People simply wanted to share their excitement with others.

Of course, crowdsourcing is not always perfect. It can spread misinformation just as quickly as it spreads joy. But when used positively, it creates something really beautiful. As Du et al. (2024) discuss, crowdsourcing has significant social implications because it allows people to collectively contribute knowledge and experiences.

In this case, what was being shared wasn't information…it was happiness.

Now that's the kind of crowdsourcing I like. 🌻✨

References:

Du, S., Babalola, M. T., D’cruz, P., Dóci, E., Garcia-Lorenzo, L., Hassan, L., ... & Van Gils, S. (2024). The ethical, societal, and global implications of crowdsourcing research. Journal of Business Ethics, 193(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05604-9 

Karachiwalla, R., & Pinkow, F. (2021). Understanding crowdsourcing projects: A review on the key design elements of a crowdsourcing initiative. Creativity and innovation management, 30(3), 563-584. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12454 

Crowdsourcing refers to the practice of obtaining ideas, services, data, or resources from a large, often online group of people during emergencies or disruptive events such as natural disasters, pandemics, wars, or economic collapses. Highlight. This includes all crises out there, not just the contemporary digital hardships. The topic of crowdsourcing validates the significance of the digital community, and why it has the power to change, to rule the world. BIG LINES. But it’s true. We’ll go about this by breaking down into different cases of digital crowdsourcing and what had already happened in the past, and the changes they have already landed in the past years. 

The Covid-19 pandemic

Lockdown. Vaccines. Sorrows. Deaths. Covid is a season of great sorrows. When the economy and general mobility are being severely handicapped, the people switch to the online platform for ideas and actions for urgent research and discoveries

In early 2020, a global shortage of mechanical ventilators threatened to overwhelm healthcare systems as COVID-19 led to severe respiratory failure. Over 3,000 engineers, medical professionals, and hobbyists from 20+ countries collaborated in real-time on a single open-source ventilator design. Design files were version-controlled on GitHub; circuit board designs were co-edited live on Altium 365.

This is done by a complete geographic decentralization – no physical meeting was ever held. The final design could be downloaded and manufactured anywhere in the world with a 3D printer and basic electronics.

In specific regions in Africa, the pandemic was accompanied by an Infodemic, a spread of disinformation, making it difficult for people to find accurate information. To tackle the issue, UNESCO in partnership with Innovation for Policy Foundation (i4Policy) launched an online campaign to crowdsource local openly licensed content to inform communities across Africa about Covid-19.

“This crisis tells us the importance of the flow of quality, reliable information at a time when misinformation and rumors are flourishing,” said UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay.  

Translators for Ukraine (2022-Present)

In the face of war, social media platforms such as Telegram and Whatsapp are being used as decentralised network with volunteer translators receiving important screenshots of Ukrainian documents - medical records, legal forms, evacuation orders, returned and translated within minutes. A simple Telegram bot distributed tasks to available volunteers based on language pairs (e.g., Ukrainian -> Polish).

At peak, the network claimed over 5000 active volunteers and processed over 1 million translation requests in the first six months of the war. 

2010 Haiti Earthquake: Ushahidi and the 4636 SMS Short Code

On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, causing over 100,000 deaths and overwhelming traditional communication and aid infrastructure. Within hours of the earthquake, the Ushaidi platform - originally a platform developed to map violence in Kenya - launched the Ushaihidi-Haiti Project. The innovation was a partnership with the mobile network Digicel to establish SMS short code 4636, allowing anyone in Haiti to text reports of urgent needs for free. 

Estimated 10,000 Haitians volunteered to translate messages, processing thousands of reports. 

The US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard actively used the live map. One Marine Corps report specifically credited the map with enabling a rescue mission that evacuated two elderly women and a young girl with critical injuries from outside Grand Goave, stating, "Your site saved these people's lives... There are 100s of these kinds of stories..."

Digital crowdsourcing is a great example in contributing to a healthy digital citizenship. It is also a pivotal tool for organizations and institutions that helps facilitate the decentralization of knowledge production and task execution and by doing so, leverages dispersed expertise, creativity and labour across global networks. It can be applied in various manners including crowdfunding, crowd analysis, crowd data collection and so on, in different fields and circumstances. Hansen (2012) affirms that aimed at solving wicked problems, public managers seek innovative approaches and crowdsourcing can be a likely solution for municipal issues. 

Addressing the need of volunteers in crowdsourcing

Democratic viewpoints suggest citizen engagement with technology use for improving deliberation and decision making (Macintosh, 2004). Other e-participation frameworks include alternatives for more collaborative strategies, which enable citizens to become partners and co-creators and co-producers of services (Nam, 2016). 

One of the most efficient ways to take part in crowdsourcing for an ongoing crisis is to participate in crisis mapping and open-source data collection. Global humanitarian organizations use these platforms to turn satellite imagery and local reports into actionable maps and intelligence for on-the-ground disaster relief. 

Crowdsourcing is an indispensable need in the time of crises, and digital crowdsourcing offers more channels for greater accessibility and enhanced efficiency of the crowdsourcing process, making it easier in resolving crises. 

Week 12: Crowdsourcing in times of crisis

References:

Bertot, J. C., Jaeger, P. T., & Hansen, D. (2012). Government Information Quarterly, 29(1), 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2011.04.004

Macintosh, A. (2004). Characterizing e-participation in policy-making. In Proceedings of the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (p. 50117b). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2004.1265300

Morrow, N., Mock, N., Papendieck, A., & Kocmich, J. (2011). Independent evaluation of the Ushahidi Haiti project. Development Information Systems International.

Nam, T. (2016). Government 3.0 in Korea: A country study on government innovation. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 82(4), 743–763.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852315574992

UNESCO. (2020, April 1). #DontGoViral: UNESCO and i4Policy launch a campaign to crowdsource local content to combat the Infodemic in Africa. UNESCO News. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/dontgoviral-unesco-and-i4policy-launch-campaign-crowdsource-local-content-combat-infodemic-africa

Week 12, Day 6 - My Corpo V

Week 12, Day 4 - Finished piece

Week 12, Day 3 - Did more than I thought