Firefox to the Nth power

Crowdsourcing, the use of an open-call by a company to many individuals, has exploded in recent years. As with many other breakthroughs of late, this can also chalk its existence up to The Internet (yes, capital letters).

Computer technologies and the web have created an environment that allow for people to contribute to projects and ideas simply because they are personally interested (or from some other enticing means), and not because they are paid by the employer to do so. To get started, the video "Crowdsourcing" with Jeff Howe is a great tutorial.

Having now learned what crowdsourcing is and how incredible its potential can be, Mr. Dan Woods' article flipped me on my head. His article, The Myth of Crowdsourcing, proposed that crowdsourcing is far less important and groundbreaking that it is made out to be. In fact, he states there is no "crowd" at all. From Dan:

There is no crowd in crowdsourcing. There are only virtuosos, usually uniquely talented, highly trained people who have worked for decades in a field. Frequently, these innovators have been funded through failure after failure. From their fervent brains spring new ideas. The crowd has nothing to do with it. The crowd solves nothing, creates nothing.

So there's no crowd at all? Only "virtuosos"? The more I think about it, the more I can see how this could be. When was the last time I posted something to wikipedia? Never (not counting the one time for extra credit for class). Created a new software code? Never. I would only contribute if it were something that strikes home with me.

Open-calls to "crowds" do seem to create an atmosphere in which people are more inclined to contribute. Though it seems the only ones that step up are those that are already invested in the matter in some way. I'll remember that next time I'm on Wikipedia.

Crowdsourcing by Jeff Howe

The Myth of Crowdsourcing by Dan Woods