Crowdsourcing
For the first “Word to Know”, we turn to the internet. Crowdsourcing happens when the responsibility for performing a task normally done by a person (or small team) is transferred to a large (and sometimes anonymous) group. For example, Wikipedia crowdsources the task of writing encyclopedia entries. Before crowdsourcing, individuals had to research and write encyclopedia articles and they would be reviewed and approved by another individual (their editor). Those who support crowdsourcing assert that the isolation of that individual article-writer is inferior to the wisdom that comes from a collaborating crowd. Those against crowdsourcing say that crowd could be full of idiots and insist that some method must exist to prove a contributor’s expertise before giving any credence to their work. Crowdsourcers say that the wisdom of the crowd is better than any individual’s expertise.
The book The Wisdom of Crowds essentially makes the case for crowdsourcing. In it, the author says “under the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them.”
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