I am fascinated by this term "crowdsourcing" coined by Jeff Howe.
A community is no longer about being in a single location at the same time. The virtual world is making it possible for people with common interests to come together, to partner, to collaborate without every meeting - changing business as usual.
Mr. Howe uses the example of stock photography in his you tube video. He examples how stock photography, once an expensive rare commodity, has become abundant and cheap and can be done by amateurs.
Is this idea of crowdsourcing going to mean we no longer get hired by a company, sit at a desk, and work our 9 to 5 p.m. jobs?
Will careers be virtual, an open call?
Honestly, I'm a little nervous about this concept.
Will we lose face-to-face communication and in person communities altogether?
I would love to work at a job where I did not have to sit at a desk from 9 to 5pm!
ReplyDeleteThere is no replacement for face to face communication, but there are an increasing number of alternatives.
When you really enjoy someone's company you want to see them and be around them. If you want to close a huge business deal then you want to look someone in the eye and shake their hand.
Face-to-face communication will remain, but I am uncertain about the future of what personal communities will look like.
I imagine crowdsourcing will help make some people's schedules more flexible and reduce commuting, a trend already advanced by other technologies and business practices.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I don't think we'll replace face-to-face interaction with online collaboration to the point that people become overly isolated and the efficiencies are not realized. I imagine this concept actually creating communities centered around common interests (Howe's idea, not mine, but a good one I think). With these new communities I'd imagine increased interaction, and thus increased face-to-face communication with similarly-minded people.
But man, I love working in my PJ's when I can...
The idea of renting out our brains instead selling our time is interesting. My question is: how do we determine the rate?
ReplyDeleteRecord of success and reputation may be the bargaining chips a professional crowdsourcing participant uses. If crowdsourcing becomes the norm, we may see a standardized method of tracking the contributions of participants. The more contributions are incorporated into projects, the more a participant could be paid for engaging in a crowd project.
Even though crowdsourcing seems different and makes us pause and think about our future careers, there is no cause for alarm.
ReplyDeleteIf anything we should look at crowdsourcing in a way that our resources at work are no longer limited. If no one in our office knows the answer, maybe an expert on a different coast does. We are no longer limited by location and can easily share ideas and come up with potential solutions virtual.
Also, as nice as it is to work in the comfort of our own home, I do not think that will ever become the norm. That being said, I do see a shift with more of a balanced schedule between virtual and actual in office presence. As long as employees are productive, it should be cheaper for companies in the long run.
I work with professional photographers all day long (at my desk job), and I can ASSURE you, they are not too happy about the fact that armature photography is taking over their industry. They argue that the excess of access and untrained participants dilutes the quality and lowers the bar of expectations in the industry. For artists, this is heartbreaking. I wonder what the implications of this concept are on the business world? By "crowdsourcing," are we slowly making ourselves and the experts of the world an expendable commodity? After all, if crowdsource to find someone half way across the world to fix your problems for a fraction of the price... you are likely going to take the cheaper option. What happens when someone does that to you?
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