Crowdsourcing (MIT Press Essential Knowledge)
The term crowdsourcing, coined by Wired magazine editor Jeff Howe in 2006, has been used for everything from Wikipedia entries to choosing new colors for M&Ms. Even now that scholars have begun researching crowdsourcing, it still has varying definitions because it operates across various disciplines. Brabham eliminates the confusion with this highly accessible and authoritative book. He defines the term as “online communities coming together to solve problems for a mutual benefit that could not be achieved without their collaboration.” What distinguishes crowdsourcing from other similar efforts is the bottom-up creative process and top-down organizational goals. Brabham traces the growth of participatory culture, collective intelligence, and the wisdom of crowds on the Internet. He details examples of crowdsourcing, including Threadless in merchandising, InnoCentive in scientific research, and SeeClickFix for municipal services. He examines the implications of crowdsourcing for journalism, business, government, and labor as some worry that it invites exploitation and challenges amateurism and professionalism. This is an insightful resource for readers curious about trends in work and computing. --Vanessa Bush