Crowdsourcing

The Oxford English Dictionary added the word “crowdsourcing” to its list of new words.

The definition is as follows: To obtain, information or input into a particular task or project, by enlisting the services of a number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via the Internet.

Please research this topic as it applies to action learning group, intellectual capital, and technology and learning.  There have been many thoughts about the power of the crowd and the sharing of information, as over one billion people worldwide have Internet connection.  What are your thoughts on group intelligence versus individual intelligence?

Crowdsourcing is obtaining information or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via the internet (Dictionary.com).  We've been 'crowdsourcing' since google downsized from a googolplex!  This is not new.  I love how all of these leadership books put a label on something that existed previously and are now credited with the misnomer.  We try to do something and when we get stuck, we type it into google and move on.  Geez! We don't stick around and try to put a name on our process.  Regarding, action learning group, its just you do the thing first, then seeing what went right or wrong and recalibrate.

Action learning group is one of many approaches to problem solving.  It involves taking action and reflecting upon the results (wikipedia).  Well, to me that seems like jumping in feet first and figuring it out later.  The definition seems very Columbus to me (rolling eyes).  Like, how can you discover something that was already there???  The Pythagorean Theorem had been used in the Egypt (yes, still in Africa) for tens of thousands of years to determine the destruction of the overflow of the Nile River,  basically to reestablish property boundaries after the banks were covering everyone's property with mud. Our ancient natural mathematicians receive no credit for this way of determining the diagonal of a right triangle, every - single - time.  But who's name is in every geometry book?

Intellectual capital is the brain power of the people, their collective ideas.  I mean ,there is a certain safety in numbers, so it would be a good to collectively collaborate, but there is a fine line between that safety net and the mob mentality:  being influenced knowingly or not by the others in the group.  So, basically their ideas may be not all that great, but you might find yourself compelled to use the group intelligence you gathered and act on their ideas because you asked them in the first place!  Personally, I'm more of a lone wolf.  Besides, I feel as thought the most resourceful people are the ones without access to all of this technology, because they have figured out some gReAt things without it! Yes, one billion people have the internet, but that is still only 14% of the world, so I don't thing that's something to brag about.

Technology and learning is clearly dependent on crowdsourcing.  You need technology to crowdsource and you are learning something in the process, usually tech based.  It's a necessary evil.  Personally, I usually crowdsource things I want to do on the internet or with some program:  how to make a website in Wordpress, how to set up a peer to peer network on square-space, the stuff that is nowhere near intuitive and super does not come naturally to me!

Rocka