We have been talking about crowdsourcing and the benefits, but not so much about the downsides and critique it has gotten..
One criticism of crowdsourcing is that only those with access to the right tools are able to contribute. Differences in access to technology means that some groups are favored, while others, who do not have access, or who do not master the digital technologies are excluded from participation. The same could apply to countries that have limited access to the Internet. One can then run the risk that "The power of the crowd" is only the voice of a few and that there is no real innovation, just a repetition of the ideologies of those already in power.
Another downside of crowdsourcing is that there may be a skewed power relations, where large companies, groups with money and power, can utilize smaller groups to do "slave labor" for themselves. Utilized social media users - in this case crowdsourcing webpages and platforms - in that they are "forced" to use the various portals and services, either because they have been "cheated" to store personal information social networking sites to be able to use the service, or because they are forced to do seemingly pointless micro tasks to earn money. The utilization applies to both implicitly contribute to crowdsourcing through the use of social media and search services, and those who are actively contributing to Wikipedia or a micro job site.
I'm not sure if I understand your argument. What does "slave labor" mean? No one is forced to participate or contribute. People have opted in to participate in crowd sourcing. They want to help. The motives can be intrinsic or extrinsic if there is any incentive offered. Can you give any examples of cases where are "forced to do seemingly pointless micro tasks"?
ReplyDeleteI mean it in that sense that they get people to perform marketing and almost make a business plan for them for free - and they normally don´t get paid.
ReplyDeleteThey are off course not forced to do this, but it happens that there is a third party that get access to their information, just take a look at google for instance, and see how they operate with third party information and how they combined all information in one. Is that voluntary you think?