Birth of a Meme

A lot can happen in a week. Nine days ago Scott Laine, a colleague of mine in the New York office of Wired snapped this shot off his browser:

At that time, Google returned three hits from a search for "crowdsourcing." One linked back to the Web site created by the illustrator on the story, James Jean. Another linked to an interview with Steve Silberman, a fellow contributing editor at the magazine. The third linked to a comment by VC Steve Jurvetson. Sending me the Websnap, Scott said I'd want it as a historical document. I was skeptical: The June issue of Wired had just hit the stands, and while I was proud of the story, I hardly expected the explosion of interest that quickly followed. A google search now produces 182,000 returns.The volume of mentions is less significant than the nature of those mentions: "crowdsourcing" now has its own Wikipedia entry, and seems to have been adopted by Valleywag as a euphemism for click-slavery. And if we need yet more evidence that the cycle of adoption to commercialization to satirization has hit light speed, Supr.c.ilio.us gives the term new meaning in this entry. As mentions of crowdsourcing really only picked up steam this past Thursday, I'd estimate the lifespan of this particular cycle at 48 hours.

Fortunately, the subject is receiving more serious treatment as well. I'm going offline for a few days for a much-needed fly-fishing trip in British Columbia, where I've come to work on my next Wired story. Next week I'll cover a few of the blogs and Web sites that are exploring crowdsourcing concepts in greater earnestness. There's nothing wrong with a buzzword if it actually signifies a meaningful trend or development; it's my belief crowdsourcing does just that.

Comments

[Alan]

Very interesting Jeff, although I am not surprised that it exploded! I would be interested to hear from the forward looking people who might have already envisioned how “the crowd” might be able to utilize this new phenomena. Salmon or trout for supper? Alan

[Chris Anderson]

And to reinforce your point, Steve Jurvetson's blog comment came after he saw me speak at a private VC luncheon, where I used the term. And I used the term because I had seen a draft of your story. (For those outside the Wired bubble, I'm the editor)

[Ashfaq Tunio]

Tapping into the vast potential of unused human resources, talent and time, call it 'crowd-sourcing' or anything else, is the way of the future. Each of the billions of people on this earth all have much to offer: knowledge, experience, ideas, tips, advice, information, time, companionship and sympathy. If we consider the vast number of hours which are wasted each day doing nothing, looking for information, and following blind alleys, the tremendous waste of human potential is staggering. So much knowledge is already available, but still many people are re-inventing the wheel. People are literally dying in underdeveloped countries from diseases for which cures have already been discovered.

Consider the use of a map - if I want to get from point A to point B, I could go up many blind alleys and finally reach there. If I had a map, I do't waste time and reach point B in the least possible time. Now to be more efficient, I have to know that the map is available, where to get it from, and how to read it. A map is a chunk of knowledge, already discovered and organized by someone who took the time and effort to do so. But once made, there is no reason why the map cannot be used by hundreds or thousands of people. The same is true for knowledge of any kind - medicine, engineering, chemicals, agriculture, architecture, you name it. The knowledge is already available in books, on the web, or in the heads of experts, but it needs to be pointed out to the people who need it but don't know where to find it. This could be one important role of using the power of the people.

Take the analogy of the map further. I have a map, but it is static. It doesn't tell me which road is closed due to road repairs, where there is a traffic jam, or which gas station is selling gas the cheapest right now. There are complete radio and TV channels devoted to broadcasting updates on traffic conditions, with traffic-spotters phoning in with changes in the ground situation. Crowdsourcing? You bet. Apply this to online knowledge repositories. Wikis. People constantly sending in updates and corrections on every subject. What we have is a dynamic map of knowledge. Whats the best place to eat in this area? Where can I get a plumber or babsitter in that area? Who is the expert on this subject? Where can I find an answer to my question on that issue? What we need is a cross between Google, Wikipedia and Yahoo Answers. A place where anyone can get the answer to his/her question on any subject instantaneously. A job for crowdsourcing? Obviously.

I am in the process of setting up such a web-site, and would appreciate input, advice and help from all interested. ( 'Ash' at [email protected] ).

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