2013 will be the International Year of Crowdsourcing
I’ve been thinking long and hard about what to call 2013. After saying 2011 would need to be the International Year of Resilience (much still needed) and 2012 the International Year of Problem Solving I’m thinking now that Crowdsourcing (the idea of seeking assistance beyond your own capabilities from the ‘crowd’ often through social media) has reached a critical mass and that means we can expect it to become a normal event across 2013. Here’s some examples to support my thinking:
Crowdsourcing is extending from niche hobby farm status to mainstream. The people movements like AVAAZ; MoveOn; GetUp! and 350.org are clear examples of mass movements of crowds in action. They have emerged to by-pass the political barriers that are preventing much needed positive action on a whole range of issues that many feel are beholden to selective special interest groups. The ‘Get Kony’ and Occupy WallStreet were other fine examples of a mass movement leveraging social media technologies around a particular issue, even if end-goal ‘success’ might not always be achieved.
And it’s not just social initiatives. Harvard University recently leveraged a gaming community and crowdsourced an answer to an HIV enzyme that had been troubling them for over a decade. The FoldIt community arrived at their answer in just three weeks! Other initiaives now look to diagnosing Malarial infections (UCLA) and private offerings such as ‘Cure Together’ seek to solve all sorts of chronic diseases. The barriers overcome are lack of research funding, entrenched approaches to solution seeking or bias toward models of cure.
And the funding of new business start up and ideas through the likes of KickStarter and GrowVC are showing that serious investment dollars can be generated by simply asking the ‘Crowd’ for help. The barriers here are heavy handed approaches for funding of the mainstream banking sector who’ve lost touch with the fact that in the years gone by (looong gone?), banks were Innovation partners in businesses and broader society, not usury takers which many seem to have fallen into becoming.
As acceptance of this approach improves its practise and societies’ willingness to engage in it, expect rapid uptake in a whole array of areas (see below).
So I herein declare 2013 to be the International Year of Crowdsourcing! Some key areas for Crowdsourcing will be Medical cures AND medical provision; bespoke pharmacy (legal and not); Tourism and bespoke holidays; Food production & Distribution; and one with ‘game changing’ status’ – Logistics, especially if (as I predicted in the 2004 National Geographic Channel’s TV series ‘Future Matters’) 3D printing goes mainstream. Other areas seem more obvious with the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) started by the likes of Stephen Downes around five years ago (and finally on the radar of more mainstream Universities over 2012), expect the push toward Crowdsourcing of Education to continue to shape both content creation and service delivery.
Don’t say you weren’t tipped!
Sometimes when we have the chance to say something, we don’t. About two years ago one of my uncles died and I should have spoken at his funeral. This personal post is what I should have said to the public gallery that attended ‘Hi everyone. I’m Marcus and Jim was one of my three uncles.…
Read More >I’ve just posted a quick overview on LinkedIn called The ‘Loud Secret’ – Underestimating your internal skill sets which you can find at the link below The ‘Loud Secret’: Underestimating Your Internal Skill sets. If you have any troubles accessing the story let me know and I’ll see what I can do
Read More >Health Care costs in Australia are rising and are likely to continue doing so as our population both grows and ages. Which means attempts to address this issue are warranted. Equally warranted is an assessment of the impacts for addressing or ignoring the issue. If, as has been mooted, the Australian Government introduces an $8…
Read More >We’ve been getting far more effective at understanding the way our brains work especially as they relate to the idea of ‘mind’. Simply, the idea that we make decisions based on our conscious understanding, appears limited at best and highly flawed at worst. And now, the step towards longevity, perhaps even the fountain of youth,…
Read More >n a recent piece in the New York Times, Thomas L Freidman’s article ‘If I had a hammer’ discussed the new book by Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee’s new book ‘The Second Machine Age’ and the development of computing power now making even complex employment positions redundant. Whereas in the first machine age, human muscle…
Read More >I was interviewed for this article earlier last year and now it seems it has more currency than ever, so I’m reposting the link here. As a parent, what steps can you take to ensure your kids are well placed for a fulfilling career? This article offers some thoughts
Read More >For over a decade I worked with organisations in for profit, not for profit and government sectors. I’ve advised organisations in Europe, North America, Asia and beyond. Some organisations have been multi nationals, long standing, privately owned, publicly held, socially aware, profit focused and more. I’ve managed million dollar portfolios and client accounts of just…
Read More >The link to the article below will take you to an overview of how robotic design is developing towards a more ‘natural’ form of human movement. To a larger extent, this is part of the normalisation process so that those of us exposed to robotics can be more accepting of their presence. This is indeed…
Read More >Occasionally I see a post that leads me to slap my forehead with the sheer simplicity of its brilliance. The post in the link below discusses the idea of homework for kids and I flag that I’m on the School Council of my kid’s Primary School, where this discussion runs rampant. The research we…
Read More >I’m part way through a small research piece for an FMCG company that is interested in exploring the future consumer and what kind of environmental factors might influence their purchasing decisions. Interestingly enough toward the end of last year I had three FMCG firms approach me about a similar challenge, so ‘Future Consumers’ must be…
Read More >