Label the Image

After all these years surfing around looking at "images" through google search engines, I never really thought about how images were classified.  Well, there is actually a methodical process to it.  At "Google Image Labeler" people can log in and choose keywords for specific images.  Basically, two random people are selected to view the same image and then they have a few seconds to come up with keywords to describe the image.  Once both people type in the same keyword the image changes to another.  In other words keywords are associated with images by "us" the user in order to produce better search results by "us" the google search user.  It's brilliant.  When you need to take a break I would recommend trying it out.  Surprisingly it is a lot of fun. 

What about crowdsourcing????

 

Wikipedia

At first I felt like crowdsourcing is very resourceful and can be great for problem-solving.  I mean, if you are down to the final stretch and a deadline is near, then why not "put it out there" and get help from others?  I am all about collaboration.  In general, much of our scientific knowledge was developed by collaboration and expanding on the groundwork that was laid out by others.  One scientist may use anothers research to base his own research-then expand it.  It is very similar to crowdsourcing.  I can start something and then collaborate with others.  Perhaps they finish it, or maybe they assist in finishing it.  Either way the job gets done, deadlines met, or the depth of knowledge is expanded.  

Now, there are limitations and downfalls to crowdsourcing.  For instance, other contributors might not have the same vision as the project leader or client.  Sometimes, people could be over dependent on crowdsourcing.  This could potentially lead to a lack of individual creativity.  Or, maybe motivation to start and finish a project is lost since we can now reach out to others and rely on them.

I think the is a place for crowdsourcing.  It is beneficial, but should be used sparingly.  Knowing how to find the balance and institutions to use for crowdsourcing is important.  Just like with labeling images, there should be a systematic approach to acquiring resources (whether it's information, images, data etc. etc.) from others