Spring Break
OGDEN, Utah, March 22, 2007 - The novel idea of “crowdsourcing” is making waves across the country this week, but if it catches on, a search on Google may someday pull up anyone’s driving record, criminal history, and more.
Crowdsourcing is a form of journalism in which many people cooperate online to write news articles. It is a very powerful form of mass collaboration, and the world is starting to notice. Unfortunately, the practice could someday threaten the privacy of every citizen because the nature of mass collaboration and modern journalism may not be compatible unless journalists take enough personal responsibility to protect the sensitive records of individuals.
A modern community journalist writes articles based on extensive research through large databases of information compiled over many years. The most valuable journalist databases include primary documents. These are original documents, such as tax records, that are generated by authoritative sources.
A common newspaper’s database contains many types of primary documents on governments, businesses, and individuals. Many of these databases may even hold information about everyday citizens that one would consider private or strictly confidential.
Governments often release sensitive, “protected” information to the media in order for journalists to research an issue for the public good. On the other hand, if this information is placed online, anyone will be able to search through vast databases of confidential information about anyone else.
The gold rush of mass collaboration
Similar efforts in mass collaboration include Wikipedia, the largest free online encyclopedia. Wikipedia can be edited by anyone with a computer and an Internet connection. Edited by millions of users, Wikipedia’s 6.8 million articles in 250 languages are almost as accurate as the professionally published Encyclopedia Britannica.
The primary downside of mass-collaboration strategy is the practice of placing colossal databases of information online and making them publicly accessible. Many businesses are now placing once-proprietary information on the Internet in order to leverage such a strategy.
Businesses such as GoldCorp have used online mass-collaboration efforts for abundant financial gain, but at the loss of valuable business trade secrets. According to the book “Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything,” authors Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams report that GoldCorp was a struggling business a few years back until drastic decision-making by management altered the company’s course.
Placing 400 megabytes of its once-proprietary gold-mining information online, the authors write, the company organized a contest to reward anyone who could predict valuable gold deposits by analyzing its geological data. GoldCorp’s effort rapidly surpassed its initial goals and has already resulted in the discovery of over $3 billion worth of new gold deposits, largely due to the power of online mass collaboration.
GoldCorp’s highly regarded success is proof that mass collaboration works very effectively at bringing in large profits at minimal expense as individuals around the world are empowered to solve complex business problems. The strategy opens up a world of enormous profit potential for savvy entrepreneurs.
The age of mass collaboration has already changed several industries, and it will probably change the field of journalism forever. Meanwhile, if journalists in massively collaborative efforts do not act responsibly, the Internet could be converted into an Orwellian nightmare.
(Image credit: Bob. Some rights reserved.)
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