OFFICIAL BLOG POST #6: Crowdsourcing in times of crisis
Crowdsourcing: the practice of combining the knowledge and experiences from a large group of people (Swinburne Online, 2015). There is no doubt that it’s a useful practice, particularly in a disaster situation (Posetti & Lo, 2012). The downfall is the logistics of verifying the information for publication through official channels (Posetti & Lo, 2012; Swinburne Online, 2015).
Something that interests me is that the public generally seem to embrace crowdsourcing only when the perceived threat is high – as if it were a tool only for monitoring, and not for evaluating. For example, the #qldfloods were a fantastic case study showing the success of crowdsourcing (Posetti & Lo, 2012). But my experience around the Melbourne Earthquakes in recent years, is a vastly different story…
Discussion turns quickly to mockery – not just of the event, but of those who chose to post about it. The damage was virtually non-existent, but in the moment, it’s scary. For all we know at the time, we’re in the peripheral of something major. We post our own experience on social media to scope out the breadth of the event. We’re crowdsourcing – and offering up data for authorities to crowdsource!
Beyond natural disasters…
In a discussion online about ‘selfie’ culture, one of my peers highlighted this image of a mid-air emergency, saying it left him “gobsmacked” (Maiuolo, 2015):
Maiuolo (2015) also said this:
“I am sorry but I cannot get past the idea that selfies are the domain of narcissists.”
BUT, what if that airplane selfie/video had been taken on flight MH370?
Would we call it ‘narcissism’ if the selfie held clues to one of the greatest aviation mysteries in history? (Grabowiecki, 2015)
As crowdsourcing becomes a more and more sophisticated practice, the key to its success is the culture of sharing (Ford, 2012). In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the lack of sharing hindered the richness of the crowdsourcing exercise (Ford, 2012). And yet, in our privileged Western lives, the culture of sharing on social media is so often referred to as a narcissistic habit – if we share our crisis moments, we’re attention seeking.
Tools like Ushahidi are fast becoming the norm in crisis and disaster management (Ford, 2012), and although its kept quiet and still being tested by authorities (Posetti & Lo, 2012), in future it will no doubt play a major role. Perhaps it’s time to let the public know, so that we can all begin to learn the social media etiquette that surrounds it.
REFERENCES
Dowling, J., 2012, 'The 2014 Melbourne Earthquake' [image], Herald Sun, viewed 31 January 2015, <http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/small-tremor-felt-in-melbournes-east/story-fni0fit3-1226800819311>
Ford, H., 2012, 'Crowd Wisdom', Index on Censorship, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 33-39.
Grabowiecki, E., 2015, 'MH370 accident announcement allows for compensation but still no closure for victim’s families as the long search for answers continues', Nine News, viewed 31 January 2015, <http://www.9news.com.au/mh370>
mUmBRELLA, 2012, 'Your story about today's earthquake' [image], Après moi, le déluge, viewed 31 January 2015, '<http://mumbrella.com.au/apres-le-deluge-98192>
Maiuolo, F. 2015, 'RE: My experience with "selfies"', My experience with "selfies", 24 January, viewed 31 January 2015, <https://ilearn.swin.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&forum_id=_527908_1&group_id=_171022_1&nav=group_forum&conf_id=_235060_1&course_id=_157089_1&message_id=_6281344_1#msg__6281344_1Id>
Posetti, J. and Lo, P., 2012, The Twitterisation of ABC's emergency and disaster communication, Australian Journal of Emergency Management, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp34-39, viewed 31 January 2015, <http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=046926063833158;res=IELAPA>
Schreiber, A., 2012, 'Crowdsourcing mergers and acquisitions: a distruption whose time has come' [image], crowdsourcing.org, viewed 31 January 2015, <http://www.crowdsourcing.org/editorial/crowdsourcing-mergers-and-acquisitions-a-disruption-whose-time-has-come/15645>
Swinburne Online, 2015, 'Week 8: Crowdsourcing in times of crisis', Concepts, viewed 31 January 2015, <https://ilearn.swin.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-4565104-dt-content-rid-23595135_2/courses/2014-SO3-MDA20009-200988/UnitLearningMaterials/Week_08.html>
Williams, A., 2014, 'A Defining Question in an iPhone Age: Live for the Moment or Record It?' [image], The New York Times, 26 September, viewed 31 January 2015, <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/fashion/a-defining-question-in-an-iphone-age-live-for-the-moment-or-record-it.html?_r=1>
Just a side note: For those who love a good Melbourne earthquake meme, this blog has a great collection - http://mumbrella.com.au/apres-le-deluge-98192.