Crowd computing

Crowd computing Is an overarching term which defines the myriad tools that enable idea sharing, non-hierarchical decision making and the full utilization of the world’s massive cognitive surplus. Examples of these tools (many falling under the Web2.0 umbrella) include collaboration packages, crowdsourcing platforms, information sharing software, such as Microsoft’s SharePoint, wikis, blogs, alerting systems, social networks, SMS, MMS, Twitter, Flickr, and even mashups. Business and society in general increasingly rely on the combined intelligence, knowledge, bandwidth and life experiences of the “crowd” to improve processes, make decisions, identify solutions to complex problems and monitor changes in consumer taste.

An early example of crowd computing was the discovery of a gold deposit location at the Moribund Red Lake Mine in Northern Ontario. Using all available data, the company, Goldcorp, Inc. had been unable to identify the location of new deposits on their land. In desperation, the CEO put all relevant geological data on the web and created a contest, open to anyone in the world. An obscure firm in Australia used their software and algorithms to crack the puzzle. As a result, the company found an additional 8 million ounces of gold at the mine. The only cost was the nominal prize money awarded.

There is also an interpretation of crowd computing for mobile devices, in the context of mobile computing, called mobile crowd computing.

References

• Brown, Eric J. and William A. Yarberry, Jr. (2009). The Effective CIO. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis.
• Hurley Hall, Sharon. "Startup to Watch: Crowd Control". Podium Ventures. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
• Popper, Ben (17 April 2012). "Crowd computing taps artificial intelligence to revolutionize the power of our collective brains". Venture Beat. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
• Shirky, Clay. Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age (2010) - ISBN 978-1-59420-253-7
• Surowiecki, J. (2005). The Wisdom of Crowds. New York: Random House, Inc.