Slides for workshop run by Ross Dawson in New York, as part of Crowdsourcing Week

1. Crowdsourcing for
Media and Content
Workshop
New York, October 26, 2012
rossdawson.com
resultsfromcrowds.com

2. Agenda
• Landscape
• Context
• News
• Key issues
• Processes
• Platforms
• Capabilities

3. Landscape

10. Context

11. The spectrum of media models

13. Branded content/ content marketing

14. Cost vs Value

15. News

16. News applications of crowdsourcing
Application Description
Reporting On-the-spot reporting and information, often as news happens.
Investigation Gathering information relating to specific questions and issues.
Data gathering Collecting information on the ground.
Data sifting Going through large data releases to identify newsworthy issues.
Story selection Selecting the most interesting, relevant, and appropriate content.
Fact checking Checking facts in articles before or after publication
Story compilation Weaving a story through selection of quotes and content.
Writing Contribution of completed articles.
Video Contribution of live or recorded video, usually of news events.
Copyediting Correcting and improving written grammar and language.
Metadata Identifying relevant tags or descriptive data to content
Funding Crowdfunding journalistic initiatives.

17. Reporting

18. Investigation

19. Data gathering

20. Data sifting

21. Story selection

22. Fact checking

23. Story/ content compilation

24. Writing

25. Metadata

26. Funding

27. Key issues

28. Types of crowds for content
Crowd type Key characteristics
Professional Closed community
Experienced
Significant rewards
Aspiring Talented
professional Less experienced
Profile is highest reward
Amateur Invite-only or open
Aimed at diversity
Often rewarded

29. Platforms vs Own crowd
Issue Use platforms Own crowd
Breadth Broad, deep pool of contributors. Usually limited size.
Relevance May not have right contributors. Highly relevant contributors.
Time Available immediately. Significant time to develop.
Process Can offer sophisticated filtering. Platforms may be less flexible.
Investment Low establishment costs Large investment required.
Advantage Differentiation through skilled Can offer competitive advantage.
use.

30. Open vs Closed crowds
Issue Open Closed
Talent Amateur or aspiring. Top talent.
Innovation Broader and unexpected ideas. Within defined scope.
Cost Usually lower. Usually higher.
Relationship Diffuse relationship. Stronger relationship.
Process Stand alone activity. Integration into client process.
IP exposure Disclosure needed. Protection possible.

31. Processes

32. User Generated Content - workflow
Moderation
• Language
• Intellectual property
• Automated
• Post-moderation
• Pre-moderation
• User-moderated
Editorial workflow
• Review and approval
• Copyediting

33. User Generated Content - metadata
Log metadata
• CMS/ News workflow system
• XMP
Metadata
• Time
• Location
• Creator
• Creator comments
• Creator contact information
• Creator intellectual property

34. Crowd filtering

35. Platforms

36. Platform distinctions
• Type of content
• Purpose of content
• Quality of content
• Process integration
• Reward structures

37. Copy platforms

38. Service marketplaces

39. Microtask platforms

40. Capabilities

41. Capabilities
• Identifying crowd participation
• Attracting talent
• Filtering
• Process integration
• Quality control
• Experimentation

42. Attracting
Motivation Issues
Financial Many contributors of quality content are primarily motivated by financial rewards.
However acceptable pay levels are often significantly below professional rates.
Being paid For aspiring content creators, there can be strong motivation in being a “paid
writer”, even if the amount of money involved is not significant.
In-kind Rewards such as access to media content or a database in return for being a
contributor are well accepted.
rewards
Personal Having the contributor’s name and possibly bio publicly associated with their
contribution can enhance their profile or reputation.
brand
Links Often contributors of content will be sufficiently rewarded by a link (preferably a
chosen text link) from a well-ranked website as it supports their visibility in search
engines.
Social impact Some contributors are seeking opportunities to have a positive social impact, for
example through sharing values or assisting social initiatives.
Contribution Many are motivated to contribute to what they consider a common good, such as
reviews that assist better buying decisions, or compiling an open-access database.
to commons There is also often a desire to contribute to specific communities, both
or community geographical and interest-based.
Skill Writers or video creators may be motivated by being able to improve their
capabilities, and will value coaching or editorial feedback.
development