Collective intelligence refers to the shared intelligence that emerges from collaboration between many individuals. On the internet, it involves users contributing content that improves websites. Examples include blogs where users link to each other, wikis where many edit pages together, and video sites where users tag videos. Collective intelligence is key to Web 2.0, as users provide much of the content. It benefits websites by making them more efficient and catering content better to audiences. Social media demonstrates these principles on a large scale through crowd-funding.

1. COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE
WHAT IT MEANS TO THE WEB AND WEB 2.0

2. INTRODUCTION
Collective intelligence is a term that has become essential to modern internet
functions. In this presentation, I will:
 Explain what collective intelligence is
 Provide some examples as to how it works
 Examine how it relates to Web 2.0

3. INTRODUCTION
In addition to the topics already mentioned, I will also:
 Describe some of the benefits of collective intelligence
 Examine social media and how it relates to collective intelligence
 Give an example of the effects of social media and collective intelligence on a larger
scale

4. WHAT IS COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE?
Collective intelligence is defined as, " a phenomenon in sociology where a
shared or group intelligence emerges from the collaboration and competition of
many individuals." ( Dictionary.com's online dictionary, n.d.) Though this term is
used in several fields, this presentation will focus on collective intelligence as it
relates to the internet.

5. WHAT IS COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE?
Collective Intelligence, in terms of the internet, generally refers to users of a
website, software or internet service making contributions that better the
function of that service as a whole. There are a large number of ways that users
can add strength to a website. Next, we will look at some examples of websites
that make use of collective intelligence.

6. BLOGS
Blogs are a way of sharing information with others. This form of communicating
has become increasingly popular in recent times. Wordpress.com, one of the
leading sites for blog creation, has over 409 million people viewing over 14.7
billion pages each month. (Wordpress.com stats, n.d.) Collective intelligence
tools are a common part of most blogging practices.

7. BLOGS AND COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE
Linking to other blogs is often done in the blogging world. These links create a
connection between blogs of similar interests. The advantage of this is a
network of information and opinions that spans a large variety of interests in a
way that was not easily accomplished before blogs became common, and it
demonstrates some of the principles of collective intelligence.

8. WIKIS
Another website in which collective intelligence tools are put to use is a wiki. A
wiki is a type of website that allows multiple people to edit or add to the content
on the pages of that wiki. A wiki is usually text-based and can be edited by
anyone or just a selected group of people. The description of a wiki makes it a
good example of collective intelligence ideas.

9. WIKIS AND COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE
In the use of a wiki, contributors edit the information contained on a page or they
may choose to add their own insights. With a large number of people working in
this manner, wikis are able to provide information that is a collaborative effort.
Mistakes and inaccuracies have a higher chance of being corrected than if the
text was edited by a single person. This is one of the reasons wikis are a good
example of some of the benefits of collective intelligence.

10. VIDEO-SHARING WEBSITES
Video-sharing websites such as Vimeo, Dailymotion and the popular YouTube,
get their content mainly from users. They generally allow users to upload videos,
add tags, and share these videos with others. As is the case with the other
websites mentioned previously, collective intelligence is in use in these websites
as well.

11. VIDEO-SHARING WEBSITES AND COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE
One of the main effects collective intelligence has on video-sharing websites is
that without input from the users themselves these websites would not function
properly, if at all. The tags added to each video by users adds important
information for sorting the videos but can also add more abstract terms, such as
the feelings associated with the video. The fact that users can add harder to
define terms to their tags exemplifies another facet of collective intelligence.

12. VIDEO-SHARING WEBSITES AND COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE
In addition to the benefits for searching, the tags added by users to video-
sharing websites also allows for the display of related videos that might not have
been chosen under a indexing system strictly controlled by the website. With
100 hours of video being uploaded to the widely used YouTube every minute
(YouTube.com statistics, n.d.) the tags added by user likely gives a needed
supplement to the sorting tools already in place. The collective information
submitted by users gives additional strength to the websites.

13. COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE AND WEB 2.0
Now that I have explained collective intelligence and given some examples of
how it can be used, I would like to discuss its relevance to Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is
a more contemporary way of designing internet content with a focus on
cooperation. Because of this cooperative center, collective intelligence has a
definite place in Web 2.0.

14. COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE AND WEB 2.0
The 2005 article 'What Is Web 2.0' written by Tim O'Reilly says this in reference
to collective intelligence and Web 2.0, "The central principle behind the success
of the giants born in the Web 1.0 era who have survived to lead the Web 2.0 era
appears to be this, that they have embraced the power of the web to harness
collective intelligence."(O'Reilly, 2005) This statement summarizes the impact
that collective intelligence has had on Web 2.0. Incorporating content and
information contributed by users can have a strong positive effect on a website
and is considered one of the key points of Web 2.0.

15. BENEFITS OF USING COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE
The examples given in the beginning of the presentation already present some
of the benefits of collective intelligence. However, there are several more
benefits than the ones I have mentioned so far, and I would like to add what I
believe is an additional advantage.This new point is that, in my opinion, a
website may be able to achieve an increase in efficiency in catering content to a
target audience through collective intelligence tools.

16. BENEFITS OF USING COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE
For an example of these benefits, I look to websites like Reddit that employ a
system that allows users to rate stories and discussions, which gives users a list
of information that is controlled by the votes of other users. This means that the
topics interesting to the users of Reddit have a good chance of being seen by
the appropriate users. With over 114,000,000 unique visitors in March 2014
(Reddit.com statistics, 2014) Reddit appears to have made good use of its
collective intelligence system and is an example of this benefit of collective
intelligence.

17. SOCIAL MEDIA, COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE, AND THE EFFECT
THEY HAVE ON A LARGER SCALE
Social media websites are a common feature in the online activities of many
internet users. In 2013 it was estimated that nearly one in four people will use
social networks worldwide (eMarketer, 2013). Social media websites themselves
typically have a collective intelligence component with a large network of users
connecting with each other. However, social media can also have farther
reaching effects. Crowd-funding websites, like Kickstarter, that encourage
sharing through popular social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, can
have a positive influence on businesses and communities.

18. SOCIAL MEDIA, COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE, AND THE EFFECT
THEY HAVE ON A LARGER SCALE
Crowd-funding websites allow average people to fund ideas, inventions, and
businesses. More than five million people have backed projects through Kickstarter
alone.(McGregor & Benenson, 2013) Users of these websites often use social media to
share projects that they are interested in and the people they have shared with may
choose to send this information to more people. This creates an entire network of
people who can fund a project more quickly. This effect is also an example of some
collective intelligence ideas in that this group of people can accomplish a goal more
efficiently together. When these projects are funded they can create new opportunities
for many indiviuals, which in turn can provide opportunities that make a community
better. This is just one of the ways that collective intelligence and social media impact
the outside world.

19. IN CONCLUSION
In short, collective intelligence occurs when the knowledge from a group of
people is put together and creates a combined center of intelligence. The use of
tools based on collective intelligence has many benefits for websites and other
internet presences and some of those benefits have been outlined in this
presentation. However, there are even more examples that can be given on
collective intelligence and related topics. For more insights I recommend
reading the articles 'Decisions 2.0: The Power of Collective Intelligence' written
by Eric Bonabeau in 2009 and 'What is Web 2.0' written by Tim O'Reilly in 2005.
With all of this information, I hope that I have provided a clear picture of
collective intelligence and what it means to Web 2.0 and the internet as a whole.

20. NOTES
Bonabeau, E. (2009, January 9). Decisions 2.0: The power of collective intelligence. MITSloan Management Review. Retrieved
from
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/decisions-20-the-power-of-collective-intelligence/
Collective intelligence. (n.d.). Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from Dictionary.com website:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/collective intelligence
eMarketer. (2013). Social networking reaches nearly one in four around the world. eMarketer.com. Retrieved April 23, 2014 from
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Social-Networking-Reaches-Nearly-One-Four-Around-World/1009976
McGregor, M. & Benenson, F. (2013, October 29). Five million backers! [Web log post] Retrieved from
https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/five-million-backers

21. NOTES
Nations, D., (n.d.). What is a wiki? Retrieved April 21, 2014, from
http://webtrends.about.com/od/wiki/a/what_is_a_wiki.htm
O'Reilly, T. (2005, September 30). What is web 2.0. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from
http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1
Reddit.com. (n.d.). About reddit. Retrieved April 22, 2014 from
http://www.reddit.com/about
WordPress.com. (n.d.). Stats. Retrieved April, 22, 2014 from
http://en.wordpress.com/stats/
Youtube.com. (n.d.). Statistics. Retrieved April 22, 2014 from
http://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html