Could Crowdsourcing Outsource Professionals?

October 1, 2009

Crowdsourcing, as defined by Jeff Howe, is, “the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually and employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call.”

With an economic decline that’s been described as the worst since the great depression, more and more journalists are getting laid off at major newspapers. Blogging is on the rise with more people taking their views to the internet, these of which often producing a plethora of fresh ideas. Amateur photographers with only a camera, computer, and photoshop are producing photographs that rival professional’s work.  Sites like istockphoto.com, are outsourcing professional photographers by offering quality photographs for pennies below the cost professionals charge. With this new market, how can professional newspapers use this crowd of sources which are only a click away?

As part of this assignment, I reviewed a story published by the Los Angeles Times entitled, “New-car sales fall at Ford, Nissan as ‘cash for clunkers’ ends,” and reviewed the areas where the writer could have used crowdsourcing.

As there were no pictures for the story, the writer could have benefited from the istockphoto.com site by purchasing a few general photos of cars. Included in these photos could have been a shot of cars at a dealership or a couple purchasing a vehicle.

The writer could have also benefited from Twitter  by getting in contact with those who had taken their views and experiences from ‘Cash for Clunkers’ to the Internet. There are a lot of people who are eager and willing to relate their experiences and sites like Twitter and Facebook can be a good start.

These are just a few of the many ways that newspapers can harness the power of crowdsourcing, while still maintaining proper journalistic standards.

Crowdsourcing will never outsource the need for professionals because in the end, people still want that trust and accuracy guaranteed by professionals.