CEDO35 Week Four - Podcasts, Microblogging and Crowdsourcing

Exploration of  the 'read/write' Web continued with social bookmarking applications, Twitter and podcasting.  I personally use diigo to store and organize my bookmarks with tags.  Richardson's book provided a real eye-opener when he pointed-out that one can create an RSS feed from a tag to receive updates to an aggregator.   I had never thought of doing this, but then again, I just learned about RSS feeds and aggregators this past week.   Richardson makes an insightful comment  on page 90, "So, social bookmarking sites complete the circle: RSS lets us read and connect with what others write; now we can read and connect with what others read as well". Richardson, Will. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Twitter and Facebook have something in common:  they are both microblogging sites representative of the 'read/write' Web.  Sure, Twitter limits you to a few less characters per post, but both allow people to create an online community of colleagues and friends sharing conversations.   Facebook users are familiar with posting links, photos and their feelings.   Readers can immediately respond with their comments which often leads to further conversation.

In last week's blog I mentioned the Hoofer Sailing Instructor Wiki that I am in the process of fine-tuning.   I am getting feedback from a few individuals but I need to find a better way to introduce the Wiki than in the weekly staff meetings.   Enter podcasts - or in my case - screencasts to create a brief tutorial on accessing and collaborating on the Wiki.  It is amazing how the barriers to entry to creating screencasts or podcasts have come down in the past 2-3 years.  Reduced cost of technology, Web 2.0 applications and increased Internet speed bring together a perfect storm where the epicenter shifts from expensive expert solutions outward to the DIY crowd.

Adobe CS5 Master Collection

In last week's class I lamented, after looking at Google Sites, that I had invested so much money in the Adobe Suite for Dreamweaver.  I also purchased the suite so that I could get Adobe Premiere Pro to create great movies.  However, Dreamweaver and Premiere both require a huge investment in personal time and training just to get off the ground.  I am excited about the ease of use of the Web 2.0 applications that will  allow me and others to quickly create and publish screencasts and podcasts across The Internet to a wide audience.

Our study group met and discussed a Wired Magazine article published in 2006 titled, 'The Rise of Crowdsourcing'.    Crowdsourcing is a play on the term 'outsourcing'.  Outsourcing is when companies take jobs that were traditionally internal and contract them out to the lowest bidder.  A firm that outsources services reduces its Human Resources overhead and benefits it would normally pay to employees. The article describes how companies such as Procter & Gamble extend outsourcing to 'Crowdsourcing' when they let non-employees attempt to solve their R&D problems. Instead of outsourcing the R&D department or positions, the problems are cast before folks over The Internet who in turn noodle away on the issues in their spare time.  If one of the crowd arrives at a workable solution then they are compensated for their contribution.

I think Crowdsourcing, in general, will have a negative long term impact.  Why so gloomy?  Let's think about Procter & Gamble's scenario. How did the crowd get so smart?  The problem solvers are educated in hard sciences but are underutilizing their talents.  So why aren't they employed in science jobs?  Did corporate outsourcing of jobs overseas dry up the demand for skilled domestic jobs?  So, after a day of flipping burgers at Wendy's they log-on from home and tackle a problem.  Sure, they might just win the knowledge lottery and make a few thousand - but that's today.  In the long run, where are they mentoring new apprentices to the trade?  The well of knowledge begins to run lower than an aquifer in the desert - exploited to make a crop bloom for a few years - then what?

Hey, that's my opinion and this is the 'read/write' Web.  Instead of playing it safe I am encouraging people to respond and we can take this discussion further - I think it would be great.  Before you write back, read this article from Forbes magazine that balances the Wired Magazine article and let's see where this takes us.