Crowdsourcing is when content and ideas are collected from internet users in an open format. It is a collection of intelligence in which members of the general public can contribute with little to no restrictions. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia in which content is generated by users. Volunteers from around the world contribute to creating and editing the content. The content of Wikipedia is available in over ten languages. The English language version of Wikipedia has over 5.7 million articles (See Figure 1) (Wikipedia, n.d.).

Figure 1: Languages for Wikipedia.

Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that oversees Wikipedia, and it also have a collection of other Wiki projects (See Figure 2).

Figure 2: Wiki projects hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

I would imagine that one of the major concerns with crowdsourcing from the general public is individuals contributing may not necessary be experts in the field or topic that they contribute to in Wikipedia. If the content is open to the public for creation and editing, is it necessary to have credentials in work experience or academic research? Who evaluates the content for accuracy? Is the Wikipedia platform relying on users to correct other users? Wikipedia is a media platform that exemplifies the practice of collaborative intelligence via crowdsourcing. However, it is unclear where the checks and balances are to ensure accurate content.

Reference:

Wikpedia (n.d.) Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page