Crowdsourcing the Commons

Heather LesonOctober 19, 2010

Crisis Commons is a global network of volunteers who use creative problem solving and open technologies to help people and communities in times and places of crisis. Crisis Commons members create organized response events called CrisisCamps.

• Convener of communities: leverages partnerships and networks

• Leverages collaborative systems, open environments

• Translates needs from Crisis Response Organizations (CROs) to the (Virtual Technology Communities) VTCs and the public

• Provides technical assistance and opportunity for creative problem solving

What is CrisisCamp?

A group of volunteers who convene to crowdsource information, hack software and brainshare to aid crisis response.

Organized by city or by project.

A merge of hackathon, unconference and think tank.

2010 activities

Web Developers

Social Media users

Organizers

Software developers

Emergency Response Planners

GeoCoders/GIS

Communicators

Technologists

Trainers

Project Managers

Translators

UX/UI

Technical Writers

Entrepreneurs

storytellers

Videographers

Academics

lawyers

Researchers

Event Planners

teachers

Geeks

Web designers

Photographers

innovators

SysAdmins

2009: Unconference, 250 people

2010: (8 months) CrisisCamps in 10 countries, +1500 volunteers

CrisisCamp Toronto:January 23, 30February 13, 27March 13September 3

CrisisCamp Haiti

• Call to action; global footprint

• Low barrier to entry; replicable

• Recognized by CROs and VTCs

• Focus on mapping, missingpersons, language and search

What was created?

Who were some collaboration partners?

Ushahidi is a volunteer technical community. They lead the response with Pakreport.org for the Pakistan Floods.

CrisisCamps held a Global Marathon on September 3-5, 2010. We collaborated with the Pakreport team and learned how to submit reports.

Pakreport.org

Crisis Response Teams and

Volunteer Technical Communities are talking about how we can collaborate and crowsource.

Crisis Congress

ASCII art 3D gaming

BrainsharingAid crisis & disasterresponse

Evolution takes time. But, what if?

Lessons Learned

• Crowdsourcing across multiple timezones

• Software development vs. info management

• Collaboration and brainstorming

• Toolsets

Global Collaboration

• Team needs Central Dispatch by Timezone, Topic

• Know your community strengths and weaknesses

• Prepare for volunteer engagement, management, training and diversity

• Do a test run, do it again, fire drill

• Document, follow-up, analyze

Choose your tools

• Collaboration scratch pad

• Documentation space

• Storytelling

• Chat space

• Maps and open source tools

Then, Delegate and Share

Crowdsourcing TipsUse Less:• Mailing lists, forums and ticket tracking

• Conference calls

Use More:• Skype group chat

• Google Docs

• Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

• Blogs

• Twitter

• Wiki, Youtube, Slideshare and on and on

Crowdsourcing using Free Open Source Software

Skills and VTCs

•Ushahidi or Crowdmap

•OpenStreetMap

•Sahana Foundation

•CrisisWiki

•Tweak the Tweet

•Frontline SMS

•Swift River

YOU• Search, Mapping, Social Media

• Mapping, Research

• Wiki, Research

• Twitter

• Social Media Outreach: Tweet, Blog, Video, screencast and more

• Organization, Blogging, Search

• Software Development

Volunteer Technical Communities /Tools

Crowdsource Tools for Communities

• Ushahidi – server install

• Crowdmap - virtual

• OpenStreetMap -virtual

• Swift River –server install

• Tweak the Tweet –server install

How can you use crowdsourcing in your community?

Crowdmap (an Ushahidi product)

Crowdmap allows you to...

•Collect information from cell phones, news and the web.

•Aggregate that information into a single platform.

•Visualize it on a map and timeline.

CrisisCamp London (UK) for Pakistan Floods

Tell your own story

Crowdmap Tips

Use Web Form or

your own Survey Form

+

Dispatch, Report review team

+

Active Crowdmap

Pictures by Tdavidson, Spike, Brian Chick, Pedro Fuentes, and Darlene Parker

Thank you

@heatherlesonheather@textontechs.com

Crisiscommons.org