Comments on: Show me the money! But for now…, a little “Kwan” will do. http://ipinthedigitalage.com/show-me-the-money-but-for-now-a-little-kwan-will-do/ CPSC 182 at Yale College Mon, 18 May 2009 01:26:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: laurenhenry http://ipinthedigitalage.com/show-me-the-money-but-for-now-a-little-kwan-will-do/comment-page-1/#comment-1060 laurenhenry Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:33:21 +0000 http://ipinthedigitalage.com/?p=379#comment-1060 People have always had hobbies. Some people have the energy and inclination to put a lot of time and energy into hobbies, and are productive in doing them. Except now the work you put into your hobby in your spare time can be combined with the work of others to create something that has real value. Something that an individual could have been paid for, if she had done it all alone. In economics, individual productivity levels have always been seen an an indicator of some import. Crowdsourcing complicated this figure as a proxy for the output potential of a society. I think that Crowdspring and similar allow us to more concretely and efficiently harness the wisdom of crowds. There are many advantages to this. But one has to observer that when the individual brings her skills to the market, she is up against not only other individuals in terms of productivity, but also the harnessed wisdom of crowds. The latter, of course, has the advantage of being free. Could this drive down wages in certain fields, or limit employment? People have always had hobbies. Some people have the energy and inclination to put a lot of time and energy into hobbies, and are productive in doing them. Except now the work you put into your hobby in your spare time can be combined with the work of others to create something that has real value. Something that an individual could have been paid for, if she had done it all alone. In economics, individual productivity levels have always been seen an an indicator of some import. Crowdsourcing complicated this figure as a proxy for the output potential of a society.

I think that Crowdspring and similar allow us to more concretely and efficiently harness the wisdom of crowds. There are many advantages to this. But one has to observer that when the individual brings her skills to the market, she is up against not only other individuals in terms of productivity, but also the harnessed wisdom of crowds. The latter, of course, has the advantage of being free. Could this drive down wages in certain fields, or limit employment?

]]> By: Brian L http://ipinthedigitalage.com/show-me-the-money-but-for-now-a-little-kwan-will-do/comment-page-1/#comment-918 Brian L Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:48:46 +0000 http://ipinthedigitalage.com/?p=379#comment-918 I agree with you, Michael, particularly on the question of wikipedia. Perhaps people just genuinely enjoying sharing their knowledge with the world or learning more about areas of interest. However, as we read and discussed in class today, there are plenty of people paid to work on free software projects, because their work generates revenue streams from support, value-added products... I agree with you, Michael, particularly on the question of wikipedia. Perhaps people just genuinely enjoying sharing their knowledge with the world or learning more about areas of interest. However, as we read and discussed in class today, there are plenty of people paid to work on free software projects, because their work generates revenue streams from support, value-added products…

]]> By: Michael L http://ipinthedigitalage.com/show-me-the-money-but-for-now-a-little-kwan-will-do/comment-page-1/#comment-907 Michael L Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:27:10 +0000 http://ipinthedigitalage.com/?p=379#comment-907 I've often wondered what makes people contribute to things they won't get paid for. I especially wonder about myself. I spent a fair amount of time writing a wikipedia article this summer (the page on Hawke v. Smith, if anyone's interested), and over Christmas break I worked on Ubuntu's iPhone documentation page. Afterwords, I couldn't figure out why I spent so much time working on stuff that 1.) I wasn't going to get paid for, 2.) people probably don't actually care that much about, 3.) was done under a pseudonym so I won't even really get credit for. To be honest, I'm still a little puzzled.... I’ve often wondered what makes people contribute to things they won’t get paid for. I especially wonder about myself. I spent a fair amount of time writing a wikipedia article this summer (the page on Hawke v. Smith, if anyone’s interested), and over Christmas break I worked on Ubuntu’s iPhone documentation page. Afterwords, I couldn’t figure out why I spent so much time working on stuff that 1.) I wasn’t going to get paid for, 2.) people probably don’t actually care that much about, 3.) was done under a pseudonym so I won’t even really get credit for. To be honest, I’m still a little puzzled….

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