NASA's Version of Crowd Sourcing

I had just read about the new "NASA" version of crowdsourcing, and i must say, it seems rather ridiculous... Now from what I could gather, I found that crowdsourcing can be defined as "Delegating a task to a large group of semi-organized individuals (via the internet). So by this definition, it seems as though NASA is acting a the crowdsourcing manner. Yet from what I understand, NASA feels that by relinquishing its power over something as minor as a name for a particular building/wing, would be too overwhelming. So I ask the question, "Why make this option available to the public if you still reserve the right to overturn their decision? This reminds me a lot of the Chevy challenge in which the crowd was able to make their own Chevy commercial with certain parameters. So with certain parameters already being laid out for the public, it seems almost inevitable that the crowd begins to lash out at NASA for their poor attempt in conjuring a usable name for its new wing. I think if the name and reputation of this new wing was the real motive behind this contest, then why not have a contest where people relay their thoughts for a good name, and ultimately have NASA decide which name they receive is best suited for the new wing. This seems like a perfect way for NASA to publicly showcase their new wing, as well as having people interact with NASA and its employees. To me this seems like a better fit for garnering public attention, along with an enticing name to go with the wing. After conducting some research about NASA and its crowdsourcing, I found that NASA is actually very active in its crowdsourcing community. NASA routinely embraces the idea of using the internet to interact with its followers and community. They have started a twitter with a lander on Mars named "Phoenix," and even gained some recognition for it by receiving the Shorty Award. (The Shorty Award recognizes individuals that have the best tweets) NASA has also started a crowdsourcing project where the public can vote on the next galaxy that will be viewed through a very powerful telescope. The galaxy with the most votes will then proceed to be photographed NASA, and available to be viewed on its website. These online projects would suggest one to assume that NASA has learned to harness public opinion and knowledge, but the clear misuse of crowdsourcing concerning this new wing suggests otherwise. I think this particular use of crowdsourcing actually disables the personal identity, and ultimately, the general population will let it be known. Everyone wants the world to know who he or she is, but with NASA's approach to this preventing this drive, the population will use other media (newspapers, television, radio, etc.) to regain its own individuality. This is how I believe individuals use media, to enable his or her's own personality. New media that doesn't comply with this belief usually end up being filtered out (think Chevy), and I don't see this case being any different.

Goldfarming/Leveling

Now this is kind of a follow up to the last blog. When we had read about gold farming and discussed the topic in class, I felt that I had a sufficient understanding of what to hear and expect. I had come to know what gold farming was through playing a once very popular MMO by the name of "Diablo 2." In my personal experiences with the game, there had always been what is known as "spam bots" that joined games and channels only to relay information about the prices of items/gold that they were selling on their particular website. As a player, I always felt that it was almost shameful if you will, to ever buy a product online only with real money, only to play a video game. Then we discussed a particular individual by the name of "ChillyBubbly" (I think) who powerleveled her WOW character all the way up to 40 for a certain amount of money. If I were told of her actions initially before class, I would have said she was cheating the people online who do play the game, and cheating herself of the time you have to put in, to get the results at the end. After hearing some of the reasoning from fellow classmates for what she decided to partake in her actions, I found that maybe gold farming and powerleveling isn't the shameful act it is portrayed out to be. Becoming the best character in a realm requires hundreds of hours in front of a glaring computer screen, repeating thousands of repetitive tasks, so as it was so nicely put in class "Gaming is all about time, and if you can pay for your time, then its no different then actually gaming itself." Personally, I still have that gaming bias inside of me, where you have to pay your dues to the video game, in order to get such outstanding results, but I feel that in this specific media of gold farming/powerleveling actually dis enables one's personal identity. I know that my who blog site is about enabling one's personal identity, but the more I think about it, the more I can see that these acts take away from our identities. Not only are you having other people build your character, you are excluding yourself from the full gaming experience. The way I look at it is, if you were trying to become a better basketball player, you could practice by yourself or hire a personal trainer of some sort. Either option you take, you still have to put in the time for yourself regardless of the kind help around you. It all comes down to how much time you put in to get better, and its a very gradual process that takes dedication and hard work. There is no amount of money that can instantly make you better without putting the time, and I feel the same way about gold farming and powerleveling. Sure in MMO's money can buy you the premium character, but you don't experience the highs and lows of the game for yourself. It is said that the most important part of a journey is not the start of the end, but the journey itself, That's exactly how I feel about gold farming and powerleveling. So you have the best character possible and you have everything at your disposal, so now what? You kill some monsters here and there, brag to some friends, but you didn't see the gradual improvement of you character throughout the game, all you have is this elite character that you cannot relate to at all. I just look at it like, why buy the game if you're not going to play it the way it was meant to be played. That is what I really feel disables one's personal identity, the lack relation you share with your fellow players. You don't know what it feels like to do the monotonous tasks, or the near-impossible missions, all you know is what it feels like to be the best without putting in any of the time.

Gold Farming

I just finished reading the Gold farming and gaming outsource articles, and I must say, it was one of the more interesting ones. I say this because I have played MMO games before, although I have never really experienced the game play of WOW. The descriptions of these "Gold farmers" didn't really entirely surprise me, but I did find their wages and daily schedules a little riveting. I never knew the exact details behind the "gold farming," but to see that they live such a repetitive lifestyle was rather shocking. Now gold farming doesn't exactly help reinforce my blog topic, but when given the chance, these individuals want to show their own individuality. An example of this would be when one of the employees is given the opportunity to form a guild with about 40 other farmers to obtain elite items. He cherishes the change in his job, and is devastated when he forced to return to his monotonous job of farming in the same old areas, against the same old monsters. What I am trying to say is that even though these gamers are essentially viewed as pawns, they do relish at the chance of displaying their own uniqueness. The particular individual had the chance to "tank" and blend his skills in with many other employees just like himself. This displays the importance of each individual in accomplishing a greater task than any one man or woman could achieve by his or herself. This only reiterates the fact each person has a purpose and a particular identity. Now I understand the argument that these players soon make these elite tasks monotonous again by achieving them in sheer silence, but I again will point to the shock that overcame these individuals when they were asked to return to their previous duties. The success of these missions is dependent solely on the production
of each individual and what they bring to the table. There are designated healers, tanks, warlocks etc. and each of these characters are essential, which only hammers home the point that even in the MMO media, the personal identity of each individual will show its face.

How Crowdsourcing Enables Personal Identity

The other day in class, we had a guest speaker by the name of Daren Brabham. He opened my eyes on what crowd sourcing is, and how people may use/misuse it. From what I got, crowd sourcing is a company or corporation presenting the general/knowledgeable public with a dilemma for some kind of compensation. This compensation can be varied from merchandise to a certain amount of money. So with this kind of incentive, the public adapts the theory of "Nobody knows nothing everybody knows something" and utilizes to its fullest. A very prime example we read about was the Threadless designer t-shirt company. This company depends on the innovation of the general public and their designs, which then in turn, are voted upon by the very same public to determine which design will be the next hot seller. The winner of this contest is then rewarded with a cash reward, as well as a giftcard for a certain amount of merchandise. With passionate designers and the casual buyers coming togehter to express their own style and personality, this represents my blog topic to its very core. What I mean by that is the people who buy the products display their particular style of clothing, and those who producve the products, display their ingenuity and innovation. So through crowdsourcing we can not only present our talents and brillance, we can be rewarded for doing so. So through the the internet media and crowdsourcing, we have opened yet another gateway for the world to catch a glimpse of just who we as people really are.