The Historical Power of Crowds
Crowds have always had an immense power in our society. Just ask Bill Veeck, a popular sport marketer from the 1970’s about the power of crowds. His disco demolition promotion brought 50,000 fans to a Chicago White Sox baseball game on July 12, 1979. Having coordinated this activity, he lost total control within seconds of announcing the on-field promotion and was forced to cancel the second game of a double header due to the ensuing chaos and damage done to the field conditions. In this instance, the power of the crowd was indominable to those in authority.
This collaboration in the past has been, for the most part, only able to take place with great prior coordination, and only in the physical world.
Take for example, the 1963 March on Washington, at which Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his infamous “I have a dream” speech. This political march took six organizations, working together, in collaboration (eventually) with the White House, over 18 months to organize. It attracted between 200,000 and 300,000 people and was deemed the largest gathering of its time in modern history, up to that point.
This crowd influence is now possible online. With the technology, hardware, software, and app platforms available on Web 2.0, people have a new means to communicate en masse unlike any time in prior human history. For several weeks now, we’ve been discussing this previously unavailable opportunity to collaborate without prior coordination. For the first time in history, within the past decade, technology has given people the opportunity to come together around causes and ideas that they care about, in great numbers, with minimal coordination, time, effort and cost.
Power of Crowds in Current Times
Nowadays, the collaborative DNA of Web 2.0 enables “flash mobs” of concerned communities to organize both in person and online almost instantly. As an example, contemplate the Foxnews.com story which reported this week how 300,000 people have organized their political support around a French bus driver. On September 13th, 2018, just one week prior, this driver slapped a 12-yr old for running into the street, in front of his bus. After nearly running him over, the driver jumped out of this city bus and took it upon himself to act in what he perceived to be a parental mode…disciplining the child with a slap across the face. This response caused backlash from the boy’s parents who filed a complaint against the driver, however the collective opinion of the internet is backing this bus driver up for his action, via a petition.
…by the way, this story is complete with video which captured the event…thanks to the contribution of a citizen journalist (see commentary from prior blogs regarding this idea!). The point here being that the capacity now exists to build immense support, quickly, and with specificity to an initiative. What previously took leaders from six groups 18 months to coordinate in 1963 now takes one voice to rally a similar amount of people online around this bus driver in just seven days’ time. Also, as of this writing, the video of this occurrence has been viewed 1,254,395 times and has spawned nearly 900 conversation threads. Because of my weak ties to this individual through Foxnews.com, I have the ability to join this initiative, should I be so inclined.
In his presentation, Shirky (2008) describes a similar petition created by a woman who had a terrible flight experience, who used her voice, her technology and her influence to become someone who inspired the creation of a law…by facilitating the aggregation of voices across the country who felt as strongly as she did about poor flight service.
Politicians, take note.
Politicians should take heed at the occurrence in France, because just as easily as one person can begin a movement to start a petition supporting this bus driver, in our country of free speech, one individual can start a conversation to institute political change. All it takes is one fed up traveler to start a movement.
Just ask Pete Flores, a Republican politician who claimed his spot in recent elections. In a district which had been up to that point held by a Democrat for 139 years, Flores won the district elections as a Republican. Flores attributes his success to a grass roots effort. It is the strength of facilitating weak ties to aggregate around a cause which enables people to enter this ecosystem as a tastemaker. It is transforming the political process in our country.
How Collaboration of Crowds Changes the Balance of Power
We have seen from prior weeks’ topics that this collaborative ability has changed not only how news is delivered (and the financial models tied to that distribution), but it has changed how content is generated, and the very nature of the content itself. This capability has put control of the content of ideas, along with the dispersion of information into the hands of the people. With the proper strategy, it theoretically has given anyone the ability to initiate change.
A New Paradigm for Leaders
Prior to now, I believed that crowdsourcing was merely a way for people to raise money on websites like gofundme.com. I am realizing, just like in earlier weeks, that a new paradigm for organized effort has emerged, and it needs to be acknowledged and successfully harnessed by anyone with an idea to promote, a problem to solve, or products/services to sell.
It has also changed how professionals do their jobs. It has changed a professional’s role from “expert” and “source” and “user” of knowledge, to “facilitator”, “strategist”, and “cultivator, curator and vetter” of information. The former skills required of experts to acquire, possess, and utilize knowledge are very different from facilitator, curator and one who establishes the credibility of others’ contributions.
This change can be seen across all industries. The collective voice of crowds are finding their place in higher education, sports, entertainment, business, in Wikipedia (Blodgett, 2009), and now in politics. This shift in power from one centralized source, to many dispersed voices requires a shift in mindset for those who wish to maintain a leadership role in their prospective industries.
It requires that leaders possess a willingness to change their duties, and a willingness to change their perception of self. A willingness to yield control from the power of few, instead, serving as what Kevin Allocca (2011) of YouTube calls a “tastemaker” who can activate and curate the voices of many to forward an idea, agenda or cause.
A New Interpretation of Crowdsourcing
I’ve realized that “crowdsourcing” is like the idea of “social media”. Just as social media refers to an ability for people to communicate socially without prior coordination (and is more than just one platform like Facebook or Twitter), crowdsourcing is more than just gofundme.com. It is a very powerful means to tap into the collective thought on the ether. Depending upon the motive and end goal, this collaborative creativity can be drawn upon to deliver news, to provide entertainment, to cultivate innovative medical ideas or solve corporate problems, and…according to this week’s topic, can be used to forward a political agenda.
Information “goes viral” on the internet when it is unexpected, embraced by creative communities and involves what Kevin Allocca (2011) calls tastemakers. This capability to go viral on anything that an individual might feel attracted to (be it Nyan Cat, “Friday”, or this bus driver’s situation), gives the individual or company sharing the information the ability to influence people and initiate change.
A New World Order for Politics and Democracy
This capacity of one non-expert person to influence the physical and online actions of many will change the system by which our political voices are heard. Lawmakers who can make this shift from “expert” and “source of information and knowledge”, to “tastemaker”, “facilitator”, and “curator” of relevant ideas will find themselves voted into power…if, that is, platforms such as google, Facebook, and our own government follow former FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler’s (2013) sage advice.
According to Wheeler (2013), we should not mess with the way the internet functions, and instead focus our regulatory and controlling activities based upon the nature of the content (i.e. monopolistic, pornographic and other illicit activities) that take place on the web. According to its creator, (Berners-Lee, 2010), we need to leave the internet to be a tool for the free exchange of information and ideas. Free of filter bubbles and pre-established signals which control and bias what we see (and do not see), for it is when organizations and governments filter for us what we should be filtering for ourselves, that individual voices (and the potential of crowd action) is diminished and controlled by “experts” seeking to retain the microphone, the podium, or the thrones of proverbial power.
Just this morning, it was announced that there are initiatives within our government seeking to regulate the unchecked influence that up to this point companies like Google and Facebook have taken upon our quest for information. In this digital age, aggregated information is power, and those who take it upon themselves to curate what we see should be held to some level of transparency of their actions, and enable individuals to set their own filters.
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About the Author: Mary Beth is graduating this spring with a Ph.D. at Troy University in Sport Management, where her research interests involve organizational capacity in sport. She is the Sport Management Department Chair at Pfeiffer University, a liberal arts institution near Charlotte, NC. She has 15 years experience as a Marketing Director for an LPGA tourney, Marketing Director for a US Olympic National Governing Body, sponsorship sales executive for an NBA sports and entertainment property, VP of Marketing and Ticket Sales for a hockey team, and she aided press operations during the 1996 Olympic Games as an Interview Room Manager. Mary Beth enjoys thinking about new ideas and solving business problems. Follow her on Twitter @mb_chambers or LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/marybethchambersphd
References:
Allocca, K. (2011). Why videos go viral. TEDYouth 2011. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_allocca_why_videos_go_viral
Berners – Lee, T. (2010). Long live the web. Scientific American, 303(6), 80-85.
Blodgett, H. (January 3, 2009). Who the hell writes Wikipedia, anyways? Business Insider. Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.com/2009/1/who-the-hell-writes-wikipedia-anyway
Foxnews.com. (September 22, 2018). Whitehouse circulates draft executive order on policing social media. Retrieved from: http://video.foxnews.com/v/5838644724001/?#sp=show-clips
Lieu, A. (September 21, 2018). 300,000 sign petition backing bus driver who slapped child, 12, for running into street. Foxnews.com.Retrieved from:
Palmer, B. (June 21, 2014). Disco demolition night at Old Comiskey Park (1979). YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAJfOcnYYEQ
Shirky, C. (March 5, 2008). Here comes everybody. Presentation given to the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_0FgRKsqqU
Wheeler, T. (2013). Net Effects: The past, present & future impact of our networks. Retrieved from: http://transition.fcc.gov/net-effects-2013/NET_EFFECTS_The-Past-Present-and-Future-Impact-of-Our-Networks.pdf
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