Blog 12

Crowdsourcing was the topic of discussion this week in class. We talked about how the internet can rally people together (the crowd) to offer resources for a certain cause. Ultimately this can turn out to be for very good reasons. Some of the positive things that can come from this include crowdfunding money for a certain cause, helping people find a lost item/person, and raising awareness about a certain idea/ailment. We covered one of the most successful crowdfunding events to occur which was the ALS Ice bucket challenge. This campaign raised millions of dollars and helped promote awareness about a debilitating disease. I had always assumed that everyone was in awe of this positive impact and didn’t see any reason why not to donate, unless of course you just didn’t have the money to donate or simply didn’t feel like it. I am glad that our professor shared with us the story of why Mike Rowe chose not to donate or jump on board with this idea.

Mike Rowe reasoned that in the world of philanthropy, there is a finite number of resources that can be given to one cause, without negatively effecting another. He means that the popularity and large sum of money raised by ALS Ice bucket challenge will inevitable have a negative impact on the raising efforts of other charities since money and time is a limited resource in this world. I had never looked at it this way before and was amazed to see this new perspective. Mike has also wrote that the large success of this event was not the “result of a conscious, collective commitment to rise up against a terrible scourge; it’s the result of a marketing campaign.” I thought that this was another enlightening statement that makes me wonder what causes people to give money up easier.

Lastly, I liked how someone in class brought up that people often donate to seemingly pointless things. For example, people raised thousands of dollars for someone who got a speeding ticket. I’m sure there are a number of other unmoving causes that people have given their money to and raised thousands of dollars for. I wonder if people would be as charitable with tangible cash in real life if they passed this person on the street asking for help with this cause. I’m ultimately trying to figure out if it’s the digital nature of the transactions, the blunt honesty for the reason why asking for the money, or the inevitable humor in the cause that results in people give up their money so readily.

All in all this was a good class discussion on a topic that has grown in recent years with more people gaining access to the internet and investing time and money into the stories that are shared on this online platform.