crowdsourcing

11 Stories

To Study Elephants in Mourning, Researchers Get Creative

It's the first scientific documentation of the behavior in Asian elephants, thanks to YouTube

(Newser) - Wildlife biologists used crowdsourced YouTube videos to compile the first scientific documentation of how Asian elephants react to death. It's not that they were afraid to go into the field to study them with their own eyes—the problem is that Asian elephants are jungle dwellers, which makes them...

Wikipedia Founder Has 'Radical' Solution to Fight Fake News

Jimmy Wales' Wikitribune combines pro journalists with community volunteers

(Newser) - "The news is broken and we can fix it." That's the lofty promise of Wikitribune , a new "living, breathing tool" launched by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales that he hopes will combat "fake news" by teaming ace journalists with citizen volunteers. "I'm not sure...

Internet Helps Dad Find Special Sippy Cup for Autistic Son

Even the cup manufacturer gets involved

(Newser) - Faced with the pending demise of his autistic son's beloved sippy cup, Marc Carter turned to the internet in hopes of finding a replica of the out-of-production vessel—the only one 14-year-old Ben will drink from, reports Mashable . And come through the internet did: Before long, dozens of cups...

Dakota Pipeline Protest Fund Tops $1M

But the money is disappearing quickly in Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrations

(Newser) - As the protest in North Dakota against the Dakota Access Pipeline escalates, so has the main crowdfunding page linked to it. The AP reports that since April, a GoFundMe account set up to raise money to aid protesters has far surpassed the $5,000 its organizer had originally hoped it...

For $10, Ink Your Name on This Artist

Illma Gore calls the crowdsourced installation a 'piece of unsellable artwork'

(Newser) - A 22-year-old California artist whose love of tattoos is instantly obvious (she estimates she has 47) is just a few days into a brash GoFundMe campaign: to become her very own crowdsourced art installation. For $10, people can get their name or one to two words of their choosing tattooed...

Satellite Company Wants You to Help Find Malaysia Jet

DigitalGlobe hopes crowdsourcing can locate plane

(Newser) - Malaysian authorities seem to have generated nothing but confusion and ill will in the hunt for Flight MH370. Now a Colorado company offers a way for people to do more than vent frustration—they can help scan satellite images, reports the Denver Post . DigitalGlobe wants people to go to its...

Internet Cracks Grandma's Mystery Code in Minutes



 Internet Cracks Grandma's 
 Mystery Code in Minutes 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 26, 2014 6:15 PM CST

Internet Cracks Grandma's Mystery Code in Minutes

She filled cards with cryptic letters in her final weeks ... 18 years ago

(Newser) - A cryptic mystery left by a dying grandmother puzzled a Maryland family for nearly 20 years before her granddaughter turned to an Internet forum for help. "My grandmother passed away in 1996 of a fast-spreading cancer. She was non-communicative her last two weeks, but in that time, she left...

Walmart's New Delivery Service: You

Retail behemoth looks to crowd sourcing for home delivery

(Newser) - If Walmart is too understaffed to stock its own shelves , how can it hope to move into home delivery? Turns out, the retail behemoth could be turning to people like you. Yes, Walmart is looking into crowd-sourcing home deliveries, paying its customers to deliver packages for them, reports Reuters . "...

Defiant Syrians Changing Streetscape —Via Google

Streets renamed in honor of fallen revolutionaries via Map Maker

(Newser) - Defiant Syrians are winning a virtual battle over President Bashar al-Assad. They're eradicating the name Assad from streets and bridges, and renaming them in honor of fallen Syrian rebels—with the help of Google crowdsourcing program Map Maker . The map modifications are believed to be the first time a...

Contributors Flee Wikipedia's Stricter Rules

Effort to combat bias, vandalism has thinned ranks by 49K

(Newser) - In an attempt to rein in the lawlessness and veiled opinion running rampant among its volunteer editors, Wikipedia may have shot itself in the foot. In the first 3 months of this year, there's been something of a stampede of contributors exiting the crowdsourced online encyclopedia, leading to a net...

Anonymous Posters Bedevil TripAdvisor
Anonymous Posters Bedevil TripAdvisor
TRAVEL
Nov 20, 2009 2:35 PM CST

Anonymous Posters Bedevil TripAdvisor

Hotel ranking site shows dangers of crowdsourcing

(Newser) - Some recent snafus have taught TripAdvisor the hard way that crowdsourcing may be powerful, but it isn’t always reliable. In one recent incident, a new boutique hotel shot to the top of the site’s Miami Beach hotel rankings on a flood of positive reviews—until one reviewer implied...

11 Stories