介绍:
In today's digitally savvy world, social networks have invoked our desire to share to an unprecedented extent. On Instagram, people post numerous family photos, pictures of their meals, as well as selfies with some furry feline friends. While Facebook and Twitter users just can not help updating status or sharing the link to a hilarious baby video from time to time.
Yes, there are so many feelings we want to express, so many adventures we want to resonate with.
But what else can we share on social media?
To find out the answer, let&`&s follow Li Ningjing as she digs through the bestseller, Mindsharing: The Art of Crowdsourcing Everything.
Reporter:
It was a normal day in 1906, when British scientist Francis Galton left the comfort of his home to visit a country fair. Prancing around the market, the statistician came upon a competition, which dares local villagers to predict the weight of an ox. Around eight hundred people gave a try, but none of them got it right.
Well, what can you expect from the average folks?
Yet out of sport or habit, Galton borrowed the tickets after the contest and averaged the guesses. The result totally blew him away, as the mean was a near-perfect match to the actual weight save one pound!
One hundred years later, Israeli researcher Lior Zoref revived Galton&`&s experience on the TED Talk stage. This former Microsoft vice president came up with a similar conclusion that sometimes, the judgments of the many could be wiser than those of the few.
But unlike Galton who was more interested in the statistic aspect of this experiment, Zoref tries to figure out how to pool collective intelligence within our personal digital networks.
"So you know the saying, two heads are better than one. I ask myself what about one hundred heads? What about one thousand heads? What will happen if we all could think together? In my research, in my book, I try to understand how we can use social technologies in a new way."
Wait. Doesn&`&t it sound like James Surowieski&`&s The Wisdom of Crowds?
Well, at first glance, Zoref&`&s debut book, "Mindsharing: The Art of Crowdsourcing Everything" does remind people of Surowieski&`&s international bestseller. But an observant reader could soon perceive a far more personal twist in "Mindsharing". Flipping through the pages, we learn how the author himself fulfilled his life dream and solved various problems by consulting with people online, why a mother&`&s Facebook updates saved the life of her four-year-old son, and how in less than an hour, a Malaysian student used LinkedIn to find inspiration for his dissertation topic that has bothered him for weeks.
In a way, your social networks could do wonders. Let alone some simple trifles like finding a decent restaurant or great travel location, the crowds on your cyberspace could help you land your dream job, sharpen your parenting skills or even snag that dreamy guy you always run into at the cafe.
"I use crowdsourcing throughout all the processes. I even ask them what to wear. So when you ask yourself, why do I need all those connections in Wechat? I say, you never know which one of your friends has experience in rare illness, which one of them knows about a good job, or which one of them could even help you go after your life dreams. This is what I&`&m trying to figure out how to use the network in another way, maybe in a more useful way to help us make better decisions. "
But one may wonder: hey, why do I bother talking with random strangers online? Why don&`&t I just seek advice from a couple of close friends? As someone who knows me so well, they could surely provide the best suggestions. After all, we live in an age that values individuality and independent thinking.
Well, is it really that case?
Lior Zoref warns about the echo chamber effect of social media.
"There was a very famous research (conducted) by Professor Mark Granovetter in 1973. He tried to understand what is the most important thing you need to have in order to find a job. And he found out that your connections at your network is (are) the most important thing(s). But he also tried to figure out what kind of connections would help you find a new job. Is it your best friends? He called them strong ties. Or is that your father&`&s friends? He called them weak ties. He found eight hundred people that most of them found new jobs and asked them what helped them. He took all the answers and found out eighty percent of people found jobs using weak ties, such as friends&`& friends, not their best friends. He explained that our best friends usually have same circle of knowledge as we do. But the friends of friends open opportunity for new circles of knowledge. This could also help us, not just find jobs, but solve big problems. "
So how should we build crowds and manage our digital relations?
Zoref explains that to give is more valuable than to take.
"It starts with a few friends you know personally. But then you need to give them value and not just ask question. Tell them about your passion, teach them something and then you will learn some of them share with others. So you get a community where you give value and then when you ask them questions, they will respond. "
However, instead of single-mindedly boasting about how crowdsourcing upgrades our brains, Zoref does not shy away from discussing the catastrophic consequences caused by the masses.
So if the crowd is not always infallible, how could we steer through the flow of information without getting lost or misguided?
The author answers.
"There are three conditions. The first condition is to let you have a big crowd. Ten is not enough. In ten people, someone could manipulate the answer. You need to have at least 250 people. The second condition (is that) you need to have a diverse crowd, people from different backgrounds, different places and different ages. And the third condition is no manipulation. So it&`&s not about choosing the right crowd. Because the same crowd could give smart answers and give wrong answers. It depends on how you ask. It depends on the size of the crowd and the diversity of the crowd. In addition to that, there are groups of professionals. So if you have a question that relates to professionals, then it&`&s better to find the group of people with the same profession. "
Divided into four parts and published in 2015, "Mindsharing" is recognized by Inc. Magazine as a must read for entrepreneurs.
Yet in the eyes of Jiang Yongjun, president and chief editor from CITIC Frontier and Economy Press, the book is for everyone.
"Mindsharing is not just a practical manual that can guide you to use crowd wisdom to solve personal problems, but is also an inspiring work that tells you how to pursue dreams. It provides detailed, step-by-step guidance to teach us how to make use of social media and collective intelligence to make better decisions."
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