Crowdsourcing in times of crisis
In March 2014 the unthinkable in air travel happened, a Malaysian Airlines plane flight MH370 carrying 239 passengers disappeared from all reality. Still to this day, some six years on and the plane is still missing with no sign of its whereabouts.
Within hours of the plane disappearing, search parties were sent out on the route that the plane was last tracked to. Still with so many theories on what direction the plane could have gone, as well as the mental health of the pilot, there is still so much unknown about what happened to MH370 and sadly the relatives of those missing are left to grieve.
One of the biggest crowdsourcing projects to help in the search for MH370 was a satellite imagery company called Tomnod. They had assisted authorities previously in satellite searches for earthquake and tornado victims and mass searches when the ground to cover was too large.
In the case of MH370, the search area was beyond the ability of plane and navy searches and Tomnod were contracted to assist in searching. The amount of area to cover was so large that Tomnod put the call out over social media to assist with the search. Tomnod was loaded up with over 1 million square kilometres of satellite imagery for volunteers to search. Users were logged on and given the choice of a section of ocean to search. You could then mark anything that looked like a ship, debris or even plane. As you searched a section of the satellite map you could scroll in any direction and search more ocean.
It became quite addictive, because there was no end to searching. You would ask yourself the question, 'what if the next image holds the plane?'
The concept of using crowdsourcing to assist in a common goal is something groups are using more and more. Enabling people to "solve a task" (Merriam Webster Online 2014) when a disaster happens makes people feel like they are doing more than just being passive observers. The recent Australian bushfires is testament to a crisis invoking response, and the amount of money raised by Celeste Barber to assist fire efforts was exponential (ABC News 2020). Using online platforms and crowdsourcing apps, celebrities were able to jump on board and use social media to immobilise support from around the world.
Never before has there been a time in history where online crowdsourcing opportunities have been able to bring such a large response to difficult issues and crises. As technology continues to develop my hope is that the ability to effectively crowdsource and see large issues change will continue.
References:
ABC News 2020, Celeste Barber's bushfire fundraiser raised millions — here's what's happening with that money, viewed 8 May 2020, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/celeste-barber-fundraiser-money-tied-up-legal-complications/11979108>.
Body of Water during Golden Hour [image], Pexels 2020, viewed 8 May 2020, <https://www.pexels.com/photo/beach-dawn-dusk-ocean-189349/>.
Maxar Blog 2014, Crowdsourcing Malaysia Flight #MH370 – Campaign Comes To a Close,<https://blog.maxar.com/earth-intelligence/2014/crowdsourcingmalaysianflightthankyou>.
Meier P, 2014, Results of Crowdsourced Search for Malaysia Flight MH370, viewed 23 May 2020, <https://youtu.be/UOLnD8Z5x2M>.
The Guardian 2014, Tomnod – the online search party looking for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, viewed 7 May 2020,
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/14/tomnod-online-search-malaysian-airlines-flight-mh370>.
Within hours of the plane disappearing, search parties were sent out on the route that the plane was last tracked to. Still with so many theories on what direction the plane could have gone, as well as the mental health of the pilot, there is still so much unknown about what happened to MH370 and sadly the relatives of those missing are left to grieve.
One of the biggest crowdsourcing projects to help in the search for MH370 was a satellite imagery company called Tomnod. They had assisted authorities previously in satellite searches for earthquake and tornado victims and mass searches when the ground to cover was too large.
In the case of MH370, the search area was beyond the ability of plane and navy searches and Tomnod were contracted to assist in searching. The amount of area to cover was so large that Tomnod put the call out over social media to assist with the search. Tomnod was loaded up with over 1 million square kilometres of satellite imagery for volunteers to search. Users were logged on and given the choice of a section of ocean to search. You could then mark anything that looked like a ship, debris or even plane. As you searched a section of the satellite map you could scroll in any direction and search more ocean.
(Meier 2014)
The concept of using crowdsourcing to assist in a common goal is something groups are using more and more. Enabling people to "solve a task" (Merriam Webster Online 2014) when a disaster happens makes people feel like they are doing more than just being passive observers. The recent Australian bushfires is testament to a crisis invoking response, and the amount of money raised by Celeste Barber to assist fire efforts was exponential (ABC News 2020). Using online platforms and crowdsourcing apps, celebrities were able to jump on board and use social media to immobilise support from around the world.
References:
ABC News 2020, Celeste Barber's bushfire fundraiser raised millions — here's what's happening with that money, viewed 8 May 2020, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/celeste-barber-fundraiser-money-tied-up-legal-complications/11979108>.
Body of Water during Golden Hour [image], Pexels 2020, viewed 8 May 2020, <https://www.pexels.com/photo/beach-dawn-dusk-ocean-189349/>.
Maxar Blog 2014, Crowdsourcing Malaysia Flight #MH370 – Campaign Comes To a Close,<https://blog.maxar.com/earth-intelligence/2014/crowdsourcingmalaysianflightthankyou>.
Meier P, 2014, Results of Crowdsourced Search for Malaysia Flight MH370, viewed 23 May 2020, <https://youtu.be/UOLnD8Z5x2M>.
The Guardian 2014, Tomnod – the online search party looking for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, viewed 7 May 2020,
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/14/tomnod-online-search-malaysian-airlines-flight-mh370>.
I remember when the MH370 disaster happened and I was using the satellite TOMNOD, it does become quite addictive and you are always hoping that you will be the one able to contribute to finding out helpful information. It really is a good thing and I do hope to see it advance in the near future. It is hard to just observe as things happen around the world but thankfully the internet is making us all more useful in times of need.
ReplyDeleteEbony
Hi Cathy
ReplyDeleteGreat post! The search for the MH370 debris is an amazing example of crowdsourcing ‘for good’. The Guardian reports 2.3 million people from “thirteen countries, 57 ships and 48 aircraft are currently looking for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370” all within the first week of its disappearance (Fishwick 2014). It’s hard to imagine the technology behind such an endeavour, but it’s the perfect illustration of the connectedness technology has afforded us. The people on the Titanic would not have been lost if it happened in this century.
On a similar but lesser scale was the Twitter response to 2011 Sth East Qld Floods, where over 35,000 tweets containing the #qldfloods hashtag were sent during the period of 10-16 January. Approx 40% contained links to further information, and volunteers dedicated themselves to retweeting and acting as amplifiers of emergency information, thereby increasing its reach (Bruns et al 2012). They say #qldfloods managed to stay on topic, another indication of the collective crowd recognising the significance of its involvement.
In a different vein, but still a case study of engaging large numbers of people coming together to tackle a complex problem, is the phenomena of the online manhunt for [L-stay-nameless-M] documented in the movie ‘Don’t F*** with Cats. Despite criticism that the film is a comment on our society's obsession with crime and unintentionally feeds the idolisation of murderers, it highlights the online nature of the manhunt, using technology as a force for good.
References
ABC News/Reuters, 2019, viewed 22 may 2020,
Bruns, A, Burgess, J, Crawford, K & Shaw, F 2012, #qldfloods and @QPSMedia: Crisis Communication on Twitter in the 2011 South East Queensland Floods, Arc Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, pp. 7-10, viewed 22 May 2020, .
Fishwick, C 2014, ‘Tomnod – the online search party looking for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370’, The Guardian, viewed 22 May, 2020,
It seems like a lifetime since flight MH370 vanished 6 years ago. I remember how huge it was in the media and how bizarre it was that it was never found. I found your point on Tomnod to be really interesting as I never knew about that. It's amazing to see what people can do when we work together to achieve a goal. I think you're line about people wanting to be more then passive observers is really accurate too, many want to help but there is little we can do from another country.
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