Crowds, crisis, and convergence: crowdsourcing in the context of disasters

The potential of connected crowds to solve complex problems has been the focus of considerable research in recent years across disciplines and certainly within the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). This talk examines the crowdsourcing phenomenon during natural disasters and other crisis events. The crisis context provides a unique perspective on crowd activity, one where timescales are compressed and prosocial behaviors are magnified. It also comes with a ready-made problem regarding information sharing – some people have it, many others need it, and it often requires a great deal of improvisation to get it to where it’s needed.