Wisdom of Crowds

Swine Flu and the Internet: A Real Watershed for Networking

Bill Dutton *OIINEWS, General Interest, Internet and Everyday Life, Social Issues, Wisdom of Crowds

National concern over the spread of swine flu led the UK National Health Service to set up a telephone hotline, but also an Internet Website. The site provides a set of tick boxes - a questionnaire - that is self-administered. The answers permit individuals to make a more informed judgment of whether they do, or … Continue reading Swine Flu and the Internet: A Real Watershed for Networking

Ofcom Advisory Boards for the Nations and Regions of the UK and Northern Ireland

Bill Dutton Broadcasting, General Interest, Ofcom, Wisdom of Crowds

Ofcom has four Advisory Committees to connect Ofcom to the views and interests of people within the nations and regions of the UK. The site has been up-dated to reflect the new composition of the committees, their responsibilities, and terms of reference. I would encourage you to follow the work of these committees, and let … Continue reading Ofcom Advisory Boards for the Nations and Regions of the UK and Northern Ireland

MP Expense Claims: Calling on the Fifth Estate

Bill Dutton *OIINEWS, Fifth Estate, General Interest, Political Implications, Wisdom of Crowds

Revelations about MP expense claims are still unfolding, but proposals for reform are already emerging. One proposal places particular emphasis on the role of networked individuals to hold the MP's accountable for their claims. The idea is to immediately put every claim made to the Commons fee office on the Web (The Sunday Times, 17 … Continue reading MP Expense Claims: Calling on the Fifth Estate

Earlier Public Access to Government Statistical Reports

Bill Dutton *OIINEWS, eGovernment, Fifth Estate, Political Implications, Wisdom of Crowds

The Chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir Michael Scholar, has called for a reduction in the time before official UK government statistics are available to the public (from 24 to 3 hours). Instead of allowing ministers to have reports well in advance, enabling them to anticipate or steer public reaction, this would put the … Continue reading Earlier Public Access to Government Statistical Reports

Summary of Research on Collaborative Network Organizations

Bill Dutton Information Communication and the Social Sciences, Internet and Everyday Life, Social Informatics, Social Science Research, Wisdom of Crowds

Rick Goossen has posted a useful overview of our research on distributed problem solving networks, which I've come to call 'Collaborative Network Organizations'. As Goossen suggests, research in this area is going to have a very difficult time in keeping up with developments. The article he based his blog on is posted on SSRN.