In a crowd, anyone in the large group can choose to undertake the task, like for instance submitting a t-shirt design to Threadless. All forms of virtual collective intelligence need to include this crowd factor at some point in the process. The crowd gene taps into a much larger pool than the hierarchy gene. However, the crowd gene does not work under all conditions. It is most useful when (a) many people have the tools/skills necessary to perform the task, or you don’t know who has these tools/skills, (b) tasks can easily be divided into pieces (necessary info can be shared, sabotage can be avoided), and (c) crowds have more motivation, or can do things cheaper/faster/better.

Crowd

In a hierarchy, someone in authority makes decisions and assigns tasks to others. One example is that Threadless management decides which of the most popular t-shirts to produce. A hierarchy should be used when the conditions for a crowd are not met.

Hierarchy

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Despite the power collective intelligence holds, many businesses are not using it because they don’t understand how to do so. To shed some light on this confusion, a study at MIT’s Center for Collective Intelligence analyzed almost 250 examples of web-enabled collective intelligence, and identified building blocks to explain how these systems function. These building blocks answer the following four questions: What is the task at hand? Who is doing it? Why are they doing it? How is it being done?

Building blocks explain how to use CI in companies

Malone, Thomas & Laubacher, Robert & Dellarocas, Chrysanthos. (2010). The Collective Intelligence Genome. IEEE Engineering Management Review. 38. 38-52. 10.1109/EMR.2010.5559142. 

The Collective Intelligence Genome

It is usually one (or both) of the following: create or decide. 

Creating is generating something new, like for example t-shirt designs. Deciding is evaluating and selecting the best choice among alternatives, like for example selecting among t-shirt designs.

Building block 1: What is the task at hand? 

Building block 2: Who is doing the task?

Motivators include money, love, and glory.

Love is defined as enjoyment of the activity, enjoyment of the opportunity to socialize with others via the activity, or feeling that one is contributing to a larger cause. Appealing to love and glory over money tends to reduce the costs. However, providing money and glory makes it easier to control the direction in which a crowd moves and how quickly they achieve the goal.

Building block 3: Why are people performing the task?

This building block is split into two categories based on whether one is creating or deciding.

Building block 4: How is it being done?

Each gene and its variants have specific outcomes/goals and thus are best used in certain combinations and types of systems.  

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