Embodiment and Gameplay in Networked Publics

In: International journal of public administration in the digital age: IJPADA, Band 4, Heft 2, S. 43-55

Abstract

Decision-making in self-organized information systems such as online collaborative data production systems can be understood as an autonomous system beyond centralized power of nation-states and their various institutions, mediated by social media tools where crowd feedbacks are aggregated in a variety of reputation mechanisms. These more informal sources are however not without problems. Group biases easily appear and assumed credible sources do not necessarily provide more accurate information, in particular when it comes to more complex problems and when a diversity of perspectives or certain expertise is required. To this adds the practical problem that there is a lack of efficient technology design to support equal representation and analysis of representativeness. This article focuses on the representativeness issue and, while providing an overview over principles and some tools for crowd sourced data production, suggests a framework for making patterns of bias in collaborative information production online more transparent.