Microwork

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Microwork is a series of small tasks which together comprise a large unified
project, and are completed by many people over the Internet.[1][2] Microwork is
considered the smallest unit of work in a virtual assembly line.[3] It is most
often used to describe tasks for which no efficient algorithm has been devised, and
require human intelligence to complete reliably. The term was developed in 2008 by
Leila Chirayath Janah of Samasource.[4][5]

Contents
1 Microtasking
2 Examples
3 Uses
4 Demographics
5 Reasons for using microwork services
6 Treatment of workers
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
Microtasking
Microtasking is the process of splitting a large job into small tasks that can be
distributed, over the Internet, to many people.[6] Since the inception of
microwork, many online services have been developed that specialize in different
types of microtasking. Most of them rely on a large, voluntary workforce composed
of Internet users from around the world.

Typical tasks offered are repetitive but not so simple that they can be automated.
Good candidates for microtasks have the following characteristics:[7]

They are large volume tasks

They can be broken down into tasks that are done independently
They require human judgement
It may also be known as ubiquitous human computing or human-based computation when
focused on computational tasks that are too complex for distributed computing.

Microtasks are distinguished from macrotasks, which typically can be done

independently. They require a fixed amount of time and they require a specialized
skill.

The wage paid can range from a few cents per task to hundreds of dollars per
project.[8]

Examples
Amazon Mechanical Turk allows workers to choose and perform simple tasks online,
reporting directly through the platform to receive payments in exchange. A task can
be as complex as algorithm writing or as simple as labelling photos or videos,
describing products, or transcribing scanned documents. Employers submit tasks and
set their own payments, which are often pennies for each task. This crowdsourcing
project was initiated by Amazon as a way for users to find duplicate webpages, and
soon it became a service for individuals to contract computer programmers and other
individuals to finish tasks that computers are unable to accomplish. Since then
this project has expanded from its original form; nowadays, there are people who
will complete various Mechanical Turk projects as extra income on the side.

LiveOps uses a distributed network of people to run a "Cloud Call Center", a

virtual call center or contact center: contracted workers can answer calls and
provide other call center facilities without the need for the physical building or
equipment of a traditional call center. The Red Cross utilized this system
successfully during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, to process 17,000+ calls without
having to open or hire staff for a call center.[8]

A similar model is used by text message question-answering services like 63336.

Researchers connect with the service at home and receive questions as they are
submitted.

InnoCentive allows businesses to post problems and offer payment for answers. These
questions are often far less simple than tasks posted on services like Mechanical
Turk, and the payments are accordingly higher. For example: "Think you can find a
way to prevent orange juice stored in see-through bottles from turning brown? There
may be $20,000 in it for you."[8]

Samasource is a non-profit organization that allows people living in poverty the

opportunity to complete microwork for a living wage. The service specializes in
online content moderation, digital transcription, and data gathering and promotion.
[9]

Galaxy Zoo is a scientific effort to use online crowdsourcing to classify a very

large number of galaxies from astronomical images.

In 2010, the company Internet Eyes launched a service where in return for a
potential reward, home viewers would watch live CCTV streams and alert shop owners
of potential theft in progress.[10][11]

Uses
Most uses of microtasking services involve processing data, especially online.[12]
These include driving traffic to websites, gathering data like email addresses or,
and labelling or tagging data online. They are also used to accurately translate or
transcribe audio clips and pictures, since these are activities that are better
suited to humans than computers. These are used both for practical data conversion
purposes, but also to improve upon and test the fidelity of machine learning
algorithms.[9] Identification of pictures by humans has been used to help in
missing persons searches, though to little effect.[13]

Other than the manipulation of data, these services are also a good platform for
reaching a large population for social studies and surveys since they make it easy
to offer monetary incentives.[14]

Companies can also outsource projects to specialists on whom they otherwise would
have expended more resources hiring and screening. This method of pay per task is
attractive to employers; therefore, companies like Microsoft, AT&T, Yahoo! are
currently crowdsourcing some of their work through CrowdFlower, a company that
specializes in allocating jobs for foreign and local crowd workers. CrowdFlower
alone has completed 450 million completed human intelligence tasks between 2007 and
2012.[15] CrowdFlower operates differently than Amazon Mechanical Turk. Jobs are
taken in by the company; then in turn they are allocated to the right workers
through a range of channels. They implemented a system called Virtual Play, which
allows the users to play free games that would in turn accomplish useful tasks for
the company.[16]

Demographics
In 2011 an estimated $375 million was contributed by digital crowdsourced labour.
[17]

As of November 2009, India and the United States together make up roughly 92% of
the workers on Amazon Mechanical Turk with the U.S. making up 56% of these.
However, the percentage of Indian Turkers quadrupled in only one year from 2008 to
2009. As of 2009, the Indian Turkers are much younger and more educated than their
American counterparts citation needed, with the average age of Indian workers being
26 and American workers being 35. In addition, 45% of the digital workforce in
India have bachelor's degrees and 21% have master's degrees; in contrast only 38%
of American Turkers have a bachelor's degree and 17% with a master's degree.
Nonetheless, a majority of the digital workforce is educated young adults. The
major difference between the American and Indian workforce lies in the gender: 63%
of Indian Turkers are male compared to the 37% that makes up American Turkers.[18]

Reasons for using microwork services

Microtasking services as they are implemented now allow their workers to work from
home. Workers complete tasks on a voluntary basis; other than with time-sensitive
jobs like call centers, they choose which jobs to complete and when they complete
them.

Workers can work from anywhere in the world and receive payment directly over the
Internet. Because workers can reside anywhere in the world, microwork can provide
job opportunities with large Fortune 500 companies and many smaller companies for
people living in poverty who would otherwise not be able to make a living wage.
Through services like Samasource work and wealth are distributed from companies in
developed countries to a large volume of families in poverty, especially women and
youth who would otherwise not be able to generate income.[19] (Some services like
Amazon Mechanical Turk, restrict the countries workers can connect from.)

For employers, microtasking services provide a platform to quickly get a project

online and start receiving results from many workers at the same time.[20] The
services offer large workforces which complete tasks concurrently, so large volumes
of small tasks can be completed quickly.[21] Furthermore, since each task is
discretely contained and tasks are usually simple in nature, each individual worker
does not have to be fully trained or have complete knowledge of the project to
contribute work. Under United States tax law, workers are treated as independent
contractors, which means employers do not have to withhold taxes, and they only
need to file a form 1099-MISC with the Internal Revenue Service if a given worker
earns more than $600 per year. Workers are responsible for paying income taxes,
including self-employment tax that would otherwise be paid by their employer.