Let’s start with a short story:

Walking Through the Classifieds You might get that $20 after all, if you submit it soon! See.. You are walking through a hallway looking at picture-frames on the wall. However, it’s not art you’re looking at, it’s Craigslist postings of used high-end washers and dryers. And, no, this is not an Andy Warhol inspired art-exhibit; you’re actually in virtual-reality right-now, and you’re trying to earn a few $’s (to go towards pitching-in for your cousin’s Quinceañera next week, if you were wondering what for…) Someone in ‘the system’ said they would pay $20 to whoever could find the best washer/dryer set deal in their neighborhood via Craiglist. It sounded like a good challenge, so you decided to enter the competition. You ‘walk’ up to one of the picture frames with a Craigslist post inside, and you notice the owner of the post is online. So, you press a virtual-button that will let them know you want to talk with them. They respond with, “Just a minute.”, so you relax for a second and walk around in the virtual reality hallway. Then, you hear a ‘beep’. You look back at the frame, and it changes from the Craigslist-post to a video-feed, as the owner starts showing you the washer-dryer set in real-time. You know a little bit about washer-dryer sets since you used to repair them as a side job, back when you were a handyman. So, you start scrutinizing as you speak with the man. The set looks pretty good, and after speaking with him, the seller seems like a good guy, so you start putting-together a little video, verbal, and text summary of all you learned about that particular washer-dryer (so that you can report-back for a chance to win the $20 the requester in the system was offering). You’ll find out who they picked in a few days… You think you have a good chance as you press the virtual submit button! Cool. Now back to battling aliens on a ski-slope in the VR game you were playing before this. pew, pew.. slalom, slalom….pew. It’s All About the Working Environment People who are active in a crowdsourcing projects are doing ‘work’. They are answering questions, putting-down money on others’ projects (crowdfunding), or doing any number of random data-focused tasks (microtasking). That all takes work…

What Happens When You Take That Work and Put It In a Virtual Space? Well, the ‘worker’ is no longer in a (HTML-based) browser displaying through a distant screen, for one thing. They’re probably not looking at a spreadsheet or a form either…

Instead, their new ‘objects of focus’ are digitally represented shapes and sounds that flow together in time and space. In other words, they have 3D objects to reach for (at least the illusion of them), listen to, click on, and interact with.

This will mean that tasks in crowdsourcing will go from abstract experiences to something more visual and more interactive…

For instance, maybe ‘workers’ will be able to label-photos in rapid-succession using only their voice and by swiping their arms in front of a motion sensor. Meanwhile, they can look down, up, left right, and feel less like they are glued to a screen. They will do all this as they try to problem-solve within the confines of the platform.

I imagine it will be much like a video-game.

Spending More Time in the System Getting Things Done This kind of experience will also boost worker’s ability to spend more time and be engaged in the experience of crowdsourcing. This fact alone will give a big boost to the industry.

Indeed, I see a future where gains in the quality of immersion in VR will always mean gains in the practicality of doing microtasking as a ‘real’ job (i.e., earning a significant amount of income).

Crowdfunding Even crowdfunding could become more interactive with VR. Potential backers could look at virtual-prototypes, engage in media on a more physical level and socialize with the project creators (or other backers) in a more lively setting than the typical comment-boxes they have now.

API’s in VR Application-programming-interfaces allow apps to talk to one another. By routing certain-information or functions flexibly from app to app, you can do some interesting things.

For example, in the short story at the beginning of this chapter, the character is looking at Craigslist postings as if they were paintings on the wall. That would be possible only through a Craigslist API.

(FYI, I do not know if one exists that can do this specifically…)

Just think about all that can be done…

Imagine, for example being able to swim over image-search results, or flying through digital maps until you find your desired destination, then changing into walking as you “land” to explore in street view. It’s these kind of dynamic virtual-worlds where work will be hyper-connected and extremely powerful allowing crowdsourced-work to become a dynamic experience.

Humans as Apps, and Crowdsourcing Platforms as API’s Humans are kind of like software-programs/apps if you think about it. They are active agents that get work done according to how they process incoming data. Now, if you apply that thought to crowdsourcing, you can see the human-beings in such a system as just more programs being plugged in via their API’s (which would be an immersive graphical user interface or GUI in VR).

So, from the worker’s perspective, you, like an app, can be ‘on-demand’ plugging yourself in or un-plugging yourself whenever you want.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/action-air-air-shooting-aircraft-319968/ The System Just Got Physical Add human-controlled-robots to this equation, as we discussed in a previous chapter, and you get VR entering the physical world where ‘real work’ can be done (even in hazardous places, an advantage of having a robot-body).

As long as your robot has a good camera and the ability to rotate that camera in real time, VR is an excellent and intuitive medium for controlling a robot body of any kind.

How Can I Take This Insight and Start Now? Ask a friend who has VR goggles, or go to an electronics-store; and ask for a demo. You won’t regret it… VR is awesome.

In short, after trying it yourself, you should be able to see the future of ‘task-based online-work (and volunteering) is inside the virtual-world’, and it looks fun!

CS Companies In addition to individuals, I urge all cs companies to start thinking about putting their working / funding environments in VR (asap!).

People may not believe it, but it’s time to get on board now, not later. Put on a pair of VR goggles, use your imagination, and get to work!