Re:Mechanical Turk changes how we understand labor
by jfarmer on Thursday April 23, 2009 @05:19PM
(#576500)
You're right that "relies heavily on tremendous inequities in wealth," but not in the way you argue.
People don't spend time on MT for the money. Ok, some people do, but I believe the overwhelming motivation is the same motivation behind casual gaming.
It's just a fun thing you do because you're bored and it's like a little internet scavenger hunt.
Most Turkers are from North America, IIRC. It's more about the cognitive surplus of western laborers versus their third-world counterparts, which is related to their earning power.
Edit: Not sure why your comment was getting downvoted. I voted it back up -- it's an insightful and appropriate comment!
People don't spend time on MT for the money. Ok, some people do, but I believe the overwhelming motivation is the same motivation behind casual gaming.
It's just a fun thing you do because you're bored and it's like a little internet scavenger hunt.
Most Turkers are from North America, IIRC. It's more about the cognitive surplus of western laborers versus their third-world counterparts, which is related to their earning power.
Edit: Not sure why your comment was getting downvoted. I voted it back up -- it's an insightful and appropriate comment!