The term “microtasking” is often associated with crowdsourcing, which involves both the use of technology and a large number of people. But there’s a difference, according to Alix Dunn, executive director at The Engine Room, a U.S.-registered charity helping organizations navigate the use of data and technology.
Crowdsourcing is more about data collection — for example, when citizens take pictures of potholes across the city and send that to the government agency in charge of keeping roads safe for motorists and pedestrians. A number of nonprofit organizations use the concept in various ways. When it launched in 2007, for example, Ushahidi used crowdsourced information to keep track of and map election-related violence in Kenya.