Using Social Media for Global Security

Chapter 9

Crowdsourcing Intelligence

Crowdsourcing platforms can help you collect actionable intelligence from the most hostile populations and the most remote areas. The process for building and running crowdsourcing platforms that collect intelligence as opposed to accomplishing other objectives is relatively simple. However, the process can vary significantly depending on the target audience and the type of information you want to collect. This chapter goes over the process by explaining what is possible through crowdsourcing and what is not possible, and shows how intelligence platforms differ from platforms used to accomplish other or mixed objectives. It also walks through how to build and run platforms that collect intelligence for analyzing hard-to-reach populations and helping design other crowdsourcing platforms through SMS, helping law enforcement encourage citizens to identify criminal suspects through smartphones, and helping with crisis response through crowdmap websites.

Understanding the Scope of Crowdsourced Intelligence

Crowdsourced intelligence is intelligence derived specifically through custom crowdsourcing platforms, known as intelligence collection platforms, as opposed to from social media in general. It is another form of human intelligence that veers into the territory of signal intelligence. You can apply crowdsourced intelligence to solve a variety of mission sets, ranging from improving disaster relief to identifying and tracking illicit actors and ...