Google has recently launched a new application called Crowdsource, and just as the name suggests the application enlists the help of users to translate bits of text. There are various options for users in how they can help Google, with the main goal of the app being to improve the overall quality of some of Google’s other services such as Google Translate and Google Maps. Not too unlike the way they gather information from users through Opinion Rewards, Google uses Crowdsource to give micro tasks to users which generally take just a few seconds, and they could be as simple as translating a small bit of text or transcribing the words and letters in an image.
While users can continue going through as many of these tasks as they like and spend more than a few minutes doing them, doing one or two is a rather quick process and can be done collectively over time. In addition to the image transcription and translations, there are also tasks for translation validation in Maps, translation validation, and handwriting recognition, with all of these options listed as large tiles on the main homepage of the application. The app also supports multiple Google accounts just like any other Google app and users can switch between them freely from the hamburger menu.
The hamburger menu is also where users will find the app settings which contains a toggle for enabling the cache that lets tasks download for use later on, as well toggles for enabling the cache only on Wi-Fi and for enabling notifications and reminders. Users can also see their contributions (labeled off by number) from the hamburger menu, although it is worth noting that Google is not giving away rewards with this app as it is solely for the purpose of gathering the help from users to improve various other apps. Crowdsource is of course, a free app to install, and users can toggle off notifications at any time so they aren’t being alerted to available tasks. Completed tasks help the individual that is doing them as well as other users since the translations and transcriptions are for Google’s other services.
