
Iamelgringo's first big project using Mechanical Turk - rms
http://iamelgringo.blogspot.com/2008/09/mechanical-turk-now-with-25-percent.html
======
briancooley
After looking over the tasks in the Mechanical Turk, I really wondered about
the motivation of Turkers. They sure aren't doing it for the money.

I suppose it gives people an outlet for the remarkably common desire to help
others. The pricing must function primarily for signalling the difficulty of
the task.

It's a very surprising and interesting phenomenon to me.

~~~
gcv
You're on to something, but I think there might be another factor at play:
love of using the Internet. It sounds a bit silly, but I think people love
going to sites and search engines and finding information. To make it more
interesting, they prefer to do it (1) when the work has a point, (2) the work
has low commitment, and (3) it gives a sense of accomplishment.

~~~
mechanical_fish
_I think people love going to sites and search engines and finding
information._

Yes, it's an online game! A game that, unlike most games, actually means
something to other people!

If I had a cent for every minute that mankind has spent mindlessly playing
Tetris or Windows Solitare, I'd be rich. Mechanical Turk is an instantiation
of that principle.

The money that's exchanged serves as a social signal from the world that your
thumb-twiddling is inherently valuable. It's like Clay Shirky's essay on why
micropayments don't work, only in reverse. Micropayments don't work because
even a tiny payment has big psychological consequences: It sets off our
decision-making circuits ("should I really pay for this?") and our reciprocity
circuits ("I paid for this, and it didn't make me happy, so you still owe
me!"). The result is that we feel a micropayment as a consequential cost, even
when the amount involved is tiny. Apply this in reverse and you get the Turk:
Give someone a penny for a task and they feel rewarded, even though the reward
is tiny.

------
floozyspeak
I've done quite a few research projects on turk myself, and I've researched
the motivational issue and pay is not the key factor.

this post shares some info from my studies

[http://www.floozyspeak.com/blog/archives/2008/08/valley_of_t...](http://www.floozyspeak.com/blog/archives/2008/08/valley_of_the_t.html)

------
jakewolf
I've used it for similar purposes and had the same experience. Amazing
service!

Who are these people doing the work? I turned my mom, a Stanford PHD grad onto
it for a project of her's and now she does hits for fun. Sometimes it's not
always about the money.

------
shafqat
Great post! Incredibly useful for those of us that have never used MT. Love
the human element. lways be good to others and treat them with respect...

------
ph0rque
I'm thinking about using MT for a more mentally intensive task: have each HIT
involve reading a paragraph or two of a given text, and write pairs of
questions and answers that could be obtained from the text. Is this feasible?

~~~
floozyspeak
Yes but be cautious. Make it too vague on what you want them to do combined
with a low pay amount and you'll get weak data.

Be clear on what you want them to do.

pay them decently, not 1cent, maybe more like 5 cents or more

and test it out, see what kinds of data ya get back, tweak, and change it up

Most turks aren't going to be BS ya but some will, in the end however you only
pay for what you feel is quality, but if you deny folks over and over and the
reason you're getting crap data is not them its because your HIT is too vague
and you pay crap, well you'll get a rep for being lame on turk and more crap
data will follow.

------
sdfx
Interesting article about an amazing service, have to remember it for the next
time I run into a similar problem. But please don't use it to blast out my
personal data to hundreds of "untrusted" people...

------
ptn
I thought the post on webapps hacking was great, succint and comprehensive.
It'll be my checklist while I prepare for my first startup.

------
fallentimes
Has anyone else on HN used Mechanical Turk? What was your experience like?
We're thinking of using it.

~~~
floozyspeak
Its great, just depends on... \- what you want to do \- is it clear and
possible to do \- how many people you want to do it \- what you want to pay

It doesn't cost much to get a taste of turk, go for it, you'll be surprised at
the result.

~~~
fallentimes
If you don't mind me asking, what kind of projects have you used it for?

~~~
floozyspeak
I've used it lots of ways.

transcription of audio interviews, paid 8 bucks

help me brainstorm a problem while I was flying from city to city for work,
they did a good job on that one

validate a hunch we had at the office on some language in a research
assignment, basically quick proof, get a taste on whether or not it was
connecting with them

many times ive used it to get what i call fuel before a meeting, get a quick
read on folks on brand or research aspects of something

i don't use turk in the traditional sense, i see it as a personal army ready
to process whatever you got, a survey np, help you think outloud np, research
when you cant, np, turk is pretty cool, but it all depends on what you want to
get out of it

~~~
fallentimes
I'm sold. I'll use it today and report back. If you ever need anything:
dan@ticketstumbler.com.

~~~
floozyspeak
Good luck, have fun, and report back!

------
rms
and a front page reddit hit! Congrats.
[http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/70mmv/amazon_me...](http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/70mmv/amazon_mechanical_turk_is_awesome/)

~~~
herdrick
Amazing - nearly all the comments there are from Turkers, former Turkers, or
people who are proud to say they will never be a Turk. Of course, all the
commenters over here are talking about using the service as employers, or are
simply interested observers.

I guess I hadn't realized reddit had gotten so bad.

------
Alex3917
I wonder if anyone has ever used it to find a date. I have an idea...

~~~
floozyspeak
Try <http://www.greedypeople.com> that may be more of what ya need.. heh

~~~
chickc
Yes, definitely try <http://www.greedyPeople.com>. I created it. If any of the
people from this board enter ycomb001 in the promo code on signup (over the
next 48hrs) I'll give you 20 free credits (equals $20) to try it out. And let
me know what you think. :)

~~~
Alex3917
I made an account. Too much schtick for my taste. Also, start deleting stuff
from the UI. It's an interesting concept, but it took me forever to figure out
how to even browse the offers. (What the heck is the difference between
"services needed" and "offers made?")

~~~
chickc
What do you think we should get rid of in the user interface to make it leaner
and meaner?

~~~
chickc
Ok, I sent you an offer so you can see what happens.

It will also post here until you are through negotiating.
[http://www.greedypeople.com/index.php?m=account_offer_made&#...</a><p>As a
deal is negotiated the public page changes so you can see whats going on.

~~~
Alex3917
Thanks. If you post your email in your profile then I'll send you feedback
when I get home.

~~~
chickc
It would just come from admin -at- greedpeople.com

