The ecology of photography crowdsourcing : metadata, locality, and cultural representation

Abstract: This study explores the social and cultural implications of photography and metadata crowdsourcing at the level of smaller communities as a means of preserving, rekindling, and representing local culture. A multiple case study approach is used, each case focusing on various instances of photography crowdsourcing both in and outside the digital environment, in order to quantitatively analyse a hand-picked selection of photographic material, its respective metadata, and the social ecosystem. The study finds that by circulating photographic material within their communities of provenance, the information crowdsourced differs from institutional metadata standards, as communities evaluate the material through its socially embeddedness, its ability to be evocative of a collective memory, and as an active means of reclaiming identities. Crowdsourcing activities of the sort are an alternative means of record making, not bound by issues of copyright or ownership. By taking into account the unique experiences and identities of non-centric communities, the gap between GLAMs and non-affiliated projects can enrich national cultural heritage and possibly reevaluate the importance of the photograph as a socially salient and relevant medium.