Coming up with an idea for an exciting DH project is the easy part.  Making it live and as complete as one wants it to be is the challenge.  One way that several project managers and individuals have attempted to solve this challenge is through crowdsourcing.

Depending on the project, members of the public can transcribe text, such as in the Transcribe Bentham and Papers of the War Department projects, or correct items, as with the Trove project, and the Building Inspector project.

It’s wise to entice participants with topics which are interesting to them and to help them realize that they are contributing to a project which will benefit many people.  To reach these potential contributors, one should publicize the project in as many social media sites as possible.

Both transcription and correction projects are exciting learning experiences for contributors.  Having contributed to both Papers of the War Department and Trove, I learned more about history and about the process of being involved with DH projects.  I encourage people to get involved with crowdsourcing projects such as these. The editors have different ways of checking the work of volunteers, so there is no fear that one will harm the project by making a mistake.  Instead, a participant may turn into someone who is creating a project of his or her own.