Crowdsourcing is the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to an undefined, large group of people or community (a "crowd"), through an open call. From Wikipedia.
The ICI/PRO Top 210 Indoor Cycling Songs list is an excellent example of crowdsourcing. Over 150 Instructors contributed their favorite songs. We compiled them into one big list that's been enjoyed by thousands* of Indoor Cycling Instructors around the world. *The pdf has been downloaded over 4,000 times. In this instance of crowdsourcing, we all benefited from learning (hearing) different music tastes from other Instructors.
We also benefited in a different way; each song that was submitted had been sampled/reviewed/tested by someone who shares a common expertise with the rest of us. We benefited [saved time] from the efforts of others. I feel very confident that I could take 12-15 random songs from the Top 210 Songs list, spend 10 minutes rearranging them to fit a profile, and have a usable playlist I could play in class. Why? Because the people who suggested each track are passionate Instructors just like me and you. I can believe in each song because I understand who had suggested it.
Music services like iTunes, emusic and Spotify boast of having millions of songs. Do you have time to sample even a tiny fraction of them? Of course not... but what if I combined my efforts with yours? And then we combined our efforts with hundreds of other ICI/PRO members?
This could be the beginning of something very cool 🙂
Enter Collaborative Playlists in Spotify
As simple as Right Clicking and Select Collaborative Playlist
Here's a link to a collaborative playlist I've started for favorite High School Rock songs.
PRO/Playlist High School Rock Songs for Climbing
You already need to have Spotify installed on your computer or smart phone to open this link. Once you see it on your computer you can add some of your own favorites from when you were in high school.
And like magic, the songs you added will show on here on my computer... and everyone elses 🙂
The potential for us to collaborate is endless.
Let me know your ideas.
John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
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Love this idea….have added a couple.
Due to the limited geographical scope in which Spotify is available I am unfortunately not able to contribute and the playlist is of no use for me :-/
I built my first playlist with Spotify. It is quick and easy and I love it. In a hurry to find something new and quick this morning I used a profile in a July Spinning Class profile as my source for a playlist. I was able to put the music together in about 15min and was off and running.
I like the idea of collaborative playlist but, I am not certain how to share it or to post it like your High School Rock Songs. Do I use the copy HTTP Link or Spotify URI. This is what I got with the copy Spotify URI It doesn’t show the name of the playlist “Aerobic Strength Climb”
http://open.spotify.com/user/ram482/playlist/0PAec0hYcGi6UIHFrfwk6Z. Help
Great playlist Richard 🙂
The copy HTTP Link can be opened by anyone, with or without Spotify. Spotify URI will only work for those with Spotify.
How did you give the link the name of your playlist instead of all the code?
Richard I embedded the link in the text in the example above when I created the post. There’s not a way to do that just using Spotify.
love the playlist richard – totally up my alley!
oh and I’m new here and totally lost…hopefully I’ll be able to contribute once I know what the heck I’m doing! this place looks awesome, you rock john!
Thanks Lisa! Always know you that I’m available to help. John@indoorcycleinstructor.com