Crowdsourcing is one of the most efficient ways of collecting data in modern times. Earlier generations would have to take comments from the audience by mail, but with all of the technology today, social media has become one of the best ways to get information and stories. From a journalist or public relations standpoint, it makes a lot of sense to use social media to their advantage.
It can be dangerous to use crowdsourcing without checking the facts first. In an article from FIPP, an example was given about crowdsourcing during the Boston Marathon bombing, where men were falsely identified as suspects due to misinformation on Reddit.
But, when crowdsourcing is used correctly, and can not only enhance a story, but do it timely. It is important that when you are crowdsourcing to give credit to the original sources. From a PR standpoint, it also makes sense for a company to be able to communicate and gain information on what the audience would like to see more or less of. Crowdsourcing from social media can also be informative about a much larger amount of people than something like a survey.
Overall, crowdsourcing when done correctly can only help.
Catherine's Blog 