The Answer Factory: Just what education is missing.
November 17, 2009
Commentary by Stephen Downes

Robert Hughes links to a Wired article describing a mass-production video content production company, Demand media. They use algorithms to determine automatically what consumers want to view, and then they pay cut-rate prices ($200 for 10 videos) to free-lancers to produce the content. And its target is personal learning videos. "The process is automatic, random, and endless, a Stirling engine fueled by the world's unceasing desire to know how to grow avocado trees from pits or how to throw an Atlanta Braves-themed birthday party. It is a database of human needs, and if you haven't stumbled on a Demand video or article yet, you soon will."

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