For my crowdsourcing activity, I decided to try https://www.zooniverse.org/projects?page=1&status=live.
Specifically I looked at: Deciphering Secrets: Unlocking the Manuscripts of Medieval Spain. At first I was hesitant because that sounds very serious but after looking and working on a few pages, I think anyone could do it. It was a little difficult, like I’m sure I had room for error, but I think anyone who can read cursive would be capable of using this crowdsourcing activity. They focused on transactional documents, which I think was a little helpful, as the manuscripts are very neat and organized.
This crowdsourcing website will help historians, as according to the website they have about 25% of the manuscripts translated even with all of the volunteers helping transcribe. I think by reaching out to individuals who are interested in projects like this, historians open themselves up to getting the job done quicker, while reaching out to those in your community who are interested in history.
Personally I really enjoyed this site, I ended up spending a decent amount of time looking at the different “sections” of manuscripts. Some were definitely more easy to read than others, either because of the cursive, language, or the one of the pictures was really blurry. However, luckily they have a comment box at the bottom, where someone had already requested a non blurry picture of the manuscript. Additionally they also have other links where you can chat with team members about whatever activity you are currently working on or if you need any help! Or if you just want to chat with people with your similar interests, zooniverse advertises a “talk” link where you can talk online with “like minded volunteers.”
Really interestingly, they have a finished projects menu, so you can browse through all of the finished crowdsourcing projects and learn. The website showed about 300 completed community crowdsourcing projects.
Overall, the website has 1,179 different subjects for crowdsourcing activities, so if someone could not complete the manuscript, or had a different interest, (science, art, medicine, ect.) No matter what your interest or skill level there is plenty for you to do on the Zoomiverse website.